@emilymeadowsorg www.EmilyMeadows.org

Safe Space signs are used to signal that the room they adorn is, well, a “safe space” for all people, particularly including LGBTQ+ folks. These signals are important because, while many organizations and institutions claim to welcome everyone, this too often means that they welcome everyone except openly LGBTQ+ people. A Safe Space sign that explicitly names LGBTQ+ people as included can make a significant difference in signaling to gender and sexual minority students that they are part of the ‘everyone’ schools refer to[1].

While these signs are valuable, the wording of ‘safe space’ can be misleading. We, as educators, cannot guarantee that any space will be safe for LGBTQ+ children, who have a long-documented record of being targeted for bullying and harassment in schools[2]. Indeed, to claim that a learning space is safe for all children when the curriculum, for example, does not reflect positive representations of any LGBTQ+ people, can come across as disingenuous or even gaslighting. Indeed, while our intentions may be fervently inclusive, intent and impact do not always align. As we work to build real equity, safety, and inclusion in international schools, we can also, always, affirm a child’s right to belong.

With a new year upon us, I have created a collection of fresh posters for international educators to welcome students with a message of belonging. The posters, free to download, print, and share, feature the classic rainbow flag (updated to include transgender people and people of color), with translations in several languages. I designed this poster collection initially to offer educators options for inclusive signage in their international schools. Once I published it for my Twitter contacts, it became a heart-warming community project, with educators chiming in from around the world to offer additional translations for their local context, or to gift translations to others, and the language options have continued to grow. Further, I have enjoyed the way collaborators overcame linguistic challenges that come with translation, working together to nail down interpretations for ‘belonging’ to capture the sense of the meaning, even if a direct equivalent does not exist in their language. 

In addition to these welcoming posters, I encourage LGBTQ+ educators and allies to seek training and resources to make their schools more equitable and inclusive (call me for ideas). A poster is a brilliant start, but it is only the beginning.

*Link to download and share the free You Belong Here poster collection

*I’d be delighted to tailor-make a poster in any language that’s missing from the collection; please send the translation of ‘You Belong Here’ with your request to: [email protected]

[1] Hatzenbuehler, M. L., Birkett, M., Van Wagenen, A., & Meyer, I. H. (2014). Protective  School Climates and Reduced Risk for Suicide Ideation in Sexual Minority Youths. American Journal of Public Health, 104(2), 279-286.

[2] Kosciw, J. G., Greytak, E. A., Giga, N. M., Villenas, C., & Danischewski, D. J. (2016). The 2015 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth in our nation’s schools. New York, NY: GLSEN.

www.emilymeadows.org @emilymeadows.org

The conversation around transgender athletes has been roused again of late, given the Biden administration’s recent guidance on gender inclusion in schools. Those against inclusion usually push the angle that girls’ sports are at risk of being overrun by trans athletes who will snap up all of the titles, leaving cis girls with no chance to compete. This is irrational fear-mongering; here’s why:  

Trans people have been playing in professional, amateur, and school sports for many years, and cis athletes still win the disproportionate majority of competitions. Transgender athletes have been permitted to play in the Olympics since 2004, for example, and literally none have taken home a medal. In fact, arguably the most famous trans athlete is Chris Mosier, who competes in men’s running (debunking multiple myths about gender and biology). This sure pokes a hole in the argument that trans girls are making off with all the trophies.

Trans students have been included in school athletics for many years and, there also, we see a real lack of evidence that they are edging out cis kids. The example oft-exploited to fight inclusion is a 2020 case accusing two trans girls at a high school track competition in Connecticut (USA) of robbing a cis girl of her chance at first place. The (rarely mentioned) sequel to this story is that, two days after a law suit was filed on behalf of the cis runner, she won a competition against those same trans girls. (And, incidentally, lost the law suit on grounds that excluding trans athletes is sex-based discrimination under Title IX). We can rest assured that any additional examples of trans athletes winning competitions will be swiftly brought to our attention but, until then, it seems this is still the main one. Hardly rampant trophy-theft.

Some of the irrational fear of trans inclusion comes, I believe, from the misconception that trans people are not real. This misunderstanding can be incredibly harmful to children. Indeed, the risk of suicide amongst transgender youth is consequential, with one recent study showing over half of transgender participants reporting that they had considered suicide within the past year[1]. In another recent, large study, almost all (95.5%) of transgender and gender nonconforming youth reported suicide ideation at some point in their lives[2]. However, rates of suicidality decline significantly when trans children have access to gender-affirming spaces. For example, mental health improves when gender-affirming names and pronouns are used[3], and when trans people have access to the bathrooms and sports teams that match their gender identity[4].

