LGBTQ+ People Still Aren't Equal In The UK
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2019
- The brill article by Vic and Amy: www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/06/13...
Vic (follow them they are great, as you can see): / vicparsons_
Want to help change things? Check these organisations out: / 1139429867257307137
The non-binary petition: petition.parliament.uk/petiti...
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Not being able to give blood really frustrates me. I've been married to the same dude in a monogamous relationship for six years and still... There are folks in hospitals dying for lack of blood and the establishment would rather those folks go ahead die than take my weird, gay blood?
@Rags Toriches The World Health Organization has some stats on this. Here is a link. www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/blood-transfusion
Hope it changes, that's ridiculous
@Rags Toriches You didn't even watch the video did you?
Saying "the gay population is so insignificantly small" when it was specifically pointed out in the video that there is no consensus on the percentage (though the estimate of 5% I would say is pretty accurate and that definitely isn't a small amount of people).
Even if there were only a tiny amount of gay men unable to donate blood what kind of reason would that be to not undo a discriminatory law? Seriously where is the logic in continuing an immoral practice simply because it wouldn't make that much of a difference (even though it actually would). Like do you have no principles that you think society should uphold?
@Rags Toriches But students are also at a similar risk of STIs, so are people who receive incomplete sexual education.
Should they all be banned from giving blood too? Obviously not since all the blood that is donated is tested and a person donating blood is saving lives not "putting them at risk".
If you really want a way to make sure that no one with contaminated blood is donating than stop all people who have had unprotected sex within a certain amount of time since that's the risk factor, not specifically homosexual sex between men especially since PREP has been invented.
It's not about "feeling included", it's about the basic principle of equality and the need for more people to donate blood. And you may say that "they can do whatever they want in the privacy of their own homes" but when what a person does in private changes legally what freedoms they have in public then that doesn't actually allow people to do what they want without sacrificing their full rights as citizens as is *clearly* the case with homosexual activity preventing blood donation.
The world really sucks sometimes.
I was surprised that they didn't mention surgery on intersex children.
agreed! While intersex people are totally LGBTQ+ if they choose to identify that way, they don't all identify as such so lots of times they aren't included in queer conversations out of respect for the sizable proportion that are cishet and don't find their biology to be the sole basis for queer identification. Perhaps they should be. Intersex surgery is terrifying and so so so so common
Its more of a worldwide thing
Cause thats still a problem in many countrys in europe
So its not exclusif
They mention it in the article linked in the description
I'm suprised they didn't mention that giving children hormones before they finish puberty can permanently sterilize them so they might never be able to have offspring of their own. oh wait, I'm not suprised
In the US as a gay or bi man you cannot donate blood if you have had sex within the past 12 months, not just 3. It's very frustrating, and I thank you for raising awareness.
Same in Germany. :(
Lol why would anyone want that
In some states (Tennessee for example) it's if you ever have. A lot of my gay male friends just lie and donate anyway. It's such a stupid law. I hate the Bible Belt I'm saving to get out of the area.
It's 12 months in Australia too. Not sure about other countries, but it's also restricted women who have been sexually active with men (protected or unprotected), in the last 12 months, who have had oral or anal sex (unprotected or protected) with other men in the last 12 months. I don't think it matters if they've been tested or not, because "no test is perfect".
Beause u r sick dudee
As a queer person in Texas, the amount of blatant discrimination that goes on in 2019 is disheartening. I’m kind of jealous of the type of person who says “in 2019?!?’ like it’s surprising it still happens in this day and age.
Are you in the southern side? I’m from a bigger city, we’re a lot more accepting.
GO AWAY! But yeah, the cities aren’t great, but everywhere else in Texas, could be actually dangerous.
Same as an enby in good old Tx. I'm considering moving somewhere else eventually.
I say nothing to others about my being ace purely because Texas is still really homophobic, at least where I live. Doesn’t help that my family is really christian so I don’t want to tell them either
And a book I am reading shows you that people who have different ideas than you are discriminated against even to the point of being put in prison.
im seventeen and so had sex + relationship education post - Section 28 and its effects are SO prevalent even now. the only mention of same-sex relationships was in an off-hand, flippant way like "guys...or girls...whatever you're into hahaha" there was no serious mention of them. the only real acknowledgement of lgbt people was in my a level english classes, where 3/5 authors, and some of the poets we studied were gay and this was a main contextual point. literally all I wanted was some sort of genuine acknowledgement of my existence in education and its RIDICULOUS as someone so young that I've had to learn everything, not even sex but about relationships, my rights, marriage, children etc. by myself online.
also I really feel as though the heavy emphasis on "gay" literature in a levels was because we were now "mature enough" for it and it was suddenly not a dicey topic to be avoided in case of upsetting parents or something.
