University of North Carolina Athletics

Educate and Advocate: LGBTQ Rights Awareness
February 4, 2021 | Women's Basketball
Throughout the 2020-21 campaign, the UNC women's basketball team will highlight various causes, dedicating the season to advocating for and bringing awareness to issues that are near and dear to the Tar Heel student-athletes and coaching staff.
UNC hosts Florida State on Thursday and NC State on Sunday, and the team has dedicated both games to raising awareness of LGBTQ Rights and supporting the community.
Some LGBTQ facts:
• Members of the LGB community are twice as likely to experience mental health conditions, especially anxiety and depression, and transgender individuals are four times as likely. (nami.org)
• In 2015, the Supreme Court made the landmark decision to recognize marriage between same-sex couples nationwide. In the summer of 2020, the Supreme Court extended workplace protections against sex discrimination to gay, lesbian and transgender workers. (usatoday.com)
• Fifty percent of LGBTQ Americans reported hiding a personal relationship and one-third to one-fifth have altered other aspects of their personal or work lives to avoid discrimination. (americanprogress.org/)
• "Sex" refers to a person's assigned sex at birth based upon physical anatomy and chromosomes. "Gender" is typically used to refer to roles, appearance, interests, and one's psychological sense of themselves as a gendered being. "Gender identity" is the gender an individual identifies as psychologically, regardless of the sex/gender they were assigned at birth. "Gender expression" is how someone expresses their gender through appearance, behavior, or mannerisms. (lgbtq.unc.edu)
This week the team had a virtual discussion with two representatives from UNC CAPS to learn more about being an ally and supporting the LGBTQ community.
You can help by taking time to educate yourself on using inclusive language and on ways to be an ally.
An ally is someone who actively supports, respects and recognizes all individuals of the LGBTQ community. An ally uses his or her voice to advocate for the issues impacting members of the LGBTQ community, to advocate for equal treatment, and to stand against discrimination. An ally does his or her own research and may make mistakes but learns from them and continues to help educate others. Read more here and here.
The following organizations offer opportunities to learn more and make an impact.
• UNC LGBTQ Center (lgbtq.unc.edu)
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/LGBTQI)
• The Safe Zone Project (https://thesafezoneproject.com/)
• LGBTQ Center of Durham (https://www.lgbtqcenterofdurham.org/)
• The Trevor Project (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/)
• Center for American Progress (https://www.americanprogress.org/)
Together we can raise awareness for LGBTQ Rights and always choose equality.
UNC hosts Florida State on Thursday and NC State on Sunday, and the team has dedicated both games to raising awareness of LGBTQ Rights and supporting the community.
Together we can support the LGBTQ community and choose equality. This is #BiggerThanBasketball
Join us in bringing awareness to LGBTQ Rights ➡️ https://t.co/tMgT40zBFr
#EducateAndActivate | #TogetherWeWin pic.twitter.com/MPNTFRYSbX
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) February 4, 2021
Some LGBTQ facts:
• Members of the LGB community are twice as likely to experience mental health conditions, especially anxiety and depression, and transgender individuals are four times as likely. (nami.org)
• In 2015, the Supreme Court made the landmark decision to recognize marriage between same-sex couples nationwide. In the summer of 2020, the Supreme Court extended workplace protections against sex discrimination to gay, lesbian and transgender workers. (usatoday.com)
• Fifty percent of LGBTQ Americans reported hiding a personal relationship and one-third to one-fifth have altered other aspects of their personal or work lives to avoid discrimination. (americanprogress.org/)
• "Sex" refers to a person's assigned sex at birth based upon physical anatomy and chromosomes. "Gender" is typically used to refer to roles, appearance, interests, and one's psychological sense of themselves as a gendered being. "Gender identity" is the gender an individual identifies as psychologically, regardless of the sex/gender they were assigned at birth. "Gender expression" is how someone expresses their gender through appearance, behavior, or mannerisms. (lgbtq.unc.edu)
This week the team had a virtual discussion with two representatives from UNC CAPS to learn more about being an ally and supporting the LGBTQ community.
You can help by taking time to educate yourself on using inclusive language and on ways to be an ally.
An ally is someone who actively supports, respects and recognizes all individuals of the LGBTQ community. An ally uses his or her voice to advocate for the issues impacting members of the LGBTQ community, to advocate for equal treatment, and to stand against discrimination. An ally does his or her own research and may make mistakes but learns from them and continues to help educate others. Read more here and here.
The following organizations offer opportunities to learn more and make an impact.
• UNC LGBTQ Center (lgbtq.unc.edu)
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/LGBTQI)
• The Safe Zone Project (https://thesafezoneproject.com/)
• LGBTQ Center of Durham (https://www.lgbtqcenterofdurham.org/)
• The Trevor Project (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/)
• Center for American Progress (https://www.americanprogress.org/)
Together we can raise awareness for LGBTQ Rights and always choose equality.
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