COULD 2021 BE A BANNER YEAR FOR GAY RIGHTS?

by Tommy Gilchrist

With the toppling of Trump last November and the ascendency of an LGBT+ friendly White House under President Biden, combined with anti-discriminatory policy changes in motion here in the UK, 2021 has the potential to be a banner year for the gay community on both sides of the Atlantic. 

It comes on the heels of a tumultuous twelve months. 

For many gay men like me, 2020 was particularly difficult. The shared spaces we occupy – the LGBT+ friendly bars, pubs, and clubs – are hugely important places for us to come together and express ourselves freely, without fear of judgement or attack. They form our own “support bubble”, and one upon which so many of us depend. The impact of being shut away from this has been enormous, with many – particularly younger – LGBT+ folks being forced into lockdown with less-than-tolerant family members or having to go back into the closet entirely. 

A recent study by University College London and Sussex University found that coronavirus was having a “pernicious impact” on LGBT+ mental health, with 69 per cent of respondents suffering depressive symptoms and around ten per cent feeling unsafe in their own homes.  When we eventually emerge from lockdown, we may well find that – in addition to a mental health crisis – another consequence of the pandemic will have been the permanent loss of many of the LGBT+ spaces that form the backbone of our community, as venues struggle to weather the storm and survive. 

This is not a new trend. A 2017 study from UCL found that the number of gay-friendly venues in London had more than halved in previous ten years, falling by 58 per cent since 2006. There are substantial concerns in the sector – not least from people like Jeremy Joseph, the owner of the G-A-Y brand of bars and clubs in central London and Manchester – that coronavirus, and a lack of targeted financial support from the Government, will force many more closures in the weeks and months ahead. That is why the incredible success story of the NHS’s vaccination delivery programme is so important, and why it is critical that the Government gives urgent reassurance to these venues, putting in place a roadmap for reopening and providing clarity on future tiered restrictions.  

However, it is not all doom and gloom for, whilst we have been locked away this past year, developments in the US and in the UK have given cause for hope.

The new Democratic administration in the White House has begun the washing-away of four years of relentless diminishing of LGBT+ rights and freedoms under Trump. President Biden’s initial flurry of action through executive orders may not constitute the ‘damnatio memoriae’ of Trump that the Romans would have approved of, but it’s a welcome change. By implementing a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting discrimination in the federal government on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, Biden has taken the tentative first steps in bringing the 1964 Civil Rights Act into line with modern society. He has pledged to make passing the Equality Act a policy priority during his first 100 days in office – a political possibility now that Democrats control Congress and the White House.

This should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention.

Biden has a long history of advocacy for LGBT+ rights, coming out in support of same-sex marriage as Vice President in 2012 even before his boss, President Obama, did. He has called transgender equality the “civil rights issue of our time” and has already reversed the Trump ban on transgender troops serving in the US military. He also made history in nominating Dr Rachel Levine – now poised to be the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the US Senate – to the post of Assistant Secretary for Health. 

On this side of the Pond too, expansions of LGBT+ rights and freedoms are once again on the agenda, as the Government moves to tackle health inequalities for gay and bisexual men. As we’ve seen from the ground-breaking new series It’s A Sin, contracting HIV used to be seen as a death sentence, and the show poignantly considers the devastation that the AIDS crisis caused to so many people just a few short years ago. During the first week in February – National HIV Testing Week – we should celebrate that the UK continues to beat the UNAIDS 90-90-90 target, with recent data showing 94 per cent of people living with HIV being diagnosed, 98 per cent of those diagnosed on treatment, and 97 per cent of those on treatment having an undetectable viral load. In December, the Government committed to implementing the recommendations of the HIV Commission’s recent report into ending new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 and will be publishing its HIV Action Plan next year.  

PrEP – a highly-effective drug in preventing the contraction of HIV – is now available on the NHS following a funding commitment from the Government, meaning that millions of sexually-active gay and bisexual men can reduce their risk of getting the virus. Work is underway between the Terrence Higgins Trust, the National AIDS Trust, and the National Pharmacy Association – spearheaded by 2019-intake MP Elliot Colburn – to look at how PrEP could be delivered safely and securely in a community pharmacy setting, eliminating the need – and reluctance amongst some – to visit a local sexual health clinic for the drug.

We also had the welcome news in December that, following years of work by the Terrence Higgins Trust and folks like Ethan Spibey of the Freedom to Donate campaign, the Government had finally made the decision to make blood donation policy more equal, removing unfair and discriminatory restrictions for gay and bisexual men who have sex with other men.

This means that everyone, regardless of sex or sexuality, will be assessed as individuals, rather than based on stereotypical assumptions about sexual behaviours and inherent risk. These shifts, both here in Britain and across in the States, will mean when we do emerge from lockdown and once more head back to those gay-friendly spaces, we will find a world that is safer, more equal, and fairer for our LGBT+ community. 

The fight ain’t over yet, but it feels like we’re a few steps closer today.

Tommy Gilchrist

Tommy is Office Manager for a 2019-intake Conservative MP, having previously worked in Parliament for three Secretaries of State since 2014.  

Yorkshireman living in London, he enjoys US politics, travelling, and reading (as well as the odd pint or two…)

BE FEARLESS. NOW.

Job Losses | Business shutting down | Deaths | Depressing news headlines | Government decisions | Civil unrest | Domestic Violence | Multiple Lockdowns | Conspiracy theories | Brexit | 2020 has been a challenging year and as we continue to battle with radical changes there has been one emotion that has swept up each one of us to varying degrees - FEAR. 

