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Queer Youth Updates of Santa Cruz County

March 18, 2020

Dear Queer Youth and Allies,

This special QYU was developed to be a helpful resource for LGBTQ+ and Ally students who are home for an extended time due to the unexpected school closures.  Our goals are to continue to empower you and provide supportive resources for your well being during this time.  School may be temporarily out of session, but there are still many opportunities to learn and thrive outside of the classroom.

Best Wishes,
Sarananda Osheim, Editor of Queer Youth Updates

Self-Care for Queer Youth

LGBTQ+ Youth Friendly Films & Television

Queer Literature & Podcasts

LGBTQ+ History

Online Support


Helpful Holiday Tips

Postponed Events
Self-Care for Queer Youth
Self-Care for Queer Youth
Queer Youth Task Force / Safe Schools Project
Special thank you to Jamie A. Cutter, M.Ed.

We know it can be hard to be away from school and your support networks. Some of us have support networks at home, and some of us aren't out and don't feel safe at home.

To continue to support queer, trans, and allied youth while we are away from the support of our QSA/GSA/SAGA and peers, we want to provide you with LGBTQ-focused education and empowerment opportunities you can do from home or anywhere. 

This week we have a short presentation on the queer history of self-care, and an opportunity for you to reflect on and plan for your own self-care during this stressful time. 

Check out the presentation at:  https://prezi.com/3uhamwls5nbe/self-care/

There is also a document where you can write or draw about your own self-care. We will have more education and empowerment opportunities next week!  

Click Here to download a PDF of the "My Plan for Self Care" worksheet.
Click Here to download a PDF of the presentation.
LGBTQ+ Youth Friendly Films & Television

Available for Free
 

G.B.F. (2013) + PG-13: A story of two best friends Tanner and Brent. One longs for the spotlight, convinced coming out will make him instantly popular. All seems to go according to plan as the girls in school battle for their newest must-have Gay Best Friend! 

Watch it on YouTube for free


Geography Club (2013) + PG-13: At Goodkind High School, a group of students with varying sexual orientations form an after-school club as a discreet way to share their feelings and experiences.

Watch it on tubitv for free
 

Seattle Symphony - Live Broadcasts
The Seattle Symphony will be sharing performances that provide strength, comfort and joy. The musicians of the Seattle Symphony have generously volunteered to share free broadcasts with everyone. All broadcasts can be streamed through the Symphony’s social media channels on YouTube and Facebook.

Frameline - Youth in Motion


Don't Erase My History: A group of Bay Area youth takes us on a quest for the very history that has “no name” in their schools. Together they open archival closets and talk with LGBTQ artists, activists, and pioneers. In a world where their queer history is still regularly erased, what will they discover.

In my Shoes (2005): In a time when LGBT families are debated and attacked in the media, courts and Congress, from school houses to state houses across the country, five young people who are children of LGBT parents give you a chance to walk in their shoes - to hear their own views on marriage, making change, and what it means to be a family. This film was produced by the COLAGE Youth Leadership and Action Program and directed by Jen Gilomen.

 

Gender Matters Collection

Eddie (2007): "Eddie" tells the story of a young Latina girl who is forced to deal with her sexuality as a result of an embarrassing mishap during a summer afternoon kickball game. 

Just Call Me Kade (2012):  Kade Farlow Collins is a sixteen year old FTM (female to male transgendered person) residing in Tucson, Arizona. Kade's parents maintain a supportive and nurturing relationship to Kade regarding the many challenges facing their teenage child. However, it hasn't always been easy. 

The Bond (2007): "How could you raise a transsexual child and not know it?" In this honest and compassionate documentary, the father of a transsexual child shares his family's story - what it was like when his child came out, how their relationship has changed and how their bond continues to strengthen.Made by a father for transgender individuals and their parents, The Bond offers hopeful answers to the hard questions parents face when a child - of any age - comes out.

Two Spirit People (1991):  An overview of historical and contemporary Native American concepts of gender, sexuality and sexual orientation. This documentary explores the berdache tradition in Native American culture, in which individuals who embody feminine and masculine qualities act as a conduit between the physical and spiritual world, and because of this are placed in positions of power within the community.

Available on Hulu
 

Freak Show (2017) + Unrated: Follows the story of teenager Billy Bloom who, despite attending an ultra conservative high school, makes the decision to run for homecoming queen.  

The Bravest Knight (2019) + TV-PG:  The Bravest Knight is a story of a young pumpkin farmer named Cedric, as he attempts to become the greatest knight who ever lived. Now grown and married to the prince of his dreams, Sir Cedric recounts his fairytale adventures to his adopted daughter Nia, showing her the paths and pitfalls that await her on the way to knighthood. Accompanied by his best friend, a bridge-less troll named Grunt, Cedric's lifelong quest to fulfill his destiny takes him through a world of witches and giants, and ends with the toughest challenge of all: Teaching his daughter to do the same.

Rosaline (2016) + TVY7: Incorporating LGBT themes, Rosaline tells the story of a fairytale adventure through the woods. On the way to find her sweetheart, Rosaline must stay true to herself while encountering a witch, a wolf, and even a fairy godmother. Narrated by Teri Polo.

Available on Netflix
 

To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) + PG-13: Three drag queens travel cross-country until their car breaks down, leaving them stranded in a small town.

Hairspray (2007) + PG:  As gay filmmaker John Waters once told this journalist, “The musical version of Hairspray was really my most subversive work. It tricked families into embracing two men singing a love song to each other, and believing that it’s a great thing for your daughter to fall in love with a black guy.” Nikki Blonsky plays the chubby teen who strikes dual blows for big girl power and racial equality in 1960s Baltimore. 

