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Gathering

Together:

Telling Authentic LGBTQ+ Stories

This GSA Club session was originally designed for Live Out Loud's School Program; a partnership with the New York City Department of Education in which Live Out Loud visits Gender and Sexuality Alliance clubs monthly.

The program teaches LGBTQ+ students and their allies about the significance of queer history and its connection to social change, while also supporting students' development as leaders and active members in their communities.

This session is centered around LGBTQ+ holiday celebration! This session pays homage to the game show Family Feud with our our own version we’ve coined Chosen Family Feud. Members of your club will get to put their LGBTQ+ knowledge to the test through trivia questions. Questions will be centered around LGBTQ+ history, holiday-themed LGBTQ+ pop culture and the like. Students will also get the opportunity to watch LGBTQ+ holiday films and discuss what they liked/disliked about them.

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Introductions!

Name
Pronouns
Share a “Hooray!” → a piece of good news

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Squiggle Drawing!

Let’s take a piece of paper & draw one line each, creating a squiggle drawing!

Each line must connect to one of the lines already drawn on the paper.

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Identity Spotlight:

December 8th is National Pansexual Pride Day!

Did you know?

The pansexual pride flag was created in 2010 by Tumblr user JustJasper! Why pink, blue, and yellow? JustJasper answers that question below:

“Pink and blue, because of their gendered traditions, and yellow, a generally non-gendered color, to represent nonbinary folks, etc.”

Live Out Loud provides an identity spotlight every month to encourage students to learn about different identities within the LGBTQ+ community. This session we are highlighting the pansexual community.

Pansexual: The prefix “pan” means “all” - pansexuality is a label used by those who are attracted to people of all genders, this also incudes people who don’t identify with any gender (agender folk). Pansexual people aren’t attracted to every single persion, they simply find themselves attracted to people of all sorts of gender identities and expressions.

Note:

- National Pansexual Pride Day is December 8th

- Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness and Visibility Day is May 24th

For more information on Pansexuality visit:

https://www.them.us/story/what-does-it-mean-to-be-pansexual

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BIPOC LGBTQ+ Pioneers!

Janelle Monáe

Black American singer/songwriter best known for their Grammy-nominated album Dirty Computer

Bob the Drag Queen

Black American drag queen & comedian; winner of season eight’s RuPaul’s Drag Race

Rina Sawayama

Japanese-British singer/songwriter and model whose debut album Sawayama rose to critical acclaim

Live Out Loud highlights three BIPOC individuals who have made contributions to the advancement of BIPOC & LGBTQ+ communities. The intent is to have students learn about history year-round, not just during certain months. The pioneers featured on this slide identify as pansexual; facilitators should connect this slide to the identity spotlight (previous slide).

Janelle Monae (they/them, she/her) is a Black American singer, songwriter, rapper, science-fiction author and actress. With a music career that spans almost 20 years, Janelle has broken barriers, being described as an innovator of Neo-Afrofuturism, mixing funk, neo-soul, pop, and R&B. She incorporates science-fiction throughout their musical projects. Janelle’s most recent album, Dirty Computer, included a sci-fi short film which addressed issues such as homophobia, oppression, and the struggle of being true to one’s self. Janelle identifies as nonbinary & pansexual.

Bob the Drag Queen (he/him, she/her) is a Black American Drag Queen, comedian, actor, activist, musician, songwriter, and reality television personality. He is best known for winning the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.As of 2020, he has more than one million followers on Instagram and was the first Black Drag Race queen to reach the milestone. He identities as pansexual, nonbinary & is currently in a polyamorous relationship.

Rina Sawayama (she/her) is a Japanese–British singer-songwriter and model. Born in Niigata, Japan, she emigrated to London with her parents at age five. In 2020, her debut album (Sawayama) was released and received widespread critical acclaim. Although the album received glowing reviews, Rina was ineligible to be nominated for British music awards because she does not hold British citizenship (she is a permanent resident). She posted about this on Twitter, and soon thereafter, the hashtag #SawayamaIsBritish was trending in the UK. Thanks to the support from her fans and celebrities such as Elton John, the British Phonograpic Industry changed the rules which allowed Rina to be award eligible. Rina Identiifes as both bisexual and pansexual.

