OUT FOR CHANGE
Towards Transformative Media Organizing LGBTQ and Two-Spirit media work in the United States
by the MIT Center for Civic Media, RAD, SAS, QUIP, INCITE!, GSANetwork, Freedom, Inc., Esperanza, and Black & Pink FEBRUARY, 2015 -1OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
About the Out for Change Transformative Media Organizing Project This report was written collaboratively by the Out for Change Transformative Media Organizing Project (OCTOP). OCTOP, which began in 2013, links LGBTQ & Two-Spirit and allied media makers, online organizers, and tech-activists across the United States. OCTOP is guided by a core group of partners and advisers who are movement leaders working with LGBTQ and Two-Spirit populations, especially People of Color, working class, immigrant, and rural people, youth, and other vulnerable populations.
Resource Organizations Sasha Costanza-Chock, Becky Hurwitz, Kamaria Weemz Carrington The MIT Center for Civic Media works hand in hand with diverse communities to collaboratively create, design, deploy, and assess civic media tools and practices.
Chris Schweidler Research Action Design (RAD) uses community-led research, transformative media organizing, technology development, and collaborative design to build the power of grassroots social movements. We are a worker-owned collective. Our projects are grounded in the needs and leadership of communities in the struggle for justice and liberation.
Partner Organizations Mitchyll Mora, Andrea Ritchie Streetwise & Safe (SAS) builds and shares leadership, skills, knowledge and community among LGBTQQ youth of color who experience homelessness and criminalization. We conduct leadership development and “know your rights” workshops specifically tailored to LGBTQQ youth of color to share critical information about the criminal legal system as well as strategies to reduce the harms of interactions with police. SAS also creates opportunities for LGBTQQ youth of color to claim a seat in policy discussions as full participants, speak out on their own behalf, act collectively to protect their rights, and demand choices that allow them to maximize safety, self-sufficiency, and self-determination.
Luis Ramirez, Carlos Padilla, Jerssay Arredondo The Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP), a project of United We Dream, seeks to organize and empower LGBTQ undocumented people, LGBTQ immigrants and allies through grassroots organizing, leadership development, advocacy and engage in alliance building between the LGBTQ and immigrant rights movements in order to fight for the rights and dignity of both communities.
Jill Marcellus, Dawn-Marie Luna, Alan Ratliff Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a national youth leadership organization that connects schoolbased Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to each other and community resources through peer support, leadership development, and training.
Karla Mejia, Keren Pérez INCITE! Women, Gender Non-Conforming, and Trans people of Color* Against Violence is a national activist organization of radical feminists of color advancing a movement to end violence against women of color and our communities through direct action, critical dialogue and grassroots organizing. INCITE! is made up of grassroots chapters and affiliates across the U.S. working on particular political projects such as police violence, reproductive justice, and media justice; a national collective that works to leverage this grassroots organizing on a national and transnational platform; an advisory collective that helps increase the capacity of national organizing; and thousands of members and supporters.
M Adams, Zon Moua, Quita Griffin Freedom, Inc. engages low- to no-income communities of color in Dane County, WI. We work to end violence against wimmin people, gender non-conforming people, and young people, to promote healthier living. We create healthy communities by organizing against the root causes of violence, creating new definitions and solutions of identity and resiliency, and empowering all community members as agents of change. Our vision for ending violence is to inspire and restore power of those most affected through leadership development and community organizing, in ways that are language-gender-generation and culture-specific to wimmin, gender non-conforming, and youth, in African American and Southeast Asian families– that bring about deep social, political, cultural, and economic change.
Susana Segura, Graciela Sánchez Esperanza Peace & Justice Center - The people of Esperanza dream of a world where everyone has civil rights and economic justice, where the environment is cared for, where cultures are honored and communities are safe. The Esperanza advocates for those wounded by domination and inequality — women, People of Color, queer people, the working class and poor. We believe in creating bridges between people by exchanging ideas and educating and empowering each other. We believe it is vital to share our visions of hope… we are esperanza.
Gabrielle Joffe, Rev. Jason Lydon Black & Pink is an open family of LGBTQ prisoners and “free world” allies who support each other. Our work toward the abolition of the prison industrial complex is rooted in the experience of currently and formerly incarcerated people. We are outraged by the specific violence of the prison industrial complex against LGBTQ people, and respond through advocacy, education, direct service, and organizing.