I’m the same age as you but in NI, my sex ed experience was atrocious and gay people were never mentioned (the curriculum wasn’t too keen on sex outside of marriage in general though). Additionally one of the music teachers, a gay drag queen and only out member of staff, was fired for “speaking inappropriately with students” (he was just talking about the gay bar in Belfast I believe)
And 13 I'm not had any sexual education on gay sex
in fact the only time it's been mentioned was when I was in year 2 and the teacher off stuff what we thought about two men getting married that was the first time I heard about it and the last time I heard about it in class
I'm 18 and at an all boys school in the UK, so being openly gay is most definitely not an enjoyable experience, but fortunately we have been taught about not just gay relationships, but also some other sexualities (including asexual) and also about trans and non-binary people. The big problem is that it doesn't seem to have helped. Gay is probably the most common insult.
One major issue is that it is taught way too late: year 10/11 for me, and the deep set ideas that non heterosexual people should be ignored and excluded if not actively bullied is just not displaced, goes unchallenged. Most boys are do not truly hold homophobic views but they do tend to just go along with it.
Section 28 looks mild these days by the way we are going
Wow your guest has a really relaxing voice! Thank you to both of you for raising awareness of these issues, I really learnt a lot.
ah I was thinking this the whole vid
Matthias Andrews I was literally just about to comment this, they are so calming to listen to
I would totally listen to their asmr videos if they did any
I agree, but it was rather hard to hear them.
In Canada you can get an x on your passport, I'm still torn between whether or not that's the right answer. With an x on my passport it means that many countries will be impossible to visit, or a lot more dangerous. I feel like it would be better to get rid of all gender markers on passports but maybe that's far to out there for most people.
yeah when it comes to international travel sometimes you just have to compromise, even if you are lucky to live in a progressive country you have to be careful in some places. I suppose it would be hard to be able to have one gender on local ID and another on passport? Probs not I guess.
@@pseudonamed Yeah it would make things harder but I have thought about leaving my passport and just changing my drivers licence but then they don't match so that in and of it's self can be bad. Anyway obviously it's still amazing that in Canada you can at least change it if you wont to.
Sorry I'm not canadian, but, what is the exact purpose of the X in the passport? (genuinely asking, I'm curious and dumn)
@@user-xq9cx9ky9m The X indicates a non-binary identity (neither "male" nor "female"). So you indicate M, F, or X
Of course it is because it is denying science, biology and reality.
Aren't equal... *nervous laugh of russian*
Same.
I’m sending my gay energy to empower you
That's true... There are so many intolerant countries, so many people keep saying "you're equal now, shut up" but this video and countries like Russia prove otherwise
Stay strong. You'll be free one day. 🏳️🌈
Stay strong
Here’s something I discovered when I researched trans rights in my country (the Netherlands). The Dutch anti discrimination law says it is illegal to discriminate against people based on gender. It doesn’t mention gender identity or gender expression, however, Dutch human rights courts have ruled that discrimination against trans people is also illegal under this law, which is good. The problem is that the vagueness of the language of the law means a lot of people don’t know that it’s illegal to discriminate against trans people.
In order to remedy this situation a number of left wing parties proposed an amendment to the language of the law so that it would also say it is illegal to discriminate against people based on gender identity or gender expression. All the government had to do was SAY that they didn’t want trans people to be discriminated against. They didn’t even have to do anything about discrimination against trans people, all they had to do was SAY they don’t want it to happen, and changing the law would have taken exactly the same amount of effort as not changing it. They didn’t do it. The fact that this happened in my country is absolutely shameful to me. One of the things I always liked the most about my country is the fact that the Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize gay sex, and the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage. We were pioneers in gay rights and now we’re treating trans people like they don’t even matter. Our leaders can’t even be bothered just to SAY they don’t want trans people to be discriminated against. It’s absolutely disgraceful.
It's frightening to see all the protests against teaching kids about LGBTQ+ issues. If I had been taught about trans people as a kid, it would have saved me years of depression and confusion. I wouldn't have had to wait until i was 14 and stumbling across them online.
Thank you for not only speaking about sexuality, but gender identity as well as a lot of media out there has been awful for painting us in such horrible ways so it's nice to see some support and spreading awareness of how far we still need to go in terms of basic human rights. Keep up the great work.
I am a teacher and I teach about trans and nonbinary people and LGBTQ. It is really heartwarming and makes me optimistic to see how interested, unbiased and open-minded most of the kids today are. Makes me really optimistic. Of course there is a lot left to do, but people nowadays are much more aware of these equality issues than when I went to school.
elektra121 I’m 14 and live in a village in the uk and I’m quite sure that I’ve never had an lgbtq+ lesson
@Rags Toriches funny, I figured the reason we are angry a lot of the time is because a world of cishet people decided that we dont deserve rights or that we dont even exist. also our existence isnt political. and people change what they identify bc gender and sexuality IS fluid, we always discover new things about ourselves as we live our lives. That's how life works. plus lgbt+ kids exist and deserve to know that it is okay to be this way. and also non lgbt+ kids should learn so they are more open minded at a young age. us queers aren't going door to door forcing the youth of today into our "agenda" they discover for themselves, like we did
It would've made me feel so much less broken if I'd known being aro was a thing sooner
@Rags Toriches what the fuck dude? I don't see any real argument here other than "trans people bad". First you admit that people do suffer from gender dysphoria and have issues with sexuality and gender, and then you turn around and say "also all trans people are evil and hurting kids by 'unloading their fantasies onto them' (whatever the hell that means) so we, cis people, should be protected from this marginalized group." What do you propose as a way to get rid of that dysphoria if we don't help, protect, and accept trans people? Conversion therapy? Because I think we both know that doesn't work. At least you called us trans people and not "transgenders"...
