While many communities these days have youth groups specifically for queer and trans young people, others don't. And even if your community does have one or more of those groups, there will always be young people who want to belong to a group that's made up of peers who don't necessarily share their sexual orientation or gender identity.
So how can you make your general youth group a welcoming and affirming space for queer and trans tweens or teens?
When researching this topic, i found surprisingly little online to guide youth group leaders in this particular situation. Almost everything i turned up was focused on groups specifically for queer and trans young people. This is a huge gap in available resources.
For those of you who are running a general youth group, here is some guidance:
- First, if you have queer or trans members of your youth group, check in with them about how you can best support them — within the group or in the community more generally. Then listen and follow up on their suggestions.
- Make sure your straight and cis members are comfortable with queer and trans peers — or, at the very least, that your straight and cis young people won't treat queer or trans members negatively. You have a fine line to walk here, wanting to make your group as welcoming as possible, while respecting the rights of other young people to hold queer- or trans-antagonistic views.
- Model introducing yourself with your pronouns. Others in your group will likely follow suit. Keep in mind, however, that members should not be required to share their pronouns. For instance, folx who are just starting to question their identities or those who are just starting transition can find the sharing of pronouns to be very challenging.
- Put Pride flags, stickers, posters, and the like in the place where you meet. If you don't have a dedicated space, bring a few things you can post and then take down after your meeting is over.
Resources that contain these and other suggestions are below.
As an aside, i find it fascinating that most of the examples i found when doing research for this section were specifically for/about religious youth groups. This is far from a bad thing since religious folx often have a large amount of work to do regarding LGBTQA+/SGL communities. It does make me wonder where all the community-based youth groups are, though.
For more ideas, see the religious leaders section, as well as the faith-focused resources elsewhere in this site.
If you're planning to opening a queer- and trans-inclusive mentoring program, check out the Recommendations for LGBTQQ Mentoring (PDF).
For additional ideas, see the R2T2 section for educators. Also take a look at these important questions for adults working with queer and trans young people.
See also these articles on the importance of fostering queer and trans joy. You have the ability to help in this way and so many others!
What other ideas do you have? Please drop me a line to let me know!