Everything Sucks (2018) + TV-14: Revolves around students at Boring High School in Oregon in 1996; centering around the A/V club, and the Drama club, with both groups seen as misfits. Luke O'Neil is a freshman at Boring, along with his best friends, McQuaid, a pessimistic geek, and Tyler Bowen, a squeaky-voiced, immature teen.

Other Notable Films


Love, Simon (2018) + PG-13: Everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old Simon Spier, it's a little more complicated. He hasn't told his family or friends that he's gay, and he doesn't know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he's fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life-changing. View the trailer on YouTube

Queer Literature & Podcasts
Children's Books
Tween's and Teen's Books
  • "LGBTQ Books for Middle Grade Readers" - Book Riot
  • "Pride and Less Prejudice: 10 LGBTQ Books for Teens" - Brightly
  • "What are the best LGBT books for children, teenagers and YAs?" - The Guardian
  • "8 Awesome Queer Books for the Youth and Tweens in Your Life" - Autostraddle
TRUTH: Podcast Library

At the core of TRUTH is the challenging of who is speaking at the forefront of transgender liberation movements. TRUTH has worked to insert our ourselves at the table and offer our perspectives, just as valid as any other transgender organizers on the ground.

Check out the entire podcast library (each one has a transcript version as well) at ourtranstruth.org/truthpodcastlibrary
QT: Queer Teen Podcast

From the creator: The reason I started Queer Teen Podcast was to give our Queer Youth a voice and to speak on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community. It needs to come from them. The mission is to encourage the next generation of Queer Youth from across the world to stand up for what’s right. It is time to listen, learn and LOVE. This is my call to action for my community. Find QT on Spotify, iTunes, and Apple Music.

Listen at queerteenpodcast.podbean.com/feed.xml
Making Gay History (Podcast)

Bringing the voices of queer history to life through intimate conversations with LGBTQ champions, heroes, and witnesses to history.

Listen at makinggayhistory.com
LGBTQ+ History
LGBT History Month: 31 Days. 31 Icons. 

LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images and other resources.

Visit lgbthistorymonth.com to learn more
The Safe Schools Project: LGBTQ History

Monthly LGBTQ History Stories for GSA Advisors and Other Educators to share with students.

Visit safeschoolsproject.org/lgbtq-history for the full list
Unheard Voices: Stories of LGBT History (Grade Level: Middle & Highschool)

In response to the lack of representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in school curricula and disproportionate incidents of bullying and violence against LGBT youth, ADL, GLSEN and StoryCorps collaborated to create Unheard Voices, an oral history and curriculum project that will help educators to integrate LGBT history, people and issues into their instructional programs.

Visit ADL for these free learning materials
GLSEN: LGBTQ History Coloring Books

A perfect activity for elementary school students and adults alike, this coloring book features leaders and groundbreaking events in American history that highlight people with LGBTQ identities.

Download the full coloring book by clicking here. These LGBTQ leaders and events are featured in the book:

  • We'Wha
  • Bayard Rustin
  • Compton Cafeteria Riots
  • Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera
  • Marriage Equality and Edie Windsor
  • Laverne Cox
Now We Can Dance: The Story of the Hayward Gay Prom

Now We Can Dance celebrates a long-standing event in the community of Hayward, California, in the East Bay area near San Francisco. It chronicles the controversy surrounding the 1995 creation of the gay prom and the significance of having a traditional high school dance for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teenagers. The gay prom is the brainchild of the Lambda Youth Project, an LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) support group. Yearly, hundreds of youth from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, come to the prom because it is a safe place to be themselves and celebrate with other like-minded youth. Interviews with early prom organizers, attendees, and supportive community members were interspersed with footage from the 2011 gay prom and interviews with recent prom goers, volunteers, and even a protester.


Watch the documentary for free on YouTube
Online Support
Do you need help now?

If you are thinking about suicide and in need of immediate support, please call the TrevorLifeline at 1-866-488-7386 

Don't feel comfortable talking on the phone? Other options include:

TrevorChat - Confidential online instant messaging with a Trevor counselor, available 24/7.
Note: Access through a computer, as you may have technical difficulties if using a smartphone or tablet.

TrevorText - Confidential text messaging with a Trevor counselor, available 24/7/365
Text START to 678678
Note: Standard text messaging rates apply. 
TrevorSpace - Start meeting LGBTQ friends today!

TrevorSpace is an affirming international community for LGBTQ young people ages 13-24.

Sign up and start a conversation now by visiting trevorspace.org
Crisis Text Line - Text HOME to 741741

Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, providing access to free, 24/7 support and information via a medium people already use and trust: text. 

crisistextline.org
Q Chat Space: A Community for LGBTQ+ Teens (Ages 13 - 19)

It's Safe
We work to keep the trolls out. We all agree on the rules of engagement and take action if things ever get out of hand. Our trained facilitators are there to guide group conversations and help if anything comes up.

It's Accepting
Who belongs here? Are you LGBTQ+ or questioning? Between the ages of 13 and 19? This is a place you can be yourself and be accepted wherever you are in your life & identity. Inclusion is our motto.

First time user? qchatspace.org/Getting-Started
Interested in the groups they offer? qchatspace.org/Upcoming-Groups
Helpful Holiday Tips
The holidays can be a stressful time for many LGBTQ+ individuals, especially with extended time with family. Below are some resources to help make this time a little easier during Easter, Passover, & Ramadan. 
Postponed Events
Due to health concerns, gatherings across the bay area are being postponed or canceled.  This has been disappointing news for both youth and organizers, but a necessary action to protect the health and safety of our communities.  

Postponed Events
Queer Youth Updates is a program of the Safe Schools Project

Editor: Sarananda S. Osheim

     
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Safe Schools Project · P.O. Box 3143 · Santa Cruz, CA 95063 · USA

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