More accessible queer spaces would massively impact on my ability to participate in social gatherings or events. It is truly exhausting constantly having to advocate for your right to even exist in public. I’ve been to countless events in queer spaces/ organised by LGBT organisations where I was told that the venue was accessible but when I showed up it was far from it and I had to either leave or risk my physical well-being.
Super interesting video + article ! It is clear that there are still many causes that we should be championing particularly in regards to trans rights and LGBT rights in Northern Ireland.
The LGBT+ right are literally nonexistent in my country and I thought about moving to England to "get a better life".This is just so sad and unjust. Now it turns out nowhere is safe. What a great world we live in.
It probably is safer to move to England compared to wherever youre from. In my town theres a good number of people who have woken up ro acceptance.
You would face extra discrimination based on immigration status, however.
Apparently canada is currently rated the best for lgbt which isnt all that surprising to me.
Everywhere is safe as long as you don't try to impose your will on everyone else and make them ditch the truth.
For a long time, I think I didn't define myself as asexual because I did see LGBTQIA+ relationships as something that was purely sexual, BECAUSE it is the first exposure an individual gets when LGBTQIA+ representation isn't brought forward and properly healthily mentioned and taught in schools as a viable option. It took until my twenties to come to terms with my sexuality being anything other than 'the norm,' only because that was what was presented to me. I know despite the protests, I am extremely happy that if even one small child feels like they're recognised or that they're normalised in their feelings, that it really is worth it
I don't know how it's changed since i was in college in the early 2000's, but at the time in the US i recall blood drives where we were told that a man who'd had *even one sexual encounter* with another man was no longer allowed to donate blood for the rest of his life, while a woman could cheerfully sleep her way through an entire mens sports team and still be considered a possible donor. I hate that the 3 months rule looks progressive by comparison, because it really isn't acceptable.
Yeah, the policy in the US basically just changed in 2015 to a 12 month celibacy requirement for men who sleep with men. It’s definitely a federal policy and it was so devastating to the community after Pulse. Here’s the American Red Cross’ page on blood donation: www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/lgbtq-donors.html
If you wake up to reality just a thought, i guess there are people out there who do not want any innocent person dying of AIDS because of contaminated blood.
Love this video. As a nonbinary person the idea that we're equal when I can't even be legally recognised is ridiculous, so it was great to see Vic talking about this!
yeah i love not legally existing in my most genuine self. the "I certify i didn't knowingly lie on this official paperwork" clause with official documents is hilarious to me. The government is forcing me to lie!
@Unholygrail there's plenty of evidence that it exists, and that it has done so in multiple cultures through out all of history. It's not my problem that you can't be bothered to look things up 🤷♂️
@Unholygrail For the low, low price of zero dollars and zero cents you can subscribe to the service most commonly known as "being a decent and respectful human being." I'd highly recommend it as it can help you make friends and greatly improve your mental state!
@Unholygrail As of last time I checked, telling somebody that they are invalid is a form of disrespect. Besides, gender is a social construct (not to be confused with sex or chromosomes), so is it really concrete?
@Unholygrail You are telling somebody who identifies as something that they can't use that as an identity. Besides, I don't know what you are trying to prove by going onto a channel that supports people of that identity and telling somebody that they are invalid. Do you have a "bigot in the name of science" quota that you have to fill by the end of pride month? I mean, it takes far less energy to simply mind your own business than it does to tell someone what they can and can't actually be.
Here in the US a gay person would have to not be sexually active for 12 months if they wanted to donate blood... which is basically saying if you’re gay and want to donate blood be celibate... previous to this it was a lifetime ban on lgbt blood donation
Which is good seeing as people have died from AIDS because they were given contaminated blood. I guess that is not important to homosexuals as long as they get their jollies.
The whole reason gay marriage and abortion aren’t legal in Northern Ireland is because the main political party (the D.U.P) is a very religious party that completely dismisses the idea of gay rights. The worst part is we probably won’t ever have gay marriage legalised in a gratifying way. If it ever is legalised it will never be in the same way the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the uk do, it will most likely be because of a court case.
I could be wrong, but I had the impression that a lot of people vote for that party because they want to remain in the UK, rather than because of their policies.
It just feels so hopeless sometimes as a nonbinary person living in the uk :(
So many people are homophobic in my school, though I will admit for a lot of people it's simply because they will grasp at literally any straw to bully people. It's even stuff how people will say 'nah thats gay' to anything they don't like. Notably, however, gay jokes about me actually mostly stopped when I came out as bi (though I'm really pan, but I'd be mercilessly mocked if I said that, despite there being little difference (i think)) which does give me some hope. It scares though me how almost every kid in my school, is openly transphobic, or in the case of most of my friends, quietly disapprove of transgender people. It really hurts to hear one of my closest friends laughing about how a boy who is transitioning from female to male, because they ended up crying in a lesson about gender roles and identity. Admittedly, from what I heard the thing he was crying over did sound somewhat dumb, but I imagine it's more a culmination of other microaggressions, or actual hate, than the actual single event. I really hope that that guy feels better, but I also really hope that my friend is only acting like that due to social pressure. It's weird hearing people who are generally incredibly kind and supportive say this stuff.