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Acknowledgements This project was made possible by the generous support of the Ford Foundation’s Advancing LGBT Rights Initiative. Our gratitude to Luna Yasui for partnership, support and vision. Thanks to all those who participated for taking the time to share your brilliance and experience. It is our hope that this research will support the amazing work that you do, now and in the future.
Lead Authors Sasha Costanza-Chock and Chris Schweidler
Project Partnership, Project Design & Skillshare Development
Project Coordination & Support
Mitchyll Mora, Streetwise & Safe, project partner, skillshare, research support
Sasha Costanza-Chock, MIT Center for Civic Media, Assistant Professor of Civic Media, project principal investigator Chris Schweidler, Research Action Design, lead research coordination
Andrea Ritchie, Streetwise & Safe, project partner, skillshare, research support Luis Ramirez, The Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, project partner, skillshare, research support
Kamaria Weems Carrington, OCTOP coordinator, coordination, outreach and research support
Carlos Padilla, The Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, project partner, skillshare, research support
Bex Hurwitz, MIT Center for Civic Media Codesign Facilitator and Community Organizer, lead skillshare coordination, web design coordination
Jerssay Arredondo, The Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, project partner, skillshare, research support Karla Mejia, INCITE! project partner, skillshare, research support
Heather Craig, Research Assistant at the Center for Civic Media, website, communication, and research support
Keren Pérez, INCITE! project partner, skillshare, research support
Royal Morris, MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, outreach support Yu Wang, Research Assistant at the Center for Civic Media, organizational contact database support Ed Platt, Civic Technology Programmer at the Center for Civic Media, organizational contact database support and web support Rahul Bhargava, Senior Research Specialist at the Center for Civic Media, organizational contact database support and web support
M Adams, Freedom, Inc., project partner, skillshare, research support Zon Moua, Freedom, Inc., project partner, skillshare, research support Quita Griffin, Freedom, Inc., project partner, skillshare, research support Gabrielle Joffe, Black & Pink, project partner, skillshare, research support Rev. Jason Lydon, Black & Pink, project partner, skillshare, research support
Matt Carroll, Research Scientist at the Center for Civic Media, press support
Jill Marcellus, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, project partner, skillshare, research support
Gabrielle Joffe, Black & Pink, survey outreach support
Dawn-Marie Luna, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, project partner, skillshare, research support
Poonam Whabi, Graphic Designer at Design Action Collective, web design Ria, Graphic Designer at Design Action Collective, report design Sabiha Basrai, Graphic Designer at Design Action Collective, report design Puck Lo, Research Action Design, report copyediting
Alan Ratliff, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, project partner, skillshare, research support Susana Segura, Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, project partner, skillshare, research support Graciela Sánchez, Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, project partner, skillshare, research support Nora Berson, Black & Pink, project partner, skillshare, research support
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Project Advisers
Image Credits
Celia Alario, communications strategist, grassroots media consultant, facilitator and culture tracker
Cover art by Ria for Design Action Collective
J. Bob Alotta, Executive Director at the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Jack Aponte, worker-owner at Palante Technology Cooperative Ryan Li Dahlstrom, Movement Building Director for the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT) Jay Donahue, Program Manager at DataCenter, organizer with Critical Resistance Frederick Ginyard, FIERCE, Organizing Director Mary L. Gray, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research, New England Lab, Associate Professor of the Media School with adjunct appointments in American Studies, Anthropology, and Gender Studies at Indiana University Kris Hayashi, Deputy Director at the Transgender Law Center Diana Nucera, Director of the Detroit Community Technology Project at Allied Media Projects (AMP)
Transformative Media Organizing icons by Sabiha Basrai for Design Action Collective Additional icons from the Noun Project
Print Credits Printed by P&L Printing
Suggested Citation Costanza-Chock, Sasha, Schweidler, Chris, and the Out for Change: Transformative Media Organizing Project (2015). “Towards Transformative Media Organizing: LGBTQ and Two-Spirit Media Work in the United States.” Strengths & needs assessment by the Ford Foundation’s Advancing LGBT Rights Initiative, Research Action Design, and the MIT Center for Civic Media. New York: Ford Foundation. Available online at transformativemedia.cc.
