Learning to be Inclusive

While all labels used to describe one’s sexual orientation are unique to the individual, unlike  homosexual  (an attraction to the opposite gender), queer is an umbrella term that can be used by anyone under the LGBTQ spectrum. Queer conveys both an orientation and a sense of community. “The community aspect states, ‘Because we’re all different, we can celebrate our differences. I can accept you for who you are, and there’s power in numbers,’” Wise says. “There’s an aspect to it that doesn’t allow for isolation.” Some folks who fall somewhere in the middle of the sexual orientation spectrum will describe themselves as queer rather than bisexual (attraction to both your own gender and genders other than your own) or pansexual (attraction regardless of gender). Others will use both and introduce themselves as “bisexual and queer,” for instance. The term queer is also used by those whose gender does not fall within the binary caterory. LGBTQ  stands for lesbian, gay, bisexua...

Transgender  people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their sex assigned at birth. Some  transgender  people who desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another identify as transsexual.  Transgender , often shortened as trans, is also an umbrella term. A transgender man who gave birth has lost his appeal court battle to be registered as a father in a case that wrestled with the legal definition of motherhood and transgender rights. The ruling against Freddy McConnell, a 34-year-old freelance journalist who works for the Guardian and who lived as a man for several years before suspending his hormone treatment and becoming pregnant, upholds an earlier high court verdict that motherhood is defined as being pregnant and giving birth regardless of whether the person who does so was considered a man or a woman in law. A court of appeal panel headed by the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett, effectively came down in favour of the ri...

The United Nations is now focusing its global development work on the recently-developed 17  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . Women have a  critical role to play  in all of the SDGs, with many targets specifically recognizing women’s equality and empowerment as both the objective, and as part of the solution. Goal 5 , to "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls" is known as the stand-alone gender goal, because it is dedicated to achieving these ends. Deep legal and legislative changes are needed to ensure women’s rights around the world. While a record 143 countries guaranteed equality between men and women in their Constitutions by 2014, another 52 had not taken this step.  Stark  gender disparities  remain in economic and political realms. While there has been some progress over the decades, on average women in the labour market still earn 20 per cent less than men globally. As of 2018, only 24 per cent of all national parl...

Improving intergenerational attitudes and relationships is a public policy focus in many countries around the world. In response to this, many organisations arrange intergenerational contact programmes in which younger and older people interact, with the aim of fostering improved attitudes reducing ageism and other beneficial outcomes.  Many psychological research projects have examined the nature of social contact between different age groups, but evidence from these has never been synthesised to inform the design of intergenerational contact programmes. Consequently, practitioners have not benefited from optimal use of evidence which could reliably inform practice and policy. This review, for Age UK, aims to address the evidencepractice gap. We synthesise international evidence generated from 48 peer reviewed research studies and evaluate 31 intergenerational contact programmes to explore what aspects make them more or less successful and provide useful insights for programme des...

"We are committed to embodying and practicing justice, liberation, and peace in our engagements with one another." Source:  http://blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles/ This page is tagged by: Black Lives Matter: Guiding Principles This page is a tag of: 2016 Hip-Hop Literacies Conference: Black Women and Girls’ Lives Matter My Skin is a Crime The Prison Education Reform Project Constitution

Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of emotional states.   Wikipedia

The first, and perhaps most crucial, elements of culture we will discuss are its values and beliefs.  Values  are a culture’s standard for discerning what is good and just in society. Values are deeply embedded and critical for transmitting and teaching a culture’s beliefs.  Beliefs  are the tenets or convictions that people hold to be true. Individuals in a society have specific beliefs, but they also share collective values. To illustrate the difference, Americans commonly believe in the American Dream—that anyone who works hard enough will be successful and wealthy. Underlying this belief is the American value that wealth is good and important. Values help shape a society by suggesting what is good and bad, beautiful and ugly, sought or avoided. Consider the value that the United States places upon youth. Children represent innocence and purity, while a youthful adult appearance signifies sexuality. Shaped by this value, individuals spend millions of dollars each ...