I think you should talk to your friend and tell them you wonder how they really view you in light of their comment. Silence is consent. I understand if you feel you can't until you get closer to the end of your high school years. A way to make your point without making it personal is to casually mention that when people go along with bullies it makes you lose trust because you don't know if they're laughing in order to avoid being a target or if they secretly agree with a really psychotic viewpoint.
I cannot count how many times I had to say I am not sad because I’m gay I’m sad because of the way I am treated because I am gay there’s a difference ! Sidenote black, gay, autistic, poor, American .
I just learnt the other day that in a marriage (at least in the UK), adultery is not valid grounds for divorce if the person the cheater had an affair with is of the same sex. My friend's sister is unable to get a divorce from her cheating wife for this reason.
Here's the law's definition of Adultery: "Voluntary sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to each other but one of whom is married to someone else".
It then follows that sexual intimacy between one married person and another person of the same sex would not be adultery. Crazy!!!
my college really pushes British values and how much we care about equality but not once was this statement accompanied my examples of what's being actively done. BE THE CHANGE PEOPLE DON'T JUST TALK ABOUT WHY ITS IMPORTANT.. ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING!!!
Can you do a video on ‘Get the L out’ and ‘#gendercritical’ and the whole #RadFem movement (especially on twitter and at pride marches)
I've done a video on TERFs a year or so ago I think
@@HeyRowanEllis link?
Thank you so much Rowan for your videos. Sending you lots of love from Argentina 💜
Thank you for making this. A lot of discussion about lgbt rights are very US-centric. I’m from the US so I definitely don’t get as much perspective from other places about this.
On one hand, a lot of people talk about Canada or the U.K. as the pentacle of rights - but the reality is that everyone does have a lot to do. On the other hand, it also makes me sad bc clearly things need to improve their, but it gives perspective to just how much needs to change here. An example that really stood out - 24% of homeless youth in the U.K. are homeless - it’s 40% in the US. That 40% was staggering before, but seeing it next to another number that’s way too big gives some pretty grim perspective.
(To reiterate, I’m not saying “it’s so much worse here, why are you complaining?” But rather, so much needs to change everywhere and also the problem here is so very bad)
I learnt a lot in this video. It’s kind of infuriating that we still have a long way to go in terms of legal equality :(
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for bringing up Northern Ireland in this video. I have two trans siblings in laws in NI and who are both in early stages of coming out and transitioning and both are scared everyday of losing jobs or literally getting attacked on the streets so often end up having to present as their assigned gender at birth. It sucks and when i have told people in rest of uk (and some point in NI) they literally dont believe me when i say that it is legal. No one ever talks about it in the UK they just pretend we are all moving towards good stuff and pretend NI just doesn't exist. so Thank you.
honestly in poland we have the same situation or maybe even worse
lgbt people are publicly shamed by politicians on national tv and social media, we are constantly being called autistic and "mentally retarded"
some politicians even use things like "only normal families make poland strong say no to lgbt" or "heterophobia is real its time to end the homopropaganda" as part of their slogans
homosexuality might be legal (even though marriage is still not) but since we are mostly catholic conservative country and most of people are from far right wing there are high chances youll get beaten up on the street just for being trans or gay
it blows my fucking mind how close minded some people are, there is no problem with us but with them
In Romania things are pretty much the same
Poland is based
@@purplekitten6637they are anti communist now
Hm, if we already know that the waiting list is three years, I think it's already enough of a reason to see the UK needs more (also: appropriate, supportive, affirming) gender therapy - even if we can't tell how many people are trans and_or nonbinary.
I think the protests going on is especially relevant to my experiences. I grew up with parents who used to mock anyone who 'Acted' gay on tv, was taught in a Catholic school where the fact that the headteacher was found out to be a lesbian was a big scandal, went to a secondary school where anyone who was LGBTQ+ was laughed at and considered freaks, and even went to a college where sex ed classes were strictly about straight sex, to the point where condoms were passed out to everyone in the class as if it was assumed that everyone would partake in straight sex. Everything in my life, including school experiences, had conditioned me to think that LGBTQ+ people were weird and bad, and even when I finally wrapped my head around the fact that it wasn't bad and realized that I was into girls, there was still no information available to me about where I can go to for information on safe sex for me and safe spaces to visit. I think that if I were taught in primary school - heck, even just in early secondary school, if the catholic school didn't want to promote gayness - that there was nothing wrong with being LGBTQ+, and if college included at least /some/ mention of safe sex for LGBTQ+ members, I wouldn't have had to go through so many years of being conditioned to think is was bad, I wouldn't have freaked out so much when I realized I was LGBTQ+ and wouldn't have thought that I was 'One of the weirdos', and I would know how to stay safe during sex instead of learning it from the internet, which doesn't always give the right answers.
