It’s Pride Month. Rather than post a flag and leave it there, we thought we would point you towards some free learning that is worth the few minutes it takes.
The Open University’s OpenLearn platform has a small set of free, short resources on LGBTQ+ allyship [1] and history. They are open to anyone, no sign-up needed, and well put together.
Free courses from OpenLearn
How To Be A Better LGBTQI+ Ally
A 20-minute interactive built around real stories from LGBTQI+ young people. It tests how you would respond in practice rather than just describing allyship.
Content warning: depicts mistreatment
How to be a great trans ally
A short interactive on what trans allyship looks like in practice, starting from the sensible point that it looks different for different people.
Timeline: LGBTQ History
Snapshots from across LGBTQ history, useful if you want the broad picture rather than a single anniversary.
Key historic LGBTQI+ figures
A look at significant LGBTQI+ figures, with a focus on Black and minority ethnic figures too often left out of the standard accounts.
Closer to our own field
There is a reason this sits comfortably on a dementia research site. LGBTQ+ people remain an under-researched and frequently overlooked group in dementia, both in care and in the evidence base. Around 5 to 7% of the population is LGBT, yet many are not out within dementia services, and the specific barriers they face, from reminiscence work that assumes a heterosexual life history to the risk of being inadvertently outed as cognition changes, rarely make it into mainstream research questions.
Alzheimer’s Society: LGBTQ+ and dementia
Practical guidance and lived experience accounts on supporting LGBTQ+ people with dementia, informed by their LGBTQ+ Dementia Advisory Group. A good orientation if this is newer ground for your work.
Visit the hub → [6]
Pride in STEM
For those of us who are LGBTQ+ in research, or who want to back colleagues who are. A UK charity supporting LGBTQ+ people across science, founded by researchers, and the group behind the International Day of LGBTQ+ People in STEM.
Find out more → [7]
Free resources via The Open University’s OpenLearn, Alzheimer’s Society, and Pride in STEM. All links open in a new tab.