Inspired by real stories

Inspired, adapted and translated from the educational material prepared under the program HOMBAT: Combating Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying in Schools (see bibliography). https://www.hombat.eu (online learning platform). All case studies are inspired from true stories.

Duration of activity: 60 minutes

Learning objectives:

Recognize the full spectrum of sex characteristics, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation and challenge existing norms and perceptions
Recognize and dispel common misconceptions, prejudices and myths that surround gender identity and sexual orientation
Create empathy for others and especially people with diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Expressions and Sexual Characteristics
Understand how homophobic, biphobic, interphobic and transphobic attitudes are negatively affecting the lives of certain people and that they constitute a form of violence.

Materials needed:

Copies of the stories for the small groups
Flipchart paper, stand and markers

Recommended prior reading

Step by step process of the activity: (20 minutes)

We can use a quick energizer to divide the young people into groups of 4 or 5 people (depending on the size of the entire group). Each group receives a copy of a story
Ask the groups to read the story and discuss among themselves the questions under their story. They have 15-20 minutes to do so.
As the groups are working on the task, go around the groups and help out, prompt the group with questions to provide food for thought or just observe what is going on.
When the groups finish, invite the first group to give a summary of the story they discussed and then we open up the discussion in plenary, following the questions that appear at the end of the story. Place particular emphasis on the myths, prejudices and misconceptions as well how these have impacted the main character in the story. If more than one group has discussed this story, invite the other groups to add their own insights and findings.
In the same way, invite the second, third and fourth group to give a summary of their own stories and then open up the discussion in plenary
Close the activity by asking young people to reflect on what the key messages of all 4 stories

Facilitation questions for reflection and debriefing: (40 minutes)

To facilitate an understanding of each story, we can use the questions at the end of each case study for the discussion. To wrap up, we can ask the following questions:

What did these stories try to show us with regards to the diversity of sex characteristics, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation?
How are misconceptions, prejudice and the need to adhere to norms of sex, gender and sexual orientation have on people who are and express themselves differently?
What can we do, to make sure people can have the space to be themselves in a free and safe way?

Take home messages and activity wrap up:

We close the activity by reflecting that all people have strong views on gender and sexual diversity. The stories we read encourage us to rethink some of our perceptions on gender, gender identity and expression and sexual orientation. Reading the stories we are called to challenge what we hitherto considered the ‘norm’ or the “reality” or “our own truths”. The story of the intersex person, for example, encourages us to diversify our understanding of sex characteristics and to question traditional, binary beliefs of biological sex. Similarly, the story of a trans child, shows how strong the internal sense of gender identity is and how important it is for each person to be able to self-define this identity, in a way that they feel and experiences it, internally and individually. Finally, the story of the asexual activist and the bisexual man, indicate that sexual orientation is a spectrum and should not be classified in ‘boxes’. Each person should have the right to express their identities safely and freely, without judgement, isolation, marginalization or abuse.

Tips for facilitators:

Please remember that this activity is not a stand-alone activity and it is best implemented once the group has already had a chance to explore and discuss some norms about gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. For instance, this activity will be a good follow-up activity to the previous activity ‘Challenging norms-Aliens visiting workshop’. Implementing this activity as a stand-alone, will in the best of cases confuse young people but it may also stir some strong reactions. As all the stories define existing norms, some young people may consider this overwhelming threatening, if they haven’t already had a chance to explore what norms are and their impact.

Tips for adapting the activity:

You could implement this activity using a different methodology, for instance using theatrical improvisations for the stories. Instead of discussing the stories as case studies, you can ask the groups to prepare a short theatrical improvisation based on the ‘plot’ of the story. The main aim is to show how the main character is experiencing their diversity and how they are feeling. Different methods can be used in the improvisation, as for instance ‘thought tracking’ whereby a certain scene in the ‘play’ would ‘freeze’ for a moment so that we can ‘hear’ the thoughts of the main character or the other characters (as the scene freezes the narrator asks the main character and/or other characters to vocalize what they are thinking at that moment, but without having a discussion among themselves). Alternatively, narrator can have a more active role, in describing the plot and perhaps what people in the story are feeling,

Another way is to use ‘theatrical’ monologues for this story. Four people will be asked to volunteer to read out these stories as ‘monologues’ . After each story finishes, discuss the questions that are included in the bottom of each case study with the entire plenary.

It is also important to remember that we don’t know who we have in the room. This would mean that some of the people in our group may identify with some of the characters and the stories may stir some personal feelings in them. If we already know that we are working with a very diverse group of people, usually, it is safer and less emotionally provoking to work with the stories as case studies rather than asking young people to act them out. If any emotional reactions arise because some young people resonate or identify with the stories, you can refer to section 5.8 on handling disclosure, re some tips on how to respond.

Adapting the activity for online implementation

● Online adaptation of this activity is fairly straight-forward, substituting breakout rooms for face-to-face small groups.

● If the option of breakout rooms is not feasible, you can send the worksheets to participants, give them some time to go through them individually and answer the questions and then convene in plenary for a discussion and wrap up.