The only time Gays were mentioned on my school, was when we were talking about the Nazis, which is fine.... it’s fine
About the education part, the registration teachers for each class in my year (at the time year 9, currently in year 10) showed our classes Dan Howells coming out video. As a gay child, granted I was out, it was amazing having a teacher support me and recognise that I EXIST!!! Hopefully any further sex ed I get will also include me and my peeps - fingers crossed
I only found this video in 2020 and I wish I could have known about the government petition and signed and shared it.
Why didn't I know it? Why is this inequality not shown in the main stream news! People need to care!
I think the one with this that was most shocking to me was that trans people in Northern Ireland can be refused accommodation by a landlord and that being legal. That was the most insane to me. Why it stood out the most I don’t know.
This video was so eye opening, I am shocked that in so many ways we are still not equal. I am honestly stunned that conversion therapy is still legal, hopefully the government will do something about this soon (I won't hold my breath though).
I feel so lucky that my school is so LGBTQ+ inclusive in all our relationship lessons in pshce we had gay, lesbian and straight examples of both healthy and unhealthy relationships, it had ment that everyone has been normalised to the idear of inclusivity from year 7 ,even though we had no proper education of how to have safe sex in a lesbian relationship (it was talked about but we were only shown how to use condoms). Also recently my 'all girls' school has been trying to push for more gender neutral addresses in class (not referring to the class generally as 'girls'), even if some teachers are more responsive to the changes than others. The trans members of my school often have their name changed in the system to their preferred name even when it's not their legal name (idk how this works I just know my trans friends have their preferred names called in the register). And this means that our community is relatively accepting and even if it could be better but we are definitely heading in the right direction.
Sorry for the long message I don't want to invalidate the points you made because they are very important I just wanted to share a little glimpse into how some schools are adapting and hopefully provide some hope that the rest of the country can continue to become more inclusive.
If the video tells you that you're not equal, they are lying. I am reading a book that shows the homosexuals are getting their own way and non-homosexuals are being put into prison because they said something homosexuals didn't like because it was the truth.
I'm honestly so worried about the fact that when I get my driver's license, It's gonna say female and my dead name. I know this is unrelated, but does anyone know about if there's a nonbinary gender marker in America in the state of New York and how you'd get it as a minor? My dead name is one thing, but I really don't know what I'm gonna do about the female marker.
+
careful with this, really, i know its dysphoria inducing but even when there is an other option, youre just opening your arms wide open to police brutality. a transphobic police officer pulls you over for a minor thing and reads that x on ur drivers licence? we gotta be careful that were not just giving them another opportunity to hurt us
@@FissionCube true, but I live in a really good area, so I think I'll be fine.
No to mention with the torys trying to turn back time in the social progression, it has to to be mentioned again and again and to be fought for. There cant be a rest for social movements.
You make such great videos, Rowan! Thank you for being so thorough, articulate and informative
Personally I feel that everywhere should legally be accessible.
mark 2000s technically that’s the law but people are good at finding loopholes
Thank you for adressing these and thank you for linking the nonbinary petition! I just signed it and I hope more people sign it too.
I've been questioning my gender identity for years now - in fact, I felt like I wanted to be agender since I was 12 (I'm 24 now) but back then, I had no idea nonbinary was a thing or that people could identify that way. But since it's not recognised by UK law, or even by a hell of a lot of ordinary people, I keep thinking that maybe I should just live a lie and just... Be the gender I was born as. But that makes me feel so horrible. I don't want to have to do that when it doesn't feel right.
Equality dosent mean treating people the same it’s working together.
This video aged liked wine we still don't have rights and trans rights are being stripped.
Blood donation rules are racist too. I couldn't donate because I had recently slept (protected) with someone from Nigeria.
There is nothing racist about that. Lots of countries have blood donation laws prohibiting people who have had sex with people from a foreign country within a certain period of time.
That aisde, Africa is by far the leader in sexually transmitted illnesses and HIV. Better safe than sorry.
@@regulusarcturus Do blood banks not routinely use new equipment to collect blood? Do they not do blood work on collected blood? Shouldn't those things be required by law? There are a variety of ways you can contract bloodborne illnesses, and HIV isn't the only one.
@@devilcat17 some blood illnesses have a latency period where they are really difficult to detect and so while test are done it can be difficult to test for everything, especially in the early stages of infection. I'm pretty sure HIV is one where if the viral load is low it is difficult to detect, people with HIV who take medication can have viral loads so low it is undetectable but if they stop taking the medication it comes back up.
Erin Johnston This is the important part here. The time it takes for HIV to be detectable in a blood sample has improved over time, even quite recently (I think the recommendation for accurate testing was 6 months after potential exposure just a few years ago, and now is closer to 3). It has been the case that men who have sex with men have been banned from donating blood for longer (even up to lifetime bans previously), and better methods should (emphasis on should) make this window better.
