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THE ALLEYNIAN 710
A place to be yourself The LGBTQ+ Society provides its members with a genuinely supportive environment for friendship and discussion, says Jamie Chong (Year 13)
Monday lunchtime – small bubbles of conversation form around the deep green circle of sofas in the Masters’ Library. There’s a warmth beaming in from the tall windows, and palms are comforted by the warmth of tea between two hands. The number of members of the LGBTQ+ Society isn’t massive, but it’s a closely knit circle, warm and welcoming. There’s no obvious hierarchy here, or structure. Its meetings are marked with thoughtful, empathetic and eye- opening discussion that varies from the personal to the philosophical, the humorous to the intellectual. This circle of staff and students has achieved a lot this year, taking opportunities within the school calendar, from DC IAM and LGBTQ+ History Month in February to Pride Month in June, to inform students about queer experiences and also to respond to things happening in the wider community.
Students presented a variety of topics, such as the definition of queer and queer identity by Brooke Storey and Matthew Wu’s presentation on LGBTQ+ identity across Asia. Staff offered fascinating talks on drag culture (Mr Glass) and the genetic determinants of sexual orientation (Mr White-Foy). During LGBTQ+ History Month, it was a pleasure to welcome Zooey Gleaves OA to discuss his experience at the College, and to branch out and collaborate with other societies, as with my talk at the MFL Society on the Polari subculture in 1960s Britain, as well as to engage more widely with the other strands of the Diversity and Inclusion Alliance. Other activities invited student responses from the wider school community, such as the ‘Invite to Write’, which saw more than 20 brilliant poems submitted anonymously, celebrating and exploring queer identity.
Eye-opening discussion that varies from the personal to the philosophical, the humorous to the intellectual “
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