Features / Talking LGBT+ Bristol
‘So much has changed since I worked under the cloud of Section 28’
Three contributors from Bristol24/7’s Talking LGBT+ Bristol film to tell us what they would change if they had one wish this Pride. The film gives a platform to the LGBT+ community in Bristol and aims to increase visibility and raise awareness of the love, struggle and change that the community has faced.
So much has changed since I worked under the cloud of Section 28 but there’s still lots progress to be made in schools.
My hope is that teachers and students alike become increasingly empowered to challenge everyday prejudice.
is needed now More than ever
I’d also like to see much greater visibility of all LGBT people and their families in the school curriculum and the books kids read. If you consider how much opinions have changed across the generations, imagine how much better we could make society if we keep the pace up. It’s a one-size-fits-all solution – acceptance only needs to be taught once.
If you consider transphobia, which feels as prevalent as homophobia was thirty years ago, I hope that, in the future, if we educate our children to be more accepting of whoever people are, trans and gender non-conforming folk get to be part of the wider community and will no longer face the harassment and violence that they do today.
Jane Bolam is a contributor to Talking LGBT+ Bristol, a mum and a former teacher.
Read more: ‘If we don’t have equality inside our ranks, then we will never see it outside’
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