More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (19)
Similar to What is love?
Similar to What is love? (14)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
What is love?
- 7. Joan of Arc French heroine who fought for her king in 1429 Cross-dressing Warrior Later made into a Saint She was burnt alive aged 19 for wearing men’s clothes Honoured as a martyr
- 8. Cracked the Enigma Code in WW2 Invented the modern computer Arrested and imprisoned for being gay Later took his own life Alan Turing
- 9. Freda Kahlo Bisexual Mexican Artist Known for her bohemian style Her art made statements against conformity Her paintings sell for more money than any other female artist
- 10. Gareth Thomas International rugby player 100 test matches for Wales 1st player to come out in 2009 Voted most influential gay person Awarded Stonewall’s ‘Hero of the Year’
- 11. Abigail Austen 1st trans-gender Officer in the British Army She fought in Ireland, Bosnia and Afghanistan She is now a reporter and broadcaster Her documentaries aim to raise awareness of gender issues and prejudices
- 13. If you want to find out more... stonewall.org.uk theproudtrust.org lgbt.foundation
- 14. Love has no labelsWhat is love?
Editor's Notes
- Good morning. As it is so close to Valentine’s Day, in this morning’s assembly, I thought it would be pertinent to answer this seemingly simple and yet actually rather complicated question. ‘What is love?’ One way or another, we’ve all experienced love through the relationships that we share with the people that we care about the most. Love means different things to different people. It is an intense feeling that humans have spent thousands of years trying to understand and explain. However, if you were going to ask me what I thought the meaning of love was, then there is only one way for me to answer this question. And you can find that answer by watching this video. This short clip illuminates the meaning of love better than any other I have ever seen.
- The reason why I wanted you to watch that video and to think about the idea of love is because February is a very important time of the year. It is nationally recognised as LGBT+ History Month. So what does LGBT+ actually mean?
- Well, most of you will know what the letters mean, but in case you didn’t know: L stands for lesbian – when a woman loves a woman. G stands for gay – which used to mean when a man loves a man, but now is more commonly used to refer to both men and women who are in love with the same sex. B stands for Bi-sexual – when a person loves both men and women. T stands for Trans – which can mean transgender, transsexual, or transvestite. Transgender means a person who does not conform to the sex they were assigned at birth. Transsexual means a person who has changed their gender from what they were assigned at birth. Transvestite is a person who wears clothing usually assigned to people of the opposite gender. and PLUS – now plus is the one part of LGBT+ that I didn’t know about before this year. So, here’s what I found out. The PLUS is inclusive of all other groups. And there are loads of other identities that you can belong to with regard to your sexuality and your gender. Here are just a few:
- So the PLUS makes it all inclusive. Everyone in this room is part of it. Everyone you know, and everyone you’ve never met. LGBT+ is for everyone because it is about the people we are and the people we love – CLICK LGBT+ is a group which is united by that fundamental part of everybody – the desire we all have within us to be accepted and celebrated and loved. This month is about people, it is about pride, and it is ultimately about the love that we share for one another.
- So, who are we celebrating by commemorating LGBT+ History month? Well, if you look back at our History, we’ve been pretty horrifying when it comes to our treatment of LGBT people. Sadly, we live in a world that has punished, tortured and killed people for their sexuality and gender diversity in the not-too-distant past. Today, in a community that is one of acceptance and respect, I want to show you some of the people from the LGBT+ community who need to be recognised and celebrated for their awesome achievements.
- Joan of Arc – She was a cross-dressing warrior, who was later made into a Saint by the church. However, she was burnt alive at the age of 19 for wearing men’s clothes. Despite this abomination, she is still honoured internationally as a martyr and hero, who died for her principals.
- Alan Turing – He was the genius who cracked the Enigma Code in WW2. He is claimed to have invented the modern computer. However, he was arrested and imprisoned for being gay. As a result, he later took his own life by eating an apple that he had injected with poison. He was the inspiration for Steve Jobs design for the logo of apple computers.
- Freda Kahlo – was a Bisexual Mexican Artist who was well known for her bohemian style and extravagant life-style. Her art made statements against conformity and were aimed at the political unrest that was present in Mexico at the time. Her paintings now sell for more money than any other female artist in the world.
- Gareth Thomas - International rugby player who has played 100 test matches for Wales. He was the 1st ever player to openly come out as being gay in 2009. He was voted most influential gay person in 2010 and he was subsequently awarded Stonewall’s ‘Hero of the Year’ for his contribution to the LGBT community.
- Abigail Austen – she was the 1st trans-gender Officer in the British Army. Before her sex-change, she fought all over the world for the best part of two decades in the services, fighting in Ireland, Bosnia and Afghanistan. She is now a reporter and broadcaster for television and newspapers. Her documentaries aim to raise awareness of gender issues and prejudices that are still present in some parts of the world today.
- Those were just a handful of awesome people that need to be remembered and celebrated for their achievements as part of LGBT+ History Month, but there are obviously thousands of other incredibly worthy people who also deserve to be recognised. So here’s my challenge for you. I want each of you to do some research this month. Look in the library or on the internet and research the life of someone from the LGBT+ community who has contributed in some way to our society. It might be someone who has inspired you, or it might be someone new that you discover in your search. Then, I want you to share your findings with your tutor and talk about the people that you discovered in your tutor groups. That’s your task for this week.
- If you want some ideas about where to start your research, or if you have any questions about today’s assembly, here are 3 great websites to get you going: stonewall.org.uk theproudtrust.org lgbt.foundation
- And finally, to return to my original question. What is love? For me, the answer is simple. It has no sexuality no gender no race no colour no age no faith no labels. CLICK Love is pride. Love is acceptance. Love is just love, whoever you are, and whoever you are in love with. This month, I wish you every happiness and I hope that even if you don’t find love, that you are still strong enough to share it with everyone.