As Puente practitioners, we acknowledge that anti-gay and anti-trans bias persist in academia, and that ongoing legal and social challenges to LGBTQIA+ rights necessitate our continued advocacy. Puente affirms the dignity and worth of LGBTQIA+ people, recognizes that LGBTQIA+ people have led the resistance against many forms of oppression, and honors LGBTQIA+ history as a part of our collective history. The Puente Project commits to uplifting people’s intersectional identities. In practice, this means the intentional inclusion of LGBTQIA+ voices in our curriculum, avoiding gender binary language, advocating for LGBTQIA+ students, and seeking continuous learning opportunities to affirm LGBTQIA+ people. We recognize that the LGBTQIA+ experience is widely varied. We must decouple misunderstandings that conflate gender identity (1) and/or gender expression (2) to sexuality. We maintain the right for our students and colleagues to provide (at their discretion and perceived level of safety) their names, pronouns, gender, and identity and our duty to respect and honor them regardless of institutional labels or records.
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Gender Identity: the internal experience and naming of our own gender which may or may not conform to social constructions
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Gender Expression: the external expression or performance of one's gender identity, which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics
Implementation Guide
Questions to Consider
How does your curriculum represent and feature LGBTQIA+ people?
+ Recommendations
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Regularly include LGBTQIA+ speakers and resources in your programming,
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Incorporate LGBTQIA+ authored texts and media into every unit, lesson sequence,
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Include more than one category of representation from the LGBTQIA+ spectrum,
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Provide resources for students to understand the history & context of LGBTQIA+ narratives (include LGBTQIA+ history and/or bios of authors featured),
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Connect to current events and community concerns.
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Connect to local organizations/ invite reps from local orgs.
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Ensure that representation includes intersectional experiences.
How do you affirm LGBTQIA+ identities in your messaging?
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Share your pronouns and invite others to do the same.
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Using names students introduce themselves as, regardless of institutional records.
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Avoiding binary language (ex. using “folks” instead of guys and girls).
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Avoiding cisgender or heterosexual centered language in descriptions of family or partnerships.
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Include LGBTQIA+ affirming images and symbols in community spaces and materials
How are you staying current on ways to support our LGBTQIA+ community members?
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Attend trainings annually to stay up-to-date on the changing legal and social landscape in regards to LGBTQIA+ rights and safety.
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Connect with your campus resources annually to stay aware of what is happening locally.
How are you supporting LGBTQIA+ students’ health?
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Share campus and local LGBTQIA+ community and health resources on your syllabus, in class, and on social media.
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Ensure that students have access to LGBTQIA+ mentors in the community.
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Check and challenge any anti-gay and anti-trans speech in the moment, and check-in with all involved over time to ensure that any harm done has been repaired and/or that safety has been restored.
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If you are LGBTQIA+, consider the level of visibility that feels right and safe to you. If possible, being visible as an LGBTQIA+ role model can be very supportive for students and other community members.
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Respect confidentiality and never share a student’s sexual or gender identity with others. Maintain privacy.
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Celebrate LGBTQIA+ joy and accomplishment by recognizing notable LGBTQIA+ leaders, artists, and scholars, marking pride month, and sharing campus events hosted by LGBTQIA+ groups.
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Address or intervene with colleagues who are contributing to unsafe spaces for LGBTQIA+ students.
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Collaborate with other educators about ways to create a safe campus community for LGBTQIA+ students and community members.
Additional Resources
Getting Started
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Gender Spectrum Resources - a great place to begin.
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American Library Association. "LGBTQ+ Issues in Higher Education" (Resource Guide)
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CCC Chancellor's Office Addresses LGBTQ Student Needs (video)
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Foundation for California Community Colleges. California Community Colleges LGBTQ+ Resource Guide
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Human Rights Campaign. "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Definitions"
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Trans Student Educational Resources, "Gender Unicorn"
Extend Your Knowledge
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GLSEN's Resources for Students and Educators (see student-run groups and clubs!)
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NCTE. "Affirming Gender Diversity Through Curriculum"
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See also: NCTE. "LGTBQ Poster"
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Deep Dive
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Community College Journal of Research and Practice. Special Issue: LGBT Issues at Community Colleges
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Vaid-Menon, Alok. Beyond the Gender Binary
Implementation Guide Navigation
Race + Immigrant Justice | Linguistic Justice | LGBTQIA+ Justice | Disability Justice | Environmental Justice
Curriculum
In 2023, Puente launched it's new online Puente Anthology, which is fully aligned with the Equity Framework and offers many resources and lessons to support educators looking for curricular resources.