Harlan Pruden (First Nations nēhiyaw/Cree), NorthEast Two-Spirit Society
License
Brad Sears, Roberta A. Conroy Scholar of Law and Policy and Executive Director of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution, Noncommercial, Share Alike 4.0 Unported License creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Saba Waheed, Research Director at the UCLA Labor Center Larry Gross, Annenberg School of Communications Teresa Basilio, Co-Director, Global Action Project Meghan McDermott, Director, McDermott Consulting Adrienne Marie Brown, writer, sci-fi/Octavia Butler scholar, healer, pleasure activist, facilitator, speaker/ singer, and doula-in-training, living in Detroit. Jay Toole, former Director of the Shelter Organizing Project at Queers for Economic Justice
Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes. Share Alike — If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
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Key Terms The list below includes key terms used throughout the report, particularly with reference to identity and media. We recognize that identities are part of an evolving landscape, and that movement building language is constantly changing. We hope to be as inclusive as possible.
Cisgender. Non-transgender. Someone whose gender identity is consistent with the way society expects them to be gendered, for example, a person who is assigned male at birth, seen by others as male, and identifies as male is a cisgendered male (cismale). Also shortened to cis, cisman, ciswoman. Gender Non-Conforming. Can be taken to include identities that are genderqueer, gender variant, gender fluid and third gender/sex, as well as those that are AG, bi-gendered or multi-gendered, non–gendered and andro, masculine-ofcenter, feminine-of-center and gender questioning. Intersectionality. Intersectionality (following feminist legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw) refers here to the ways in which structural oppression based on gender and sexual identity is not independent from (but rather, intersects with) race, class, immigration status, disability, age, and other axes of identity. Intersex. Intersex individuals are persons who, at birth, cannot be classified according to the medical norms of male and female bodies with regard to their chromosomal, gonadal or anatomical sex. The term inter* has also been used as an umbrella term that denotes the diversity of intersex realities and bodies. Jot@. The non-gender specific form of the Spanish language term ‘Joto’ or ‘Jota.’ A once-derogatory Mexican slang term that has been reappropriated as a term of community pride, similar to the word ‘queer.’ LGBTQ. Acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Queer. Media. By “media” we broadly include traditional communications (for example, P.R., press releases, writing opeds, purchasing paid advertisements), media production (for example creating films, videos, audio, photography, posters), and ‘new’ media work (webmaking, blogging, social media, online organizing), as well as cultural work (for example music, spoken word, visual arts, and theater). Media Justice. “Media Justice is a long-term vision to democratize the economy, government, and society through policies and practices that ensure: democratic media ownership, fundamental communication rights, universal
media and technology access, and meaningful, accurate representation within news and popular culture for everyone.” -- The Center for Media Justice Media Platform. A means of media distribution. For example, newspapers, radio, television, and mobile phones are examples of different ‘media platforms.’ Online Organizing. Online Organizing is often used to describe internet and mobile phone focused approaches to political and social movement campaigns. For example, a typical job description for an ‘online organizer’ looks for someone who will write and implement email blasts, run sms/text messaging campaigns, manage social media accounts, use web analytics to understand what content is popular and what response rates different ‘asks’ receive from members, and so on. Participatory Media. Forms of media that are designed to allow, invite, and encourage many people to take part in the process of media production, in other words, to make their own media or tell their own stories. Also referred to as ‘manyto-many’ media (such as social media or blogs) rather than ‘one to many’ media (such as television or newspapers). In this report, we emphasize that participatory media is not always online, and can include cultural forms such as art-making, music, and dance, among others. Participatory Research. In participatory research, community members, organizational representatives, and professional researchers are all involved in the research process, ideally working together at all stages to identify research questions, choose methods, conduct research, analyze results, and share findings. All partners in a participatory research process contribute expertise and share decision making and ownership. Queer. Queer is used as a broad umbrella term by a wide range of people who identify as outside of normative and/or binary constructions of gender, gender identity, sex, and/or sexual identity. The term is fluid rather than fixed (it doesn’t mean just one thing). School Push-Out. Discriminatory disciplinary practices, among other factors, produce elementary, junior high, and
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high school non-completion rates that are much higher among youth of color than among white youth, among LGBTQ youth than among straight youth, and highest among LGBTQ youth of color. “Push-out” rather than “drop-out” emphasizes the structural, systemic, and institutional forces beyond young people’s control that contribute greatly to school non-completion. Social Media. Websites and mobile applications that allow people to create profiles, connect with other users (‘friend’ or ‘follow’), and upload and share media (usually text, images, videos, and sometimes audio). Examples are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on. Trans*. This report uses trans* to broadly include people whose gender identity differs from the gender assigned at birth, which can be taken to include (among others) the following communities and identities – transfeminine, transmasculine, MTF (Male-to-female), FTM (Female-tomale), genderqueer, gender non-conforming, gendervariant and third gender/sex, transsexual and transvestite/ cross-dresser. Note: we use trans* in place of the umbrella term transgender, which many feel to be exclusive of the experience of some communities. Transformative Media Organizing. “Transformative media organizing is a liberatory approach to integrating media, communications, and cultural work into movement building. It lies at the place where media justice and transformative organizing overlap. Transformative media organizers begin with an intersectional analysis of linked systems of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and other axes of identity. We seek to do media work that develops the critical consciousness and leadership of those who take part in the media-making process, create media in ways that are deeply accountable to the movement base, invite our communities to participate in media production, create media strategically across platforms, and root our work in community action.” For more information see http://transformativemedia.cc/tmo. Two-Spirit. Among Indigenous North American culture, Two-Spirit refers to individuals whose spirits are a blending of male and female spirit. Two-Spirit is essentially a third gender recognized in many Indigenous cultures. For more information, see the Northeast Two-Spirit Society.