Now if we were to base things even more on risk factors, arguments could be made for allowing more access. A man who only has oral sex with men is at a drastically low (if not essentially zero) risk of being infected even assuming that his partner is HIV+ for instance.
As for other things that can result in blood being turned away, in the US, simply being a British person could see you turned away: “You are not eligible to donate if: From January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1996, you spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more, in the United Kingdom (UK)” (www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical/eligibility-reference-material.html) due to the risk of vCJD entering the blood supply, despite this most likely being an incredibly low risk. Blood supplies have been contaminated before, and probably will be again, so some vigilance is understandable.
The exact rules should be subject to debate, but I feel that simply calling it discriminatory is an oversimplification. In the video in particular, Rowan says that it isn’t about behaviour. In the case of MSM, it is about behaviour, as a purely celibate gay man would not be affected, however it’s clearly unreasonable to expect anyone to not have sex because they’re in a high risk group.
TL;DR It’s complicated.
When I was in year ten, two years ago, we had one lesson in PSE about about different sexualities and they got most of the definitions wrong
I remember having to teach my year 9 (ages 13-14 for non-Brits) science teacher about intersex people in front of the whole class bc he genuinely didn't know that people can be born with 3 sex chromosomes. This was in 2015 for context.
The only thing he knew about people having more than the standard amount of chromosomes was to do with downs syndrome, but he still didn't really know anything about that. Honestly I just want to add the exclusion of disablities in mainstream education as well to this bc it is shocking how many biology teachers and tbh sometimes even actual practicing medical professionals don't know anything about the biology of people who weren't born to their cookie-cutter expectations. For example, I know 5 people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and every single one has had to explain their own disablity to at least one doctor in their lives who had literally never heard of it before.
Hearing that conversion therapy is practised makes me so sad- I remember being young teenager and hearing the story of a vicar "caught out" by an undercover journalist for agreeing to pray for the journalist to stop being gay. The story was framed (within this religious circle) as though the journalist was the antagonist who tricked the vicar into agreeing to something- and implicitly that this was an okay thing to do "if the person wanted it". I'm not even sure if the story was true- but there was no understanding or care for the harm that the vicar's actions could have caused. It was implied the vicar was in the right for "trying to help someone".
This defence of conversion therapy "if it's what they want" is just a cover to avoid talking about WHY someone would agree to facilitate such an awful thing, it needs to be banned worldwide
I'm a bi transwoman and I've met someone who had been through conversion therapy. They were indoctrinated into Christian extremism and believed that they were cured. Once I went to his church and sat through a lecture where the vicar spouted very transphobic rhetoric. It was appalling. I took the info sheets that were handed out and took notes from the lecture so I'd never need to go through that again to get their position. I still have those notes in a box. What disturbs me most is that there were children there, and the govt's indifference to this going on was blinding.
That is nothing when you compare it to the homophobic talks by islamic clerics.
WTF a gender recognition certificate? That is so twisted. Not just that it's difficult to get but even that one could think of being trans that way. I'm not truly shocked as a trans woman of course, here in Germany you need 2 psychiatric reports to confirm your gender before being able to change it legally. But at least you have your birth certificate then and with it access to a new ID and no one has a right to know that you're trans.
This also assumes that everyone can recognize every trans person as being trans thus creating situations where producing that certificate becomes mandatory.
You never seem to run out of opportunities
to get your blood to boiling temparature
when you're a trans person with a sense of self worth in this world. We are just not supposed to have any, period.
it is the same in the UK though, you can change your birth certificate once you have gotten the gender recognition
The whole idea of a GRC is problematic.
I don't need a certificate to tell me what I know is true about myself & neither should anyone else.
There's way more to it than that, I might make a video on the subject.
I think the medicalisation is neccessary for correct healthcare but 1000% the social structure should acknowledge gender regardless
More talks like this please. I live in the US and when it comes to LGBT rights, it’s so chaotic here. It’s comforting to know someone is thinking critically on the issue. 🏳️🌈
The thing about venues is so true where I am. In Reading, we used to have 3 gay venues, now we only have 1 and iirc it is not the most accessible venue. It's quite a small pub with a significantly sized step outside the entrance. Probably not a fun place to get into in a wheelchair
The lack of GICs is incredibly bad, it gets to a point where if you don't live in places like London you basically end up feeling like you're being forced to pay for who you are, it costs insane amounts to travel to London from where I am, and the nearest GIC to me is the Tavistock and Portman centre, it's cost me about £100 for both my appointments so far, and I can't change things like my passport because it costs so much money to change these things..
On the topic of the DSM and ‘medicalising’ LGBTQ identities - I think part of the difference between sexual identity and trans identity in this instance is that trans folk are far more likely to require/request medical intervention.
This means it’s more difficult to move public perception away from the medical chat. It’s not just seeing transgenderism as a mental illness, it’s that the identity often comes with medical considerations.
And it should be totally legit that any surgery or medication required for transition should be paid for by the NHS as well. It’s not just about the discussion but it’s also that most trans people probably do need a doctor‘s ok for this.