This might seem like an abstract peril for those not personally connected to any trans children. Take a look at this short video clip of some trans teens, and imagine requiring them to play on a sports team that aligns with their presumed chromosomes rather than their gender identity. Trans girls are girls, trans boys are boys, and non-binary people are real.

While I realize that school sports can be serious business, surely most international schools do not promote athletics merely as an opportunity for students to experience winning. I’m thinking (hoping?) that team work, persistence, fitness, responsibility, stress relief, discipline, problem-solving, resilience, fun, belonging, and other benefits are why schools spend so many resources to ensure that students have access to these activities.

For those interested in advocating gender equity in sports, I urge you to direct your concern to the very real problems of reduced attention to and sponsorship of girl’s and women’s sports, the measurable pay gap for professional women athletes, and lack of women represented in coaching and other high-level positions within athletic organizations. Indeed, celebrated women’s sport advocates Megan Rapinoe and Billie Jean King, along with 174 other women athletes have signed an amicus brief supporting the inclusion of trans women in athletics. Trans people are not an actual threat to girls’ and women’s sports.

Regardless of my own child’s gender identity, I would far rather they have the opportunity to play on a team that is inclusive than one that assumes only cis children are entitled to sport. The number of cis athletes who will come in second after a trans athlete is minuscule and, frankly, a not-very-consequential downside to the multitude benefits of practicing inclusion in schools. 

Please contact me to discuss crafting and implementing a transgender and gender non-binary inclusion policy to fit your school. I specialize in international school policy development and educator training for gender and sexual diversity.

[1] Taliaferro, L. A., McMorris, B. J., Rider, N. G., Eisenberg, M. E. (2019). Risk and protective factors for self-harm in a population-based sample of transgender youth. Archives of Suicide Research, 23(2), 203-221.

[2] Kuper, L. E., Adams, N., & Mustanski, B. (2018). Exploring cross-sectional predictors of suicide ideation, attempt, and risk in a large online sample of transgender and gender nonconforming youth and young adults. LGBT Health, 5(7).

[3] Russell, S. T., Pollitt, A. M., & Grossman, A. H. (2018). Chosen name use is linked to reduced depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior among transgender youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(4), 503-505.

[4] Goldberg, S. K. (2021). Fair play: The importance of sports participation for transgender youth. Center for American Progress.

EMILY: I was giving a training series on privilege and marginalization for a large international organization this summer. During one of the sessions, a Black man shared about a time when, as a student at a prestigious American university, he was studying in the library, when a White man about his age approached and asked if he actually attended the school. When the participant confirmed that he was, indeed, a student there, the White man turned and walked away without another word.

“Classic microaggression,” I said aloud.

The participant looked up at me through our Zoom screens and said, “Microaggression? It felt more like a full-on aggression to me.”

My chest tightened when I realized what was happening. What would you do in this situation, Daniel?

DANIEL: I would apologize for misrepresenting his experience and ask him, if he is willing, to share more about how the encounter felt, how he responded, and what it meant to him. At least I would like to think that I would respond this way.

Although a natural instinct may be to defend our intentions, I believe it’s important, especially in these moments, to show humility, deference, and genuine interest in the realities of others.

How did you end up responding? And how did it play out?

EMILY: That’s good advice, and I wish I had done that. Instead, I choked. My eyes got wide: “Oh! I didn’t mean micro in that way!” I made myself and my intentions the focus, and then I think I tried to explain what I meant by microaggression, basically intellectualizing his lived experience. Not my best work. Keep in mind, this was during a training seminar on privilege and marginalization that I was leading. I knew better!

DANIEL: I’ve had similar moments (which I too am not proud of), as I’m sure many other antiracist allies have had as well. Being multiracial, I can relate to this situation from both sides— as a person of color who has had others misrepresent my reality and as a White person who has, at times, unintentionally misrepresented the realities of others. That moment of disconnect can be an inflection point in any discussion, and it’s how participants— particularly the “misrepresenter”— respond that can determine the relationship of the participants going forward.

That feeling of panic and the need to explain ourselves— where does that come from? I contend that it’s from the cognitive dissonance between our impact (racist words, actions, systems) and our perceived intent (non-racist or anti-racist).

In fact, “being antiracist” may even have become part of our identity— how we see ourselves and how we want others to view us— and having a racist impact clashes with the core of who we believe ourselves to be. The panic is a mini identity crisis, of sorts; and we feel the need to neatly realign everything in the presence of the POC we just harmed.