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Foreword We all experience the rapid pace of change in our media system; every day, new apps, tools, and social media platforms appear. Organizers, advocates, service providers, and social movements are using these new tools to tell their own stories and mobilize their communities in powerful ways, from #GirlsLikeUs to #Occupy, from #IdleNoMore to #BlackLivesMatter and beyond. Understanding how to harness new media, digital organizing, and strategic communications is one of the most crucial levers for movement building and effective advocacy. This report is the first attempt at a comprehensive assessment of how organizations that work to improve the lives of LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people currently utilize media, and of where there are opportunities to support innovative work. It is essential reading for funders and organizational leaders alike. The MIT Center for Civic Media, Research Action Design, and the Transformative Media Organizing Project partners and advisers have gathered and analyzed interviews with movement leaders and hundreds of survey responses from organizational staff across the country about the present state of their media work. They have done so through a participatory research process that centers the knowledge and expertise of those who work hard every day to advance LGBTQ and Two-Spirit rights, and who do so in ways that honor and harness the power of multi-dimensional identities. If we listen to the voices gathered in the pages that follow, we hear how activists are using both new and old media technologies not only to shift LGBTQ representations in mass media and popular culture, and not only to fight for LGBT rights as enshrined in policy and the courts, but also to make a resounding call for a lived equality and justice for all people. For funders, such stories are vivid, concrete illustrations of bold work that makes links between multiple struggles tangible. It is my hope that this report will shift the way that funders and activists think about media making and movement building. Media work is not only crucial for long-term cultural shift, it is a key element of 21st century organizing that can be truly transformative for LGBTQ and Two-Spirit communities, our allies, and the world. — Luna M. Yasui Ford Foundation LGBT Rights, Gender Rights and Equality Unit
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Executive Summary Making Media, and Making Change Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Queer (LGBTQ) and TwoSpirit communities make powerful media across a wide range of platforms to tell their own intersectional stories, integrate media making as a key component of their service, advocacy, organizing, and community building work, and use media to win policy and electoral campaigns, as well as to shift culture at large. The media landscape is rapidly evolving, and savvy social movements are taking advantage of opportunities provided by new communication tools to tell their stories, reach community members and allies, build power, and shift culture. Recognizing the need to share media skills, develop new knowledge, and design innovative media projects, the Ford Foundation’s Advancing LGBT Rights Initiative, the MIT Center for Civic Media, and Research Action Design teamed up with key organizational partners and expert advisers across the country to create the Out for Change Transformative Media Organizing Project (OCTOP). OCTOP links LGBTQ & Two-Spirit and allied media makers, organizers, and tech-activists together in a national network. In 2013-2014, we launched the project, conducted a series of monthly media skillshares, and carried out a participatory strengths and needs assessment of media work by LGBTQ and TwoSpirit organizations in the United States. This executive summary presents our methodology, key findings, and recommendations. Through our work together, we learned that many LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations have an intersectional analysis of linked systems of race, class, gender, gender identity, sexual identity, ability, and other axes of identity. Many seek to do media work that develops the critical consciousness and leadership of their communities, create media in ways that are deeply accountable to their base, use participatory approaches to media making, are strategic and cross-platform in their approach, and root their work in community action. We call this combination of characteristics
transformative media organizing, and we believe it represents best practice in the field. We found literally hundreds of powerful examples. Transformative media organizing is an approach that allows the LGBTQ and Two-Spirit movement to center the voices, leadership, and agendas of those who survive and build community together under the most difficult conditions. LGBTQ people of color and Two-Spirit folks increasingly use transformative media organizing strategies to work together across intersections, and to challenge structural, state, and interpersonal violence, racism, heteronormativity, mass incarceration, detention and deportation, and more. They make queer lives, experience, and wisdom visible through media and culture-making. We are excited to share our findings from this participatory research.
