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Please Hold

By Ray M unn Being a transgender person in the contemporary age is a complicated experience of existence for a multitude of reasons, too many to possibly list: needing to ‘prove’ your gender to people, trying to work out whether it’s safe to come out (whether this is at work, school/university or in public settings) and the legal issues surrounding processes such as name changes. Transgender people globally will face a variety of different experiences and attitudes, whether this is influenced by their culture, legal system in the country they are residing in, religious factors or other important elements. Though Britain is not the best for protecting the rights and liberties of the transgender community (I mean, look at the Tory party conference in 2023…), I must acknowledge that I am fortunate enough to have had safe spaces and been elevated to a platform from which I can see numerous opportunities for me - such as being one of the very few trans athletes to compete in BUCS whilst I w...
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Today We Mourn, Tomorrow We Fight.

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This blog has been written by two different transgender men - Artie (he/him) and Ray (he/him). These are our thoughts on an important day in the calendar for our community, and we hope our contributions to Transgender Day of Remembrance (20th November annually) shine a light on our community’s thoughts on the turbulent nature of events over the last year.  I’m Artie, I’m 23 and I came out as a trans man when I was 22. I have always felt a deep connection to masculinity and never really felt like I fit into a community, until I went to university and met other transgender men.  I graduated in 2021 with BA (Hons) Politics, Philosophy and Ethics, where I first met Ray. The conversations I had with him about gender identity both changed and saved my life.  Then, I graduated with MA Public Relations and Digital Communications and now work in the comms sector. Like Ray, I believe that education and visibility is the key to a more loving society. Social media is a great way for ...
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To the Black Women. Thank you is not Enough.

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A personal thank you.  What is scarier than trying to understand a dyslexic person, rushing a deadline for a short written piece they promised to complete by "mid-October"? Well, here we are, so let's get on our way. October in England was Black History Month. Everyone reading this knows about Black History Month and has probably seen over the years different organizations loudly celebrate their diversity and more. I'm here to express my gratitude, and that would be a heartfelt thank you to the black women who have fought, legislated, argued, campaigned, liberated, created, supported, and many more. While I could write my thanks to the famous or *well-known individuals (well-known would be a stretch when talking about impactful black women in history whose work was not acknowledged, and I am by no means omitting them now), I have chosen to express my gratitude closer to home. Thanks to my mother, who was more than a rock and whose presence is missed with every breath ...
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Graduating class of 2023

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So I’m officially a trained primary school teacher! I finished in July and had the summer to reflect and plan. I’m excited to say I have found a job and look forward to teaching a year 5 class.   I feel like I have renewed hope and have been able to see some real change within the schools I have worked in. Obviously, there is still more work to be done but as I was going through my reading corner it was uplifting to see a variety of faces, cultures and voices. I still couldn’t resist creating my own mini library of books with faces and authors of colour, my own little collection of diverse voices and stories from around the globe. I want to ensure I continue championing a variety of voices, and having a collection of books will support this mission.   I have been busy planning my classroom, how I want things to look and how I can make an accessible and safe space for all my pupils. I have created a calm box that has breathing exercises and other mindfulness activities to help ...
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“Early intervention is tragedy prevention”: what losing my best friend at 14 taught me about mental health.

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By Ray Munn For many children and teenagers, the most difficult thing they will deal with whilst they are growing up is the death of a loved one. When I was young, I always assumed that, naturally, I would first deal with loss (outside of pets) when my grandparents would pass away. I never thought that at 14, I would deal with one of the most emotionally taxing types of bereavement there is: bereavement caused by suicide.   At 21 years old and seven years later, I’m still coming to terms with the choice my best friend made that day. Bereavement through suicide is a special kind of grief: the questions that remain unanswered scream and demand to be asked, some of the most difficult, complicated, and painful questions someone can ever ask. What happened to make them feel this way? Why didn’t they talk to me? How did they come to this conclusion? How long did they feel like this? When did they decide that this was the solution? This list goes on forever. For many of us, the idea of ta...
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Repping me and Repping them

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  Them, me, you, us. By Moyin Ekundayo This article/ rant is very late, and in reading, you find it very clear when bits of it are written. I was trying to navigate certain subjects regarding representation in politics and policies. I hope I made myself clear and you do not get bored.  Alright, I would like to start by saying I am usually a man of my word; this is because, following recent political upheaval, I adamantly proclaimed that "I will no longer be talking about politics, only things that are funny and matter", but here I am again talking about politics. -   This statement was made in a bar in a slightly drunken state.  Many of you who know me know how sincere this following section is; I would like to congratulate Rishi Sunak on being the current Prime Minster and the first Prime Minister of Colour in this country. It is an achievement that should be celebrated as a landmark achievement. Now yes, congratulation is late, but in my defence, I did say I was no...
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Coming Home a Mother - Seeing West Sussex Through a New Lens??

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By Lucy Ward Moving to West Sussex was something of a shock since I had forgotten what life was like outside of the city after living and working in London for more than ten years. Not only because of the change in environment but also because of the lack of diversity. The children went from a very mixed cultural and ethnic school and nursery to predominantly white institutions.  It was very apparent from very early on that this new area and some of its residents were a world apart from our lives in London and I began to understand why many black Londoners are reluctant to relocate to areas where there is not an Afro-Caribbean supermarket nearby. From our Trump-supporting neighbor who shared her disgust of London as I quote, “it is full of blacks” to the child who told my child that she couldn’t join their game because she was “the black kid”. I felt angry that life had forced me to leave Lewisham and that I had brought my children to a place that was so unaccepting of them. I...
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