Strength TogetHER 15- Session 2

June 19,2021

"ALL FOR LOVE AND LOVE FOR ALL"

Facilitated by 'Lokopakar', a organization that promotes youth development through a variety of programs,'Strength togetHER' virtual program was created specifically for girls and young women of various mindsets and backgrounds. They all come together during our meetings to discuss their unique points of view, thoughts, insights, experiences and stories. This virtual space allows them to develop as individuals by providing a platform where they can just be themselves, talk about their difficulties and discover answers.

Following the success of our first session on 5th of June, we held our second session on 19th of June through zoom. The session, titled 'MY SOCIETY AND ACCEPTANCE OF QUEERNESS' began at 2 PM and lasted until roughly 3:15 PM. 

With nearly 25+ participants and our four speakers, it was a very effective session. We felt protected and secure under Soph Lavinas's guidance, who is a poly-amorous writer, a photographer and an advocate for equality.They use their photography and art to bring attention to social issues and raise awareness about taboo themes.

We began our session with a bright smile and our warm remarks. Moving ahead we let the speakers share their stories.

  • Our first speaker discussed how we may help our younger generation accept queerness. She explained how she intends to begin with her own family. She is persuading her brother to agree that a boy can wear makeup as well. There's nothing new about it.

  • Our second speaker described her experience as a girl in a girls' school, where she was well aware of the situation but had never heard of the word LGBTQ. Slowly, she became accustomed to this term through the internet, friends, and others in her environment, and at the age of 15, she realized that if she had been taught at a young age, it would be much easier for her to accept it. 

  • Our third speaker talked about how difficult it is for her to understand that there is a gender and a community outside him and her. Since, she was a child, she has been taught that there are only two genders: 'HE' and 'SHE', it's making it difficult for her to comprehend and embrace the LGBT community. She also inquired about gender pronouns, asking the moderator to clarify her concerns.

  • Our fourth speaker told us how she came to learn about the  LGBTQ community. She'd always wondered why it was such a hot topic of conversation. Then she felt like she should have stood up for the queer community and corrected them.

Our moderator provided us reflection on our experiences and we discussed many things that were new to us in order to address the numerous challenges and worries  that we had:

  • We need to start teaching our younger generation at an early age so that they can accept it easily in a true sense.

  • It should be as simple as a boy falling in love with a girl and girl falling in love with a boy. They are hoping we'll be able to include it in our circle.

  • Our moderator responded to our third speaker by saying The pronoun that a person chooses to use for themself is referred to as a 'Gender Pronoun'. Gender Pronoun are the pronouns we use in conversations to refer to people.

  • They commented after hearing our fourth speaker that even if we don't have information, we can still respect individuals. It is not necessary to know everything about LGBTQ at first, rather, we must first respect them, after which we can learn more about them.

  • "Stand firm in your convictions, even if that means going it alone."

  • Everyone should be respected as an individual.

  • Being yourself is never the wrong thing to do.

This session provided us an excellent opportunity for all of us to learn unlearn new concepts, as well as a discussion that was delivered loudly and proudly.We were all incredibly proud to be part of such a lovely family filled with such an amazing and inspiring girls!!!

We snapped a picture at the end of an hour session to celebrate the time we had spent together. We completed our session with a smile on our faces.It was a great session. Looking forward for more!!!

This blog is written by Dipa Yadav,the proud coordinator of Cohort 15,an eager learner who enjoys sharing her experiences and believes that there is 'Strength in TogetHERness'.

Written By- Dipa Yadav (Cohort Coordinator)

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