The OCTOP Team
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Methods
MEDIA THAT WORKS
Researchers at Research Action Design (RAD) and MIT’s Center for Civic Media used a participatory action research approach, guided by seven OCTOP partner organizations and a group of expert advisers, to develop the study design and research instruments. Participatory research values community experience, knowledge, and expertise. Community members, organizational representatives, and researchers worked together to define areas of investigation, develop research questions, choose methods, gather and analyze information, and produce and share findings. We employed mixed methods including a literature review, a nationwide organizational survey of over 3,000 organizations with 231 respondents, 19 expert interviews, and a series of workshops with partners and advisers. In addition to organizational demographics, we gathered information about different organizations’ capacity to engage in transformative media organizing, groups’ media organizing strategies, and visions for media and social change, as well as what organizations see as key barriers, needs, and opportunities. We also asked research participants to share examples of powerful and effective LGBTQ and Two-Spirit media work.
#whatablacklesbianlookslike Accountability Campaign, by NBJC
SURVEYS INTERVIEWS DATA ANALYSIS WORKSHOPS LITERATURE REVIEW
Remix Counter-ads by Media Literacy Project
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Summary Of Key Findings 231 LGBTQ & Two-Spirit
Demographics Two hundred and thirty one organizations completed the survey, from thirty nine states. The organizations represented are very diverse. Over half of participating organizations focus their work locally; about forty percent also work at the state level, and the same proportion work nationally. A sixth work internationally, as well as in the U.S. Just six percent work on reservations. One in five organizations operate on a shoestring, with an annual budget below $10,000. A third operate with small budgets (under $50,000 per year). Close to half have an annual budget under $200,000. The most common budget bracket (one-fifth of all orgs) is between $200,000-$500,000 per year. A few organizations (about one in ten) have annual budgets of more than a million dollars, and a few have budgets over five million.
organizations nationwide participated in the online survey
1 in 3
organizations reported working with members in rural communities
65% Urban
WHAT IS YOUR ANNUAL BUDGET? 6% 6% 5%
No budget $1-$999 $1,000-$4,999 $5,000-$9,999 $10,000-$24,999
About three quarters of survey respondents were nonprofit organizations; about a third identified as grassroots groups. A fifth were fiscally sponsored projects of another organization, while about one in three said they were either a network, collective, or community center. A few were coalitions, businesses, school clubs, faith based organizations, or private foundations.
29% Rural
$25,000-$49,999 $50,000-$99,999 $100,000-$199,999
29% of participating organizations have an annual budget between zero-$50,000 per year
3% 5% 4% 7% 8%
$200,000-$499,999
20%
$500,000-$999,999
12%
$1 million - $5 million Over $5 million
Legend 0 surveys 1-4 surveys 5-10 surveys 11+ surveys
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9%
15%
Media Capacity
WHAT IS YOUR MEDIA BUDGET THIS YEAR?
LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations need more resources to strengthen their existing media work. More than half of organizations say that funding and staff are their top needs, while half list media training, such as media production or learning how to talk with reporters, as one of their top needs. A third also mention media equipment or software, media strategy, or partnerships as among their top media needs. We found that full-time media staff are rare in organizations with budgets below $500,000, that a third of LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations have no media budget, and that all told, half of organizations have a media budget that is less than $1,000 per year. Two-thirds of organizations fund their media work from their core operating budget, and some participants emphasized that they see media as an add-on when their organization is struggling to survive. Unsurprisingly, LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations have widely varying ability to reach the mainstream media: the largest organizations receive the lion’s share of mainstream media coverage, while smaller organizations are rarely interviewed by journalists. Some noted that this implies a responsibility on the part of larger organizations to share media access, visibility, messaging, and other media resources with smaller, local, and regional organizations.
