Diversity Week: What can I do for LGBTQIA+ acceptance?

From Monday 5 to Friday 9 October, the UG celebrates Diversity Week. Throughout the week, students and staff are invited to take part in various activities to learn and share about all kinds of aspects of diversity that can be found within our academic community. Earlier this week, we shared a story about neurodiversity; now, Wouter Kiekens, assistant professor of Sociology and co-chair of the Expertise Centre for LGBTQIA+ Research, explains why acceptance is important and what we can do to make the university a safer place for everyone.

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Letters

Researchers and community members use various abbreviations. Many people are familiar with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender). Sometimes, letters are added to explicitly name certain underrepresented groups. The term queer is often used as an umbrella term for everything that is ‘different’. Intersex people are born with bodies that do not fit neatly into the categories of ‘man’ or ‘woman’, and asexual people experience little or no romantic or sexual attraction. The + is added to include all identities not covered by the preceding letters. Kiekens himself uses SGM (sexually and gender minoritized). ‘This way, you don’t name specific groups, and you don’t exclude anyone either. It also emphasizes marginalization. The only downside is that there isn’t a neat Dutch translation for it.’

Gender trouble

Acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals has drastically decreased among young people, as shown by the HBSC report published in September. Kiekens sees in other studies that acceptance is also stagnating or declining among other groups, particularly for the ‘T’—transgender individuals. There has been more attention for gender in recent years—does this explain the decline? According to Kiekens, there is more at play. ‘Researchers point to influences from social media and the rise of extreme, conservative politics.’ To some extent, however, he can understand why people find it difficult. ‘As children, we learn that there are men and women, and that idea is quite rigid,’ he explains. ‘When that is questioned, it can be very confusing.’ In fact, it can even feel somewhat threatening: ‘It may feel as if your own identity is being challenged, even though it actually has nothing to do with you.’ But what people don’t realize, Kiekens believes, is that making room for more gender diversity is good for everyone. ‘Many boys learn that they shouldn’t show their emotions because that’s not “masculine”, but if we relax those gender roles a bit, they gain much more freedom.’

Delving into the subject

Even those who are well-intentioned can still get quite confused. After all, what is the difference between a drag queen and a trans person? And what is the difference between sex and gender? Still, educating yourself about these topics is one of the best ways to make the university a safer place. ‘Try to keep an open mind, try to learn from what others tell you,’ says Kiekens. ‘But be respectful and realize that not everyone feels safe sharing everything.’ You can also do small things, he continues. ‘For example, say “dear students” instead of “boys and girls”. You can also include your pronouns in your email signature, which makes it easier for others to do the same.’ And perhaps most importantly: ‘Don’t use certain words as insults or make hurtful jokes. And if you hear others doing so, try to address it.’ Often, it’s the small things that can make a big difference for a large group of people.

Would you like to explore this topic or other related themes further? On Thursday 8 and Friday 9, there are various activities. For more information and many other programme highlights, view the full Diversity Week programme here.

More information

• Expertise Centre
• Wouter Kiekens