The letters speak about three different parts of a person’s life. They can be connected, but they are not the same thing:

• Who you are attracted to – sometimes called sexual orientation. For example, lesbian, gay or bisexual.
• Who you know yourself to be – sometimes called gender identity. For example, transgender.
• The body characteristics you were born with – sometimes called sex characteristics. For example, intersex.

Each letter was added because a group of people stood up and said: “We are here too, and our experience is not the same.” Think about what this can look like in our schools:

• A lesbian teacher may keep quiet about her partner in the staffroom, or worry that parents will object to her teaching their children.
• A gay learner may be called names and bullied, on the playground and on social media.
• A transgender learner may be mocked about their name, their clothes or the school facilities they use, or may have their personal information shared without their consent.
• An intersex child may face intrusive questions, gossip, or decisions about their body that are made without respect for their dignity and privacy.

From the day we are born, we are handed rules about how boys and girls are supposed to be. “Boys don’t cry.” “Girls must be quiet and soft.” “Men must be breadwinners and make the decisions.” “Women must do the cooking and caring.” “Boys play soccer; girls play with dolls.”

These rules are so familiar that we hardly notice them. The rules are made by people, and are not fixed by nature. Rules change across time and place. Anyone who does not fit the box can be punished for it. So much of the bullying in our schools, and so much of the violence in homes and communities, is about forcing people back into boxes.

LGBTQI+ people have challenged these rules by living openly. In doing so, they have opened up space for all of us, including the boy who loves to cook, the girl who wants to be an engineer, the father who stays home to care for his children, and the woman who becomes a principal.

QUOTe: Which gender rules did you hear while you were growing up? Who gets hurt when these rules are enforced? What becomes possible when people have more freedom to be themselves?

LGBTQI+ inclusion is a worker issue and teacher union issue

The people behind the letters are not only “out there” in the community. They are our colleagues, our support staff, our union members and our learners. When people are mocked, forced to hide or punished for being different, it affects their safety, their work and whether they can take part. That is what makes LGBTQI+ inclusion a worker issue and a union issue.

“An injury to one is an injury to all” cannot only mean the worker whose identity the majority already understands. Solidarity must also protect the worker whose experience is unfamiliar, hidden or pushed to the margins.

A teacher union represents workers, but its members also shape the everyday culture of schools. LGBTQI+ educators and support staff have the same right as every other worker to dignity, safety, fair treatment and a full place in union life. And as teachers, we also carry a professional responsibility to stop bullying and humiliation among learners.

Teachers and education workers stand in three connected spaces:

• The workplace: educators and support staff have rights as workers.
• The union: members should be able to take part fully, without discrimination and without having to hide who they are.
• The school community: educators shape whether learners experience school as a place that is safe, respectful and inclusive.