In this week's celebration of Pride we have an episode about the history of LGBTQ history in the UK. Unfortunately we do seem to be going backwards in the UK and America at the moment, especially regarding Trans rights, but as we will find out, Trans people have been with us all through time. I mentioned yesterday several Influencers you can follow to increase your understanding on this and other LGBTQIA issues. In particular Alok's Book Reports, which you can find on their Instagram page, are a great way to find out more easily. In this episode I quote Alok from an interview he did on the Man Enough podcast. You can find that episode here: https://manenough.com/alok/
Vocabulary
Swathe - a large amount of something, usually land or history
Heteronormative - The European Institute for Gender Equality defines this as: 'what makes heterosexuality seem coherent, natural and privileged. It involves the assumption that everyone is 'naturally' heterosexual, and that heterosexuality is an ideal, superior to homosexuality or bisexuality.'
Police started cracking down - to crack down is a phrasal verb meaning to stop something, usually to prevent some kind of crime.
Seems short sighted - a common idiom meaning something seems like a stupid idea in the long run, or taking the future into account.
Stuck around - if something sticks around (phrasal verb) then it lasts for some time or doesn't go away. We can use this for laws, ideas and people.
Rhetoric - from the dictionary: language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect, but which is often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.
Intersex - describing people who have the sexual organs of both male and female parts.
Mental/Physical construct - this means that something is just an idea, a concept created by a person or society, it is not factual or scientific.
Key takeaway - the most important thing
Decriminalised - something that was considered illegal, but the law has been changed and it is no longer considered illegal.
Reassignment Surgery - this is one of the surgeries that Trans people can undergo.
Trans Scene - 'scene' can be used to describe the places where the specific group of people hang out
Trans - Short for Transgender, a term used to describe someone who is born with a body with the wrong physical representation compared to what they feel is true for them.
Nonbinary - someone who identifies as either male or female - There are many terms for nonbinary people and many different pronouns they may choose to use, it's best to ask them what they prefer.
Declassified - similar to decriminalised this is when something was historically decided to fit into a particular category and with later science and social evolution is no longer considered to be in that category.
Repealed - When a law or action is taken back. In most cases this is similar to decriminalisation, except that decriminalisation means the act is no longer criminal, where as repealed means that the law that said it was a criminal act has been taken out of the code of law and is no longer active.
Binary - this refers to something that has two parts
Not standing for - We have two very similar idioms: 'to stand for' something means that you believe strongly in something and you will protect and represent it. 'to not stand for' something means that you won't put up with or allow something to continue.
Persecuted - when someone experiences hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation or their political beliefs.
Compassion - when we have empathy and care for people.
Hit me hard - means something had a big impact on you.
Put people in boxes - the idea of 'putting in a box' describes humanity's need to categories everyone and everything to make it understandable.
