UC San Diego's LGBT Resource Center launched a new program to encourage mentoring across generations. Histories, stories, and common experiences are shared over lunch, with such conversation starters as:
- What is the most meaningful queer/LGBT moment for you in history to date?
- Who was the first person you shared your gender identity and /or sexual orientation with
- What has been the biggest difference you have seen since starting to understand queer and LGBT issues?
- What do you think the future of the queer/LGBT movement is?
- How did you understand queerness/difference in your early years?
- What words and phrases were most commonly used to support the community? To disparage the community?
The program includes pre- and post-experience assessments. Learning outcomes are that at the end of the dialogues, participants will be able to:
- Identify mutual areas of shared experiences around queer and LGBT identity across generations
- Understand unique experiences of differing generations of queer and LGBT identified people
- Name key practices and politics relating to a specific generation of queer and LGBT people
- Recognize definitions of variant genders and sexualities across generational years
Learn more details about this program on the LGBTQArchitect website, under "Intergenerational Dialogues." UCSD plans to report back data from the program this summer, and invites other campuses to adopt and modify the model to meet the needs of their community.