Thanks for talking about NI!! Def feel like we get forgotten in a lot of these discussions
I can’t say this is surprising, but as an American from the Midwest, it’s strangely comforting to see that even in a place that has, in many ways, made more progress than my home, people struggle with similar issues. It’s an odd feeling of solidarity, and just reminds me that progress never really ends, and equality and equity are both asymptotic.
This video has to be shown in schools!
Me: *trying to go to the bathroom*
my cat: *standing in the way so I can't shut the door*
me: u gonna come in?
me: cause l'm trying to come out…
😂😭
When I saw the length of the video I thought ‘I’ll probably watch for 5 minutes’ and now I’m 20 minutes in and don’t want it to end. Are you able to do your videos as podcasts too?? Would be a perfect platform for these discussions!
That video was sooo necessary! Thank you both
The only one that I didn't know about was the housing discrimination for trans people in NI which is shocking. Another fun fact is that the waiting time to be able to give blood in France is not 3 months, it's 1 year. 👍 There is still so much work to be done.
It used to be the same for us, the 3months is recent
Thank you so much Rowan, you’re a huge role model in my life right now. Keep on going and keep on making great content.
This is exactly why we keep fighting the good fight.
Thanks for mentioning Northern Ireland. I think a lot of the reason we're so behind is because the DUP abused the "Petition of Concern", which requires 30 signatures to block a vote, essentially. It was supposed to be used to prevent sectarian policies (basically) but as only the DUP had enough seats, they've just been using it to keep NI back. The Unionists lost their majority in the general election and Stormont collapsed with two of the biggest issues being Same-Sex Marriage and the Irish Language Act. (IIRC they were close to a deal but the UDA didn't like it so the DUP backed out). It's now been 893 days (~2.44 years) without a devolved government and like half the local news stories are about how one piece of legislation needs passed but there's no government so the whole country's on hold on account of the stubborness of a few sectarian homophobes. yaaaay...
(all of this is just from memory, it's very possible I've misremembered or forgotten bits and pieces but it'll do as summary which, in fairness, nobody asked for. I just really like to moan about this place tbh)
They wanted to be accepted for who they are but they were first to reject themselves
Should we as straight back or stand up for the l.g.b.t community? For their rights and I’m straight. And I am thankful for my friends and family in the community of l.g.b.t! And cheers to both of you! Danny from Canada
this video is so quiet that I had my Google navigation on the soft voice setting and it still scared the crap out of me when it came up over the video
I wish these phones had some sort of volume leveling. Not sure if it's just really hard to do it in real time....
If turning straight was an option I'd direito do it, everything in my life would improve if I was a straight guy. But there is nothing to be done, these therapies only make things worse
Never hate yourself.
All these heteronormative propoganda are created by us, The Society.
So in no way you should think if you were straight, you were "Normal". Because it's not.
Yes, the Society is really cruel to us. But we can fight it. Keep a strong will, sweetie.
You're here for a reason.
Make all this struggles count. Achieve great things
Love you xoxo
And never ever think of conversion therapy.
Being LGBTQ is not a mental illness.
It's not a state of mind.
Conversion Therapies will truly fuck up with your mind.
Every other person who experienced that, said that their mental health was unstable after going through Conversion Therapy.
I would rather tell you to make nice friends. Be outgoing.
Don't restrict yourself.
And if you really wanted Therapies. Go to some nice LGBTQ Friendly Therapist.
They'll surely guide you to become more comfortable with your sexuality.
Be strong.
Be Brave.
The whole community loves you.
There is actually good reason for eliminating risk groups from blood donation, as newly contracted HIV can't be detected by the screening tests that you're talking about!
The obvious solution (as I see it) would be to ask about any unprotected sex in the last month, not sexuality.
After all HIV can be contracted by heterosexual intercourse as well as by non-heterosexual...
another thing about gay people not being able to give blood is the risk of being outed at school blood drives when I was in school the blood drives were mandatory and if you couldn't give blood it would lead to assumptions
Accessibility is bad in America still. The bars have tiny doors with huge wooden thresholds I cannot get my wheelchair over. I sometimes tap on the door and yell for people to come outside. It’s that bad!
Wonderful video: thank you for posting this. The LGBTQ+ community in the UK is better protected now than it has been for many years, but there is so much more that can and should be done. Ultimately, we are not asking to be understood, just accepted. Love cannot be regulated by laws or controlled by religious groups, yet we live in a world where my boyfriend and I would be legally executed for just being ourselves in many countries. Not so in the UK, but really if I ask myself do I feel safe as a gay person in post Brexit uk, I cannot say that the answer is definitely yes. In the end, please don’t judge us because we are different: accept us, just as we accept you.
My girlfriend lives in Northern Ireland. We plan on her moving to my home city of Sheffield ASAP.