There is no doubt that there are different parties who will contribute carving out the so-called recovery stage. The government, Business forums, financial institutions, thought leaders, and you and me. For now, let's focus on the ‘you and me’ and what we can do. Fear is here to stay and learning how to be fearless is a life skill worth investing in. Now. 

NAME IT: What is Fear?

Fear is an emotion. True. That is how we experience it and recognise it. In fact, there are other emotions that are closely associated with it - anxiety, concern, being scared, worried. Behind these words, fear and all the emotions I have listed are human ‘energetic response(s)’ to take action, triggered by our brain.

When we experience fear, there are two chemicals that flood our human body triggered by a part in the brain called amygdala - they are, Adrenalin and Cortisol. Both are important to help us survive in face of ‘threat’ - either by fighting, freezing or fleeing. This, as some of you already know, is the human response that was hard-coded in us as we evolved as humans. Fear as an energetic response is meant to protect and safeguard us from perceived danger.


 CLAIM IT: How do you experience it? 

This varies from person to person. Some of us feel it in the pit of our stomach, some of us find we are clenching our teeth, or our shoulders tense up, or perhaps you feel your face getting flushed. This is the instant reaction. If the fear factor or stimuli persists as it had been with the pandemic, we begin to show other symptoms - stress, exhaustion, confusion, depression, sleep disruption, weight gain/ loss, inertia/ hyperactivity, sharp bursts of emotion, and so on.

Get close to recognising what happens to you when you experience fear. ‘In the moment’ what bodily sensations do you experience? Noticing the sensations acts like a pause button to the emotion taking over in the moment.

My Leadership Acceleration programme trains clients to recall the physiology behind fear (Name it) and notice how they experience it (Claim it). This helps minimise the control fear has on them. Just like a spotlight that lights up a dark scary corner.

REFRAME IT: How do you overcome it?

When the amygdala that triggers fear is engaged, another part of your brain called the pre- frontal cortex (PFC) is not engaged - and you need to engage it. It is the part that helps us find solutions, be creative, be logical, find an answer, calmly explore new options and identify new choices.

But there is a problem.

 The PFC and amygdala work like a seesaw. Only one of them has power to control your actions at any one point of time and the amygdala has priority clearance. When your brain senses threat, the amygdala is switched on automatically - you have no control. However, you can switch it off from taking over, with what I call a CIRCUIT BREAKER.

What is a Circuit Breaker? Well, it can be a word, an action, a person’s memory, a pause, a prayer, a drink of water. Any of these can be your chosen circuit breaker. A client of mine chose her son’s face, another humour, a third saying the words - ‘I need time’. The key is to train yourself to recall the circuit break whenever you are fearful or feeling the fear rise in you.

When you recall your chosen circuit breaker it acts like a bucket of cold water. It snaps you out of the fear (triggered by your amygdala) and gives you an opportunity engage your PFC. This can help you calm you down. Once you identify your circuit breaker get experimenting and use it.

Nelson Mandela said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” With practice you begin to learn to be fearless as you teach your brain to identify new options and choices despite the threat around you. Champions are made with practice. Stay on track as you consciously Name It, Claim It and Reframe it.

“ Be Fearless.”
Reena Dayal

Reena Dayal

Read more articles by Reena Dayal

THE BEST KEPT BUSINESS SECRET IN LONDON

THE ORIGINAL SOCIAL NETWORK

By Hattie Turner

Will the post Covid-19 era mean we finally put our phones down? 

Aristotle described man as being ‘by nature a social animal’. I’d like to think if Aristotle was around today, he’d have meant this in the non-virtual sense. This year has really pushed our lives online, more so than ever before. In April, worldwide usage of Zoom was at 300 million daily active users, compared with 10 million in December 2019. In the UK this year, Ofcom found that of the total time spent on the internet, four fifths was on a mobile phone. 

Our obsession with phones is nothing new. Since the first mobile phone was invented in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, usage in the UK has risen to 95% by 2019. I’m pleased to have been one of the last generations to grow up without phones being central to our lives. At the age of 15, I had a Nokia 3310 ‘to be used only in emergencies.’ It didn’t really do much, so it largely remained at the bottom of my school bag while we gossiped on the bus and scribbled down last-minute homework. At 29, a slightly old-fashioned part of me wishes it had stayed like that. 

Fast forward to 2020 and, for many of us, the days may have felt like they blurred into each other. You found yourself floating through the seasons, like Hugh Grant in that scene from Notting Hill. The only way of clinging onto a sense of normality was through your phone. It was the gateway to family, friends, and the wider world. It was where you read articles on how to knit and make cocktails, and where you joined in on virtual fitness classes. It became the primary way of accessing a version of the life you had before Covid. 

We have been largely deprived, rightly or wrongly, of real social contact for the past year. The kind of social contact I imagine Aristotle was convinced of as being so essential to society. Think forward to when the full weight of the restrictions will be gone from our lives. Simply seeing other people, without the ever-present grey cloud of social distancing and awkward elbow bumps, will feel like breathing again after being underwater for far too long. Picture yourself meeting up with friends in the pub for the first time after life has returned to normal. Their faces bear little resemblance to the digital versions you’ve been largely interacting with previously. They are expressive, imperfect and real. Will you be wasting that time scrolling through Twitter? I hope a few of us will now think twice.  

I think we could well be set for a renaissance in terms of social interaction. We have all had that feeling of taking a picture of a beautiful building or landscape, yet the image never quite matches the reality. The experience of virtual socialising is very much the same. It is an imprint of the real thing and will never compete with the original ‘social network’.

Hattie Turner

Hattie Turner