Taking Action: Gender & Sexuality

Every year in YLI, youth brainstorm issues that they care about and could become a potential Action Team project. Youth select and rate their top three choices and Action Teams are formed. For the remainder of the program year, Action Teams are expected to learn about the issue either by researching the topic, contacting organizations who are working on the issue, or by interviewing individuals. Teams can choose how they want to take action including advocacy, direct service, awareness campaign, or raise funds and donate to an existing organization. Teams design and implement a community project by the end of the year. Through the Action Team projects, youth participants practice transforming ideas into plans, leadership skills, teamwork, project management, group facilitation, and grant writing.

In 2022, Alliyah, Dina, Laicia, Tabyim, and Vishal decided that they wanted to explore the topic of gender and sexuality and called themselves the Gender & Sexuality Action Team. They shared personal stories and learned about the different ways that gender is defined, importance of pronouns, the history of the gay movement, and how environments can either promote inclusion or create exclusion. For their action project, they created an interactive workshop to create awareness about these issues. Check out their presentation below and feel free to use it as an educational tool.

The Gender Unicorn is another great resource: https://transstudent.org/gender/