For more information about these pioneers, visit the following links:

Janelle Monae - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janelle_Mon%C3%A1e
Bob the Drag Queen - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_the_Drag_Queen
Rina Sawayama - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rina_Sawayama

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6

Club Member Choice!

OR

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PLAY NOW!

Within this slide, club members have the opportunity to play a Queerified version of Family Feud. Our Family Feud game is in a separate PowerPoint Presentation, Link Here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1auPvo2Coh274mz8--cypWbdtlijh1zKt/view?usp=sharing

Please Note: PowerPoint is needed to be able to interact with this game. Once you open the link, ensure you DOWNLOAD the game as a PowerPoint Presentation. When opening the PowerPoint Presentation, ensure you Enable Editing as well as Enable Content to successfully utilize this game.

You can also access the Chosen Family Feud PowerPoint Presentation by pressing the “Play Now!” button on this slide.

Please Note: Within our edited version of this Family Feud template, we do not have the Fast Money Family Feud game play option, rather our Family Feud game play focuses on the main Family Feud game: Round Play.

The PowerPoint Presentation has directions on how to utilize the Family Feud game on slides 2, 18, & 19; view these slides in SlideShow Mode & you’ll be able to interact with the Settings, Game Rules, etc.

Within the Facilitator Guide, there is a synopsis on all the information covered within the Family Feud questions, see Chosen Family Feud Host Guide located at the end of the Facilitator Guide.

This Family Feud Game Template was developed and created by Rusnack Creative.

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Happiest Season:

In this scene, John (Dan Levy) comforts Abby (Kristen Stewart) and reminds her that everyone's coming out story is different.

While you watch:

Do you think John’s advice is good? Would you change what he said in any way?

So your members chose to watch LGBTQ+ holiday movie clips! Start with this one from Happiest Season (2020) . Provide the club members with a synopsis of the movie (provided below) and a brief idea of what the scene is about (located on the slide).

Happiest Season: A young woman with a plan to propose to her girlfriend while at her family's annual holiday party discovers her partner hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents.

For more info about Happiest Season visit:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8522006/plotsummary

While they watch the clip, have them keep in mind:

Do you think John’s advice is good? Would you change what he said in any way?

After they watch the clip, discuss what club members liked or disliked about it. If they are shy, prompt them with these questions:

What did you think about the representation?
Have you seen the full movie before? If so, what did you think?
This movie was directed by an LGBTQ+ woman, do you think it shows via the script?

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Make the Yuletide Gay:

In this scene, Olaf Gunnunderson (Keith Jordan) tells his parents he is gay at the Christmas dinner table.

While you watch:

What do you think about the parents’ reactions? Good, bad, or somewhere in between?

The second clip is from Make the Yuletide Gay (2009). Provide the club members with a synopsis of the movie (provided below) and a brief idea of what the scene is about (located on the slide).

Make the Yuletide Gay: Olaf `Gunn' Gunnunderson, an out-and-proud gay student, locks himself back in the closet to survive the holidays with his parents. But when his boyfriend Nathan shows up unannounced, Gunn must put on a charade to keep the relationship a secret.

For more info about Make the Yuletide Gay visit:

https://queerfilmreviews.com/reviews/make-the-yuletide-gay/

While they watch the clip, have them keep in mind:

What do you think about the parents’ reactions? Good, bad, or somewhere in between?

After they watch the clip, discuss what club members liked or disliked about it. If they are shy, prompt them with these questions:

This movie came out in 2009, do you think it is ahead of its time in any way?
What about the representation in the scene? Could it be better?
Do you like the casting? If not, who would you have play the characters?

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Under the Christmas Tree:

In this scene, Alma Beltran (Elise Bauman) and Charlie Freemont (Tattiawna Jones) talk about Christmas traditions with their families and parents’ intuition.

While you watch:

Do you have any similar holiday traditions to the ones mentioned in this scene?

