Lee Wind, M.Ed. Speaker Visits
Creating Safe Space Assemblies
Ending Anti-Gay (And All) Bullying in our Culture... and at YOUR School!
In a 60-90 minute presentation, Lee creates a safe space to talk about what’s behind bullying, homophobia, prejudice and the climate that creates Gay Teen suicides and murders.
Lee covers:
• Lifestyle “choice”
• Lessons of the Holocaust and The Civil Rights Movement
• Prejudice in our language:
“homoSEXual”
“that’s so gay”
“last one is a sissy”
“bitch”
“retard”
“lame”
• Prejudice in our culture:
American Idol
Happily Ever After
The censorship battle over children’s picture books
• Prejudice and Protection in our laws:
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Same Sex (Same Love) Marriage
Employment Non-Discrimination
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
Federal Job Anti-Discrimination Notice
Laws protecting students from discrimination & harassment
• Famous GLBTQ People in History - and why you’ve never heard they were Gay
• "Bystander" versus "UPstander"
• GLBTQ Teen books in YOUR school/local library
• Bullying and the cost of Bullying
• "It Gets Better" Project
• Call To Action
INTERACTIVE
In a get-up-off-your-feet exercise, Lee has students physicalize what 10% of the population looks like (10% of the U.S.A. are GLBTQ). Then what 29% of the population looks like (29% of the U.S.A. are Non-White Minorities). Then what 51% looks like (51% of the U.S.A. are Women.) Women and Non-White Men make up 68% of our country’s population.
Add in poverty, obesity, disability, atheists and religious minorities - add in nerds and geeks and goths and punks and the zitty and the too tall, too short, those with different accents, different clothes... anyone who’s different - and you have a VAST MAJORITY.
Add in Allies and we are unstoppable. This is one of the great lessons of the Civil Rights Movement.
ENGAGING
The problem with calling being Gay a “Lifestyle choice”
Lee shares his personal story of coming out, and challenges the straight students in the audience to consider when they made the choice to be attracted to people of the opposite gender. The only choice for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning people is to lie... or be authentic.
THOUGHT-PROVOKING
The word “homoSEXual” makes gay love all about sex.
No one wants to think about other people having sex.
(i.e., You don’t want to think about your parents having sex, do you? But you don’t have a problem thinking about your parents loving each other, right?)
So what if we called it “HomoLOVEual?”
A CALL TO ACTION
Facing History and Ourselves coined the term “UPstander” to be the opposite of a “bystander” when witnessing prejudice against someone else.
Lee challenges students to be UPstanders and critically examine the anti-gay and anti-minority bias in the words they use and in the history, laws and culture surrounding them.
First they stand up, then their group of friends, their school, their community, and ultimately today’s students have the power to transform our world!
How do I get Lee to come speak to my school or group?
SAFE SPACE ASSEMBLY REFERENCES
Robin Fosdick, Reference Librarian, Youth Services, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, Corvallis, Oregon
Curtis Kiefer, Youth Services Division Manager, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, Corvallis, Oregon
Julie Williams, Teacher, Gay-Straight Alliance Advisor, Green Club Advisor, Aerobic Club Advisor, Assistant Track Coach, Corvallis High School, Corvallis, Oregon
Jill Barker, Counselor, Palisades Charter High School, Pacific Palisades, California
Emily Sears Vaughn, MFCT, School Counselor, Marlborough School, Los Angeles, California