EMILY: You put that really well. Thankfully, I knew this (intellectually), and did manage to recover from my mini identity crisis in time to staunch the bleeding, so to speak. I wish I had caught myself sooner, but it just goes to show that, even when we are relatively cognizant of the issue, we can mess up.

I’ve had many conversations with White educators whose mini identity crises drag on because the fixation on our intent will never resolve the impact of our actions. We White people are used to being centred, and our feelings and comfort are usually protected. To prioritize our impact means setting aside our feelings and intent, and focusing instead on those of the people of color experiencing our words and actions. The good news is that this can be done! And I feel really grateful to partner with you on this project.

DANIEL: Yes, me too! We were getting deep into a discussion about identity and inquiry (another important topic), but I think we realized that there were some fundamental core pillars of DEIJ that needed to be addressed first — and were more actionable and relatable for the majority of educators not already involved in this work.

As you mention, differentiating and navigating between one’s intent and impact can be challenging for many White allies, myself included. And, like with any new skill we learn, it’s good to see a series of examples to help us grasp it more tangibly. That’s where our idea for the #IntentVsImpact infographics came from.

EMILY: We’ve tried to cover some common issues like colorblindness, reverse racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as some concepts that folks may be less familiar with. I hope our infographics series will resonate with readers, and that it will be useful as a tool for educators working to make their practice more antiracist.

DANIEL: Agreed. Antiracism is more than just a series of behaviors to avoid; it’s a fundamental mindset shift in how we approach everything we do as educators— and scrutinize, confront, and transform the structures and systems that we inhabit and uphold. My hope is that these infographics will help facilitate that vitally important shift.

Please find Daniel and Emily, along with their new infographic series on Antiracism Impact Vs Intent, on Twitter:
@EmilyMeadowsOrg
@DanielWickener

View the full: #ImpactVsIntent Gallery

www.emilymeadows.org

@emilymeadowsorg

A couple of years ago, I published a post encouraging international schools to adopt a school-wide policy for transgender students. Taipei American School has done just that, leading the way in supporting gender diverse students. I interviewed Adam Nelson, a member of the committee that implemented the policy. Adam Nelson is the Interim Deputy Head of School at Taipei American School in Taiwan and holds a J.D. from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Emily: How was the process to develop and implement a policy for transgender students initiated at Taipei American School? 

Adam: The process started when the Head of School put together a committee to come up with such a policy, both in response to the Obama Administration’s policy guidance that Title IX protects trans* students and to help better protect the trans* students we had on campus.

Emily: How was faculty involved? Did they receive training on their role in enforcing the policy? 

Adam: We currently have only a small number of openly trans* students, and their counselors have worked directly with those students’ teachers both to make sure they understood their obligations under the policy and to offer support with meeting their students’ needs. 

One of our school psychologists recently presented an overview of the policy to the entire Upper School faculty, and I’m sure there have been other smaller or division-specific efforts, but our first attempt at formal faculty-wide training will come in the fall.

Emily: How was the policy presented to the greater TAS community? Did you put it out in a newsletter, for example, or just add it to the website when it was ready? 

Adam: It has mostly been the latter. The policy was first adopted around the time of our most recent WASC accreditation visit, and was mentioned at least briefly in our self-study report, but otherwise it was really just published in the student handbooks, which parents are required to read each year, and in our administrator, faculty, and staff manuals. 

Emily: What challenges arose during the process, and how would you recommend handling them if another school encounters the same? 

Adam: The process has really been relatively painless so far. Even the drafting was fairly straightforward, since we merely adapted the model policy that had been published by GLSEN! 

The biggest challenges so far have really mostly been technical. Like all schools, we have a lot of systems that report gender information, and it’s not always clear why. Fortunately, our student information system (SIS) supports having separate gender and gender assigned at birth fields, which made things easier for those systems that play well with our SIS. Otherwise, we’ve tried to limit references to student gender as much as possible. We now feel like we’ve done a pretty good job giving those employees with a bona fide need to know access to a student’s gender assigned at birth, but otherwise making it so that any other user doesn’t see gender at all unless they need to, and then only giving those individuals access to information based on each student’s self-identification. 

Emily: Has the policy been successful in supporting students since its implementation? 

Adam: I think it has been successful. Again, I’m only aware of a very small number of openly trans* students, but I know those students have been appreciative of the school’s support and validation of their identities. 

Emily: Thank you, Adam, for taking the time to share your experience with implementing a transgender inclusive policy. Taipei American School is leading the way!

Please contact me to discuss crafting and implementing a transgender and gender non-binary inclusion policy to fit your school. I specialize in international school policy development and faculty training for gender and sexual orientation diversity.

www.EmilyMeadows.org