Intro to LGBTQ+ Communities, Safe Zone+ Program

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The primary mission of Mason's Safe Zone+ Program, like our LGBTQ+ Resources Center, is to create a safer, more welcoming & inclusive campus environment, to strengthen community and encourage networking among faculty, staff, and students toward the goal of supporting the well-being of LGBTQ people.

The Safe Zone+ Program is an evolving education and ally development program. Currently, it consists of four workshops that help participants on their own allyship development journeys. The first component is our new Intro to LGBTQ+ Communities session, which is up to 60 minutes long and offers participants an easy access point for getting involved with the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. Intro to LGBTQ+ Communities will also very much prepare participants for the following three individual 3-hour module sessions. Upon completion of an Intro to LGBTQ+ Communities session, faculty, staff, and/or other Mason professionally employed participants will fill out a form that will provide the information for their placard and let them opt in or out to being included on a Google Map that will be featured on our LGBTQ+ Resources Center website, showing where everyone who has engaged with our program is located. The idea behind giving the placard for completing this introductory component is that we can build a baseline for folks to be able to display the placard, and enhance overall visibility of LGBTQ+-affirming spaces. We also want to build this visibility in online spaces, thus the Google Map. Once folks have the placard, they can upgrade it with stickers upon completion of the Awareness, Gender, and Ally Skills Building modules.

Learning Outcomes
Folks who participate in each of these modules will be able to:

Intro to LGBTQ+ Communities (recommended to take FIRST)
– Distinguish between gender and sexuality
– Give examples of non-gendered language
– Identify examples of allyship
Awareness Module (recommended to take SECOND)
– Describe LGBTQ+ identities
– Give examples of LGBTQ+ cultural history
– Apply intersectionality to their own experiences
Gender Module (recommended to take THIRD)
– Distinguish between components of gender
– Explain the relationship between Cissexism, Racism, and Transphobia
– Identify barriers to inclusion for trans and nonbinary people
Ally Skills Building Module (recommended to take FOURTH)
– Articulate characteristics of good allies
– Examine scenarios with opportunities for LGBTQ+ equity
– Distinguish between systemic and interpersonal injustice

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