Love you Rowan (and your guest is awesome, love a nonbinary icon)
Ugh, they have such a nice voice! Great video as always Rowan!
i will never take public transport alone
or go into public toilets alone
i live in constant fear
In my provence in Canada, they went back to the 1998 sex education curriculum. Which does not mention gay marriage ( we have had since 2005) and the word 'consent ' does not show up at all. :\
Really informative - thank you so much for making these videos. As a side note, I find it really jarring when British people say things like, "as close as Northern Ireland is to us..." which others Northern Ireland completely from the UK. It's not in any way a criticism - I have seen and heard this kind of discourse so many times in British (English/London) media but I think it is likely one of the reasons that the laws have taken so long to change (happily there is movement at last due to pressure from the amazing NI activists), as well as why so many people didn't consider the impact of Brexit (for example) on NI. Again, not a criticism, and I own my bias as an Irish person, but I think that the fact that the LGBTQIA+ in Northern Ireland have been without laws to protect them for so long should be a bigger scandal in the UK, but it's not because it's constantly thought of as 'not like us' or 'over there' despite being part of the UK. Anyway, sorry for rambling. Great video.
Come to Daventry! It took me about 7 months to be seen and they're quite nice there
i was homeless, i had to sleep on a friends floor and in a car for about 3 years and still havnt recovered from it :((
This was really interesting. Would you be able to make an update video please? I know that some of these things have changed in recent years or are changing soon (same sex marriage in NI and conversion therapy for example). It would also be interesting to know if last year's census results are actually making a difference or if not enough people answered the question to be able to get sufficient data.
i dont have a job and wont get one because i refuse to pay taxes to a government that wants me dead or worse and makes my daily life terrifying
Thanks to you both for a wonderful video xxx
Why do ppl sexualize lgbt ppl
i live in northern ireland, we’re so far behind it’s disheartening
ya'lls voices are so calming !!
The problem about blood donation is the same in France. Gay men and bi men can't give their blood if they are sexually active. And if they are not, it is specified that they should not have homosexual intercourse for one whole year before giving their blood. It's so stupid and discriminatory...
American here. It is nationwide that gay men (or women who've had sexual contact with a gay or bi man in the last three months) cannot donate blood. Before 2015 men who had ever had sexual contact with men had a LIFETIME ban. In 2015 those standards were reduced to 12 months (the same length as getting a tattoo) and then in 2020 they were further reduced to 3 months.
There's an interesting intersection here as a lot of people who are at or below the poverty line or on benefits will supplement their income by selling blood/plasma (we have unpaid donations but there are also for profit blood/plasma donation centers).
Obviously, queer men cannot use this source of income without lying.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration who makes these guidelines) is currently reviewing the issue once more and it seems like they may move to a risk assessment questionnaire rather than elimination by sexual orientation. Conjecture is that this may be a direct response to shortages during the global illness that had such high mortality rates in the US.
oh my god ive never heard of section 28
my blood is boiling right now that shitty piece of toilet paper contributed significantly to the destruction of my life and i had no idea all this time
it explains so god damn much
school was a very hard time for me and i thought it was just because they were christian schools
In leeds and Sheffield the waiting time to see the GIC has gone up to 4 years sometimes
In Australia, if you are a gay/bi-sexual man who is sexually active, you can't donate blood for 12 months! Which is absolutely ridiculous!
Ugh the consultation in scotland isnt going so well. To be expected given the strong terf presence within the snp.
On the blood donation topic, in the united states its all states, and you have to have not had sex for a full year before you can donate, and then if you have and you try to donate you will be barred for a year
Who is donating then? There are people who have no sex life, but most people do, or not? Doesn't that severely decrease the pool of possible donators?
Johanna Geisel Exactly, it severely decreases the amount of donations, unless you lie. You dont have to prove you havent had sex, and its only one question.
@@fractalJockey Wait, just so that I understand that correctly: Are we talking about ALL people here, or are they only applying this silly rule to homosexual men?
The rule only applies to people who identify as male who have sex with people who identify as male, so gay men, and trans men who have sex with men or other trans men
Johanna Geisel ^
The banning conversion therapy one has somehow gotten even more depressing in retrospect orz
Intersect this being being disabled and/or BAME and you have a clusterfuck of issues. Where I live there's no LGBT+ places that I can access as a wheelchair user.
Hannah Robin I’m not saying we have one gay bar and one drag bar and both the down flights of stairs
Thank you for making a video about this! I am apart of the LGBT+ community and I have been trying to figure out if I will move to the UK or not. 🏳️🌈
I wish I could say the US is much better, but it's not. Some states have more lgbt rights than others, but there are still to many states that have lgbt discriminatory policies.
Loveee
So many of these things I was not aware of！
It would be really great if you could do an update, "2 years later" video! I'm gonna check up on a couple of these issues myself to see if they've changed （but I am a stressed final year phd student with limited time and energy XD） . I think it would be of general interest to see what, if anything, could change across a 2 year timescale. And as you said at the beginning of this video, LGBTQ media is so thin on the ground！But it's so important. I don't know if you would agree, but most of the little bits of LGBTQ news that do reach me are from the US.... I almost never come across UK specific LGBTQ news in my day to day life （despite living my whole life in England and Scotland）
do any trans men who get sent to prison want to go to a men's prison? i wouldn't want to.
Whan you suddenly realize that many places in the US are more equal for LGBT people than even London. (Especially when it comes to accessibility.)