Supporting LGBT Youth in Global Programs- Global Youth Leadership Institute

1. Jake Nash
Matt Nink
April 27, 2018
GEBG Conference
www.gyli.org
Supporting LGBT Youth in Global Programs

3. GYLI Presenter Intros
Matt
5C’s of Awareness: Color, Culture,
Class, Character, Context
Jake

4. Goals and Agenda
• Power of Silence
• Our context
• Genderbread and gender terms
• How we manage GNC students in small spaces
• Gender support plans and policies
• Conclusion

5. Lake Forest Academy
Boarding and Day school
9th-12th Grades
Academic AP curriculum
Commitment to Global Pluralism
435 Students from:
39 Countries and 17 US sates
Global Youth
Leadership Institute

6. International NGO
30 US Schools
US State Department
• HS Sequence of Programs
• Exchange Programs
• Custom programs
• On campus workshops
Global Youth
Leadership Institute

9. Year 1--5 days Tall Ships
CT and LA
Year2-- 6 days Lama Found.
Northern NM
Year3-- 11 days Earth Univ Costa Rica
4 day homestay

12. NOUNS AND PRONOUNS

13. WHAT’S IN A NAME?
EVERYTHING!
Researchers interviewed transgender youths ages 15 to 21
and asked whether young people could use their chosen
name at school, home, work and with friends. Compared
with peers who could not use their chosen name in any
context, young people who could use their name in all
four areas experienced 71 percent fewer symptoms of
severe depression, a 34 percent decrease in reported
thoughts of suicide and a 65 percent decrease in suicidal
attempts.
https://news.utexas.edu/2018/03/30/name-use-matters-for-
transgender-youths-mental-health

16. CISGENDER privilege:
1. Use public restrooms without fear of verbal abuse, physical
intimidation, or arrest
2. Strangers don’t assume they can ask you what your genitals
look like.
3. You have the ability to not worry about being placed in a sex-
segregated environment that is incongruent with your identity:
locker rooms, changing rooms, jail/prison, holding facility/
detention center).
4. Your validity as a man/woman/human is not based on how
much surgery you’ve had or how well you “pass” as non-
transgender.
5. Knowing that your child will not be bullied or called “it” at
school by the teachers, faculty, staff or principle

18. GLOBAL PROGRAMS
• Language draw backs
• Cultural differences
• Sleeping accommodations: tents, ships etc.
• Bathrooms etc.
• Community norms
• Pre-program request for preferences

19. Gender Support Policy
www.lfanet.org

20. TIPS ON BEING A GOOD ALLY
• You can't tell if someone is
transgender just by looking.
• Don't make assump?ons about a
transgender person's sexual
orienta?on.
• If you don't know what pronouns
to use, ask.
• Understand the differences
between "coming out" as lesbian,
bisexual, or gay and "coming out"
as transgender.

21. FINAL THOUGHTS…
— The goal of teaching should always be to help the student find their
path to a meaningful, successful life.
— Advocacy may be an important element in the teacher/student
relationship.
— Social justice issues can seriously impact the gender variant individuals
health and well being.
— LGBTQ adolescents/teens face substantial barriers to receiving
adequate care and support.
— Don’t assume this is only a “phase” the student is going through.
— Don’t be dismissive of students identity or feelings.
— Thank a student if they come out to you, you may be the first person
they tell!

22. Thank you!!
For additional information,
please contact:
Jacob Nash
Transactivist@sbcglobal.net
Matt Nink
mnink@gyli.org

23. Ques?ons??