DIVERSITY, NOT DISCRIMINATION
JUNIOR Junior is a model from St Ives, however his family is originally from GuineaBissau. He has experienced racism his whole life, yet due to his religion and positive attitude he’s learnt that some people can’t be helped and you should focus on yourself and what makes you happy.
“
I’M JUST
A GUY WHO SMILES AT LIFE.
”
“I’ve always questioned why the treat me differently based on the colour of my skin, just because I look different from others. You can tell they are judging by the way they stare at you; their expression changes when they see you. I used to get angry, but now I keep my anger. I never get violent.” “It doesn’t bother me anymore because I know there’s not gonna be much change, not everyone’s gonna be the same. I know that the things they say is not true, so it gets easier to brush it off and tell yourself that it’s not true.”
DEJ Dej is an avid skater who lives in Cambridge. Him and his family are from the Philippines, an amazing country in Asia. Since he moved to England his family has been subject to prejudice and discrimination. Dej keeps positive by focusing on his friends, his skating and his fashion sense.
“
HATE IS
TEMPORARY, DRIP IS FOREVER.
”
“A lot of prejudice has happened towards my family on our days out, mostly like the servers in restaurants weren’t as friendly as they were to other customers. One time my family had a trip to Scotland and my dad was pulled over by police for apparent reckless driving. They fined him instead of giving him a warning.” “I just try to ignore it because its so minor. I remind myself it wont affect me in the long term. It does get in my head but there are other things I need to focus on, like my own future, social life and like any other things that I enjoy, rather than think about what people have said.”
SPENCER Spencer is Turkish man who lives in Cambridge. He can remember experiencing homophobia ever since he was a kid. He loves fashion and having his photo taken; his confidence is his biggest strength.
“
I DO IT FOR
THE GIRLS AND THE GAYS.
”
“People wouldn’t be friends with me because I different. People would not include me in things, boys at school wouldn’t want to be around me.” “Sometime the thought of it still upsets me; I’m scared of men and boys based on how treat other people. I’ve just learnt to expect it. It’s hard for me to trust people.” “As I grew up I learnt to not care about what others think because life is too short.”
SOPHIE Sophie is an art student with a passion for her work, She is Korean and has been discriminated against and bullied purely based on her ethnicity, even by other Koreans. Sophie and Sally are best friends and have been there for each other forever.
“
LET’S JUST
HAVE A GOOD TIME!
”
“Sometimes people tell me to go back to China, or Japan when I’m not even from there. When I do go back to Korea though, even other Koreans tell me the same because I don’t look ‘as Korean as them.’” “What those people say to me doesn’t matter though because I’ve got my friends here and I’ve got my friends here and it’s what they say that matters to me.”
KATIE Katie is a student in Cambridge studying biology at degree level. She is a keen political rights activist and loves to help spread important messages and positivity. As a woman sexism has been prevalent in her life.
In my science degree, most of the lecturers are men with only one woman; this makes it harder to find role I AM CONTINUING TO models in science for girls and non-binary LEARN HOW TO BE A MORE people. I think people PROACTIVE ALLY. don’t expect girls to be smart in science fields; if people have their hands up to answer a question they’ll often go for one of the guys. It’s not really explicit sexism, it just seems to be ingrained in men’s minds. Over the years, I’ve had drunk men yell at me, and when I’ve been rowing I had a man on a bike follow me and yell at me.
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ALICE HOWES