qsa workshop #1: what is queer? and other seemingly simple questions

qsa workshop #1: what is queer? and other seemingly simple questions
designed by talia young, talia@sccs.swarthmore.edu, fall 2000

objectives:

to clarify the meanings of words like these for those who are unfamiliar with them
- queer
- lesbian
- gay
- bisexual
- transgender
- transsexual
- cross dresser
- transvestite
- tranny
- faggot
- dyke
- homophobia
- heterosexism
- heteronormativity
- HRC
- GLSEN
- GLAAD
- out
- the advocate
to have an interesting discussion on nuances, subtleties and confusions of such words

materials needed:

white board or chalk board
markers or chalk
scraps of paper
pencils
hat
co-facilitator

preparation:

make sure the board is there
make space so people can sit around the board in a circle

icebreaker:

knee-slapping game

name game:

let's go around and do some basics: name, year, major if you know it, where you're from, where you live on campus, and your favorite pair of shoes and why

ground rules:

confidentiality: not that you can't talk about what goes on here (on the contrary, please do continue discussions outside of the workshop) but don't go around saying "so-and-so was at the workshop and said such-and-such"
respect: there are probably a lot of us coming from different places; please respect each other. feel free to disagree with each other but please use "i" statements
no stupid questions: on a similar note, there are no stupid questions here; you should feel free to ask everything. i realize this can sometimes be a risky position to take, but i think it's important. if you think a question is offensive, you should say so, but that doesn't mean that it was stupid. anyway, we'll see how this one works.
any others?

activity:

hand out small scraps of paper
have everyone write down

(for themselves) why they came to the workshop
(to put in a hat) at least one question that they want to ask or discuss today

have them put the questions in the hat, and have the co-facilitator go through them and organize them into topics
write "QUEER" up on the board.
ask people to shout out words or short phrases that they associate with the word "queer". write them all down. make sure that all the above words are included.
go through each word on the board and talk about what it can mean. cross it off as you do so.
questions to ask: what terms do you prefer/use? why? what terms do you feel ambivalent about? why?
then go through the questions and talk about them

follow up/wrap up/conclusion:

go around and share a closing thought, related to why you came, or not.