Welcome to my July Resource Roundup! This monthly feature includes a variety of articles, videos, infographics, books, etc. on LGBTQ+ topics that I’ve encountered during the month which were helpful for me or could be helpful for others. Some of them will be old things I encountered for the first time or rediscovered. Others will be new. But they will all be things that resonated with me during this month.

Articles & Websites

• 15 amazing International Non-Binary People’s Day tweets from non-binary people [GLAAD]
  
  Too often, when nonbinary people are discussed or thought about, people rely on a very limited idea of what a nonbinary person looks like. I appreciate this old post by GLAAD showcasing tweets from a diverse group of nonbinary people because it challenges the misconception that there is one right way to look or be nonbinary. I hope that nonbinary people seeing this will feel affirmed in their individual experiences as nonbinary folks and that folks who don’t identify as nonbinary will let this post serve as a reminder that nonbinary people can express their gender in an infinite number of ways.
  
  
• GLSEN National Student Council 2021 Book Recommendations [GLSEN]
  
  If you’re looking for books with diverse stories and LGBTQ+ characters to share with K-12 students, add to your classroom, or incorporate into your curriculum, I encourage you to check out GLSEN’s updated book recommendation lists. The lists are broken up by elementary, middle school, and high school and include summaries, content warnings, and links to buy all of the books recommended.
  
  
• How I Navigate Sex and Desire with My Asexual Partner [Mic]
  
  Although this article is on the surface about how an allosexual woman learned to navigate sex and desire in her relationship with her asexual partner, it is more accurately a look at the ways asexuality invites us all to challenge the normative narratives we’ve been peddled about sexuality and desire. Too often, allosexuals think of asexuality in terms of limitations but this essay really drives home the expansive, liberatory potential in asexuality, which is a message I think we need to see more of in society and promote more as LGBTQ+ advocates and educators.
  
  
• Humans of HDS: Don Abram, MDiv ’19 [Humans of Harvard Divinity School]
  
  As a Black queer Christian, I often complain about the ways society erases the experiences and perspectives of those of us who live at that particularly junction of oppression and privilege. That’s why I was really happy to read this interview of a former Harvard Divinity School student, in which he discusses the evolution of the relationship between his queerness and his Black Christian identity. The perspectives he offers really resonate with a lot of the developments in my own theology and in the theology of many Black queer Christians I know who see their pursuit of queer justice as simply an extension of the work the Black Church has always been doing when it’s at its best. I highly recommend this interview for those seeking to better understand some of the ways in which those of us Black queer folks who stay in the church find liberation and meaning in our tradition, while acknowledging the harm it has caused many of us.
  
  
• An Imperfect Plan [The Rumpus]
  
  This personal narrative by Seth Fischer, which looks at several of his coming out experiences, feels both so individual to him but also so representative of bisexual experiences overall in ways I feel deeply without being able to put into words. For bi+ people, I’d highly recommend this essay as a source of validation and also as an invitation to unpack some aspects of your own experiences coming into your identity or coming out to others that you might not have sat with yet. For monosexual people, I’d highly recommend this essay to get a deeper sense of some of the ways living in a monosexist culture impacts the way bi+ people think about themselves, their relationships to other, and how they navigate the world.
  
  
• The Trevor Project Research Brief: Diversity of Nonbinary Youth [The Trevor Project]
  
  In honor of International Nonbinary People’s Day, the Trevor Project created this brief on nonbinary respondents from their 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. I found the data highlighted in this brief really helpful in contextualizing the experiences of the nonbinary youth I work with and would highly encourage educators or other professionals working with youth to look over it for that reason. I also encourage educators and others who are fighting for more robust supports for nonbinary and other LGBTQ+ youth to consider how they might use this data as part of their advocacy with school administrators, youth program leaders, etc.

Films/Videos

• 3 Ways to Make Your Child’s School More LGBTQ+ Friendly [Parents.com]
  
  This video from Parents.com and its corresponding article highlight three concrete ways parents and other adult caregivers can fight to ensure schools are more affirming and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ youth. These recommendations feel especially relevant in light of the ways LGBTQ+ youth, particularly trans and nonbinary youth, are under attack right now.

Informative Posts/Graphics

• “Emphasising the sexual habits of asexuals when talking about asexuality, especially in headlines, isn’t as helpful as you think it is.” [Yasmin Benoit, MSc]
  
  I really appreciated this thread from Yasmin Benoit that calls out some of the most common failings in the ways we report about asexuality and how those common frames negatively impact asexual people. Although she focuses more on how the media frames asexuality, allosexual educators who teach about asexuality also should keep what she says in mind.
  
  
• “Gender-neutral and family bathrooms are available.” [Teaching Outside the Binary]
  
  I really appreciated the caption on this Instagram post by Ace Schwarz which serves as a great reminder of two things. One, even when our intentions are to be gender inclusive, our actions can still sometimes miss the mark. Two, even those of us whose work is to help make the world a more affirming and inclusive space have room to grow and evolve in our understandings and approaches. I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t encountered critiques of the phrase “gender-neutral” to read over this post and consider ways to continue adapting our language to ensure all people feel affirmed and included.
  
  
• An Introduction to Non-Binary Identity [Chris Mosier]
  
  This series of Instagram graphics provides a great intro to non-binary identities, addressing some of the most common stumbling blocks folks have in understanding non-binary identities in an easily digestible way. If non-binary identities are new to you, this is a great place to start your learning journey.
  
  
• “Things NOT to say to trans people” [pinkmantaray]
  
  This series of Instagram graphics by Schuyler Bailar addresses some common statements and questions transgender people hear from cisgender people and addresses why those comments are problematic, hurtful, and/or based on false assumptions. I would highly recommend this post for those who are curious about trans people but haven’t engaged in any conversations about problematic questions.