Neil Young: Gender & sexuality – working with LGBTQ children & young people

Cost plus VAT.

A Day with Neil Young

As part of Pride month, this is an inspiring and insightful day of exploration, reflection, discussion and learning with the brilliant Neil Young, which will include time for discussion, self-reflection and awareness, and opportunities for creativity and private art-making.

Content Summary

Gender and sexual identity are lenses through which all of us are constantly negotiating our place and meaning in the world, against a background of powerful binaries and stereotypes, most notably male/female and gay/straight. Yet, in recent years there has been a sea change amongst teenagers and young adults, who are increasingly resisting traditional, binary gender identities and not defining themselves as heterosexual.

In this day-long session, the group will explore our response to this generational shift by focusing on ourselves – connecting to our own feelings, thoughts and experiences. We will also examine the reality of lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer (LGBTQ+) and gender-fluid children and young peoples’ lives, including emergent gender and sexual identities, impact on attachment, discrimination, coping strategies and their implications for us in our professional practice.

Neil will offer up a space for small and whole group discussion, share contemporary research, media and resources as well as using the creative arts* to help our exploration and practice.

*Creative Arts:

Before we meet, do gather whatever art materials (paint, crayons, stickers, postcards, loo roll holders, toys, leaves – whatever you have, like or can get your hands on) as we will be creating during the session.

Participants will be given the opportunity to:

• Examine the reality of LGBTQ children and young peoples’ lives, including emergent gender and sexual identities, discrimination, coping strategies and their implications for us as professionals and organisations.

• Creatively explore anti-LGBTQ prejudice within your work and wider society

• Connect to their own experiences of gender and sexuality and how these has impacted on who they are, personally and professionally

• Consider developmentally helpful approaches to working with children and young people, including creativity and the arts.

• Understand the importance of a secure attachment in the developing child and how the absence of this for many LGBTQ and gender-fluid children and young people can have long-lasting impacts on their quality of life

• Explore the fluidity of sexual and gender identity formation and the enduring power of binary gender and sexual identities and dominant stereotypical roles.