The final clip is from Under the Christmas Tree (2021). Provide the club members with a synopsis of the movie (provided below) and a brief idea of what the scene is about (located on the slide).

Under the Christmas Tree: Romantic sparks fly between Alma and Charlie when Charlie finds the perfect tree for the Maine governor's holiday celebration right in Alma's backyard.

For more info about Under the Christmas Tree visit:

https://lifetimeuncorked.com/2021/12/21/under-the-christmas-tree-2021-lifetime-2/

While they watch the clip, have them keep in mind:

Do you have any similar holiday traditions to the ones mentioned in this scene?

After they watch the clip, discuss what club members liked or disliked about it. If they are shy, prompt them with these questions:

This movie only came out last year - do you think this clip reflects that?
Does the chemistry between the characters feel organic?
Have you seen the movie in full? If so, did you like/dislike it and why?

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LGBTQ+ Holiday Movies to Watch!

On Netflix:

Single all the Way

Let it Snow

A New York Christmas Wedding

Carol

On Amazon Prime:

With Love

Friendsgiving

The Unattainably Perfect Gay Christmas

On Lifetime:

The Christmas Setup

Twinkle all the Way

This slide provides extra resources for club members who may want to watch more LGBTQ+ holiday content. The list of films is broken up into three distinct categories (based on where you can stream each movie). Below is a brief synopsis of each film:

Single all the Way: Desperate to avoid his family's judgment about being single, Peter persuades best friend Nick to pose as his boyfriend on a trip home for the holidays.

For more info visit: https://dmtalkies.com/single-all-the-way-summary-ending-explained-2021-netflix-film/

Let it Snow: A snowstorm hits a small midwestern town on Christmas Eve, bringing together a group of high school students. They soon find their friendships and love lives colliding, and and Christmas morning, nothing will be the same.

For more info visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Snow_(2019_film)

A New York Christmas Wedding: A Yuletide angel shows a bride-to-be what could have happened if she'd acted on her secret feelings for her childhood best friend.

For more info visit: https://www.advocate.com/film/2020/11/16/netflixs-queer-new-york-christmas-wedding-about-second-chances

Carol: Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) spots the beautiful, elegant Carol (Cate Blanchett) perusing the doll displays in a 1950s Manhattan department store. The two women develop a fast bond that becomes a love with complicated consequences.

For more info visit: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402927/plotsummary

With Love: Follows the Diaz siblings, Lily and Jorge, who are on a mission to find love and purpose. The Diaz siblings cross paths with seemingly unrelated residents during some of the most heightened days of the year -the holidays.

For more info visit: https://press.amazonstudios.com/us/en/original-series/with-love/1

Friendsgiving: Molly and Abbey host a dysfunctional, chaotic, and comical Thanksgiving dinner with their crew of close friends.

For more info visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendsgiving

The Unattainably Perfect Gay Christmas: A man proposes to his boyfriend. The offer is accepted, and then quickly rejected -- all in the days leading up to Christmas.

For more info visit: https://www.amazon.com/Unattainably-Perfect-Gay-Christmas/dp/B08CK3FJ8T

The Christmas Setup: Hugo heads to Milwaukee with his best friend, Madelyn, to spend the holidays with his brother, Aiden, and his mum, who is in charge of the local Christmas celebrations.

For more info visit: https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/the-christmas-setup

Twinkle all the Way: To pull off a spectacular Christmas-themed wedding, a wedding planner joins forces with the co-owner of a family-run Christmas decoration and house-lighting company.

For more info visit: https://lifetimeuncorked.com/2019/11/24/twinkle-all-the-way-2019-lifetime/

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Director’s Cut: What do you think?

Imagine a film studio wanted your club to write an LGBTQ+ film:

What would be the plot of your film?

Where would it take place?

What topics or issues would you address in your film?

What kind of characters would you write about?

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Presentation, Facilitator’s Guide, and Session Extension created by:

Marilena Rocco, Martine Bowman, and Christa Mullins

Live Out Loud

25 Broadway 12th Fl

New York, N.Y. 10004

www.liveoutloud.org

This session and its materials are sponsored by the New York City Department of Education and Department of Youth and Community Development