The Best Place to be Gay??

One of my most memorable interactions here was about three years ago, when I bumped into a new starter. I asked how they were and was told that Somerset County Council was the best place to be if you’re gay. I think I looked a bit incredulous at this, and asked why, we don’t exactly shout about things. And I was told that was exactly it, our differences as individuals are just accepted here.

I’ve been asked to write some words to support Pride 2022, on its 50th anniversary in the UK, but at the moment I don’t particularly feel like celebrating. I’ve been affected by developments in the USA and the language coming out of the recent Supreme Court ruling and those who have moved against a woman’s right to choose her situation. Some people are now suggesting they move on, against access to contraception and same-sex marriage, and this is making me genuinely scared. Because I’m also picking up similar voices in the UK; an absolute minority, but a vocal one. And it seems utterly crazy to me that the rights and respect that were fought for during the 1970s and 80s, where we’ve put in legislation to protect individuals and where society has in the main adapted, accepted and treasured differences and people’s right to be themselves, could be under threat.

I have a personal concern, that friends and colleagues of mine who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Questioning (LGBTQ+, the plus acknowledges the inclusion of a range of gender and sexual minority identities) may be feeling a little more uncertain and fearful. So as we go through the unitary programme and create a new organisation, I have to ensure that staff have the ability to be listened to and respected, and I will encourage advocacy for all those who are LGBTQ+ in our workforce. Of course, this is complete common sense as well, as a culture of respect and advocacy in our workforce will have a positive impact on the delivery of services and therefore benefits to Somerset communities.

And by the way, if you can’t quite remember what happened in the 1980s, do catch-up with the utterly brilliant Russell T Davies drama, ‘It’s a Sin’. My daughters brought it to my attention, saying “Watch this but we’re not watching it with you…”, “Why ever not…oh, that’s why…!” That issue of not being able to watch certain scenes on the television with your children will never go away…

So yes, I will be spending more time looking out for my colleagues who identify as LGBTQ+, checking they’re ok and listening to what’s going on. By the way, Somerset County Council will proudly fly the Rainbow Flag outside of County Hall from 11 July to 18 July to support Taunton Pride and we will have a stall at the event on Saturday 16 July. Please do pop along.

You may have noticed that some of us are including pronouns in our email signatures, letting people know how we would like to be addressed and showing support for other people to share their preferred pronoun. Pronouns are the words we use to refer to people’s gender in conversation – for example, ‘he’ or ‘she’. But not everyone identifies with the binary definitions of gender (male and female) so they may prefer gender-neutral pronouns such as ‘they/them’ or ‘ze/zir’. Everyone within our community deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and so understanding and using their pronouns is a simple gesture which has a big impact.

If you feel comfortable including your Pronoun on your email signature, we will of course support you to do this.

And back to the conversation I mentioned at the start of this. Some of the hard-fought rights, protections and acceptance that communities and society have achieved just might be under threat. 50 years of Pride does not signify ‘job done’ and I will be advocating for, listening to and checking in on my friends and colleagues from LGBTQ+ communities.

Chris