33%
No media budget
17%
$1-$999
13%
$1,000-$4,999 $5,000-$9,999 $10,000-$19,999
4% 5% 6%
$20,000-$49,999 $50,000-$99,000
12%
$100,000-$499,999 $500,000 or more
9% 2%
“A lot of resources are being spent to create new campaigns or develop new messaging, when there are already people doing that work who need support from foundations and other groups.” — survey participant
HOW FREQUENTLY DO JOURNALISTS INTERVIEW YOUR ORG FOR STORIES THEY ARE WRITING? No Budget
Weekly
Annual Budget
$1-$999 $1,000-$4,999
Monthly
$5,000-$9,999
A Few Times a Year
$10,000-$24,999
Never
$25,000-$49,999 $50,000-$99,999 $100,000-$199,999 $200,000-$499,999 $500,000-$999,999 $1 million -$5 million Over $5 million 0%
20%
50%
75%
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100%
Transformative “For the Two-Spirit community our Gatherings are so important to us. I have witnessed individuals that are contemplating suicide, or who have been dislocated from their ways/ culture, and as a result of being in a space that affirms and celebrates their full identity...it is like a light is turned on inside of them! ” — Survey Respondent MEDIA THAT WORKS
Many organizations note that media-making can be a transformative process for those who take part. People gain important skills through doing media work together; indeed, two thirds of organizations see building grassroots leadership as a key goal for their media work. Media making can also be a liberatory, creative, and healing process; three quarters of organizations say that individual and community growth and healing is one of the highest priorities for their media work. However, they note that transformative outcomes are not typically recognized, celebrated, or supported by funders. Transformative impacts are the hardest to measure, but often the most important. Many feel that media impact assessment must factor in personal and organizational transformation, not only metrics of audience reach and engagement.
“There is power in telling our own stories, both for ourselves, and for others.” — Research Participant Most organizations feel that their media work helps produce greater visibility, stronger storytelling, community empowerment, and new allies. However, they are less confident about their ability to create long term cultural shifts, which they feel are ultimately crucial to changing social norms, policies, and lived experience. Four out of five say that long-term cultural shift is a high priority for their media work, but just one out of five feel they are able to achieve this kind of impact.
Two-Spirit Gatherings & Powwows
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Intersectional In the context of this project, we define intersectionality as the ways in which structural oppression based on gender and sexual identity is not independent from (but rather, intersects with) that based on race, class, immigration status, disability, age, poverty, and other axes of identity. Most LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations work with diverse communities; nine out of ten work with people of color, eight out of ten with youth, three quarters with low-income folks, and half with immigrants, among many other communities. Most organizations are also multi-issue focused. For example, more than half say they work on racial justice, trans* rights, and education. Nearly twice as many LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations work on racial justice (about sixty percent) as on marriage equality (thirty percent). Many organizations are not satisfied
with the predominant single-issue approaches. They want LGBTQ and Two-Spirit media work to represent the full complexity of their communities, and see intentional, intersectional organizing as a key movement-building opportunity. Many feel that mainstream media coverage of LGBT issues is dominated by marriage equality, and remains silent on other critical issues facing LGBTQ and Two-Spirit communities of color. They note that this silence often goes unchallenged by mainstream LGBT organizations, and they are working to shift the narrative to better represent their own communities. Organizations see single-issue funding, concentration of funding, and underinvestment in grassroots organizations as barriers to intersectional organizing and messaging. Media that centers the issues, stories and policy concerns of LGBTQ People of Color and Two-Spirit communities is critically needed, respondents said.
WHAT ISSUES DO YOU WORK ON?
Gentrification 10% Environmental Justice 13% Workers’ Rights 17%
Other 19% LGBTQ Rights 78%
Media Justice 18% Sex Workers’ Rights 24%
Racial Justice 57%
Two-Spirit Rights 26% Reproductive Justice 29%
Trans* Rights 56%
Marriage Equality 30% Employment /NonDiscrimination 31%
Education 56%
Criminal Justice System 33% Housing/ Homelessness 34%
HIV/AIDS 46%
Mental Health 38%
Safe Schools 46%
Immigrant Rights 39% Economic Justice 40%
Health 46% Trans* Health 45%
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WHO DO YOU WORK WITH? 44% People with disabilities
45% Indigenous
41% Pacific Islander
65% White
89% POC
75% Low-income
75% Latino/a
44% Homeless
52% Immigrants
32% SWANA
43% South Asian
53% Homo/trans*phobic violence survivors
74% African American
37% Sex Workers
34% Incarcerated
38% Rural
50% HIV+
57% Asian
46% DV Survivors
MEDIA THAT WORKS
Video Captioning Workshop, by INCITE! and SONG
I am Undocuqueer Poster Art by Julio Salgado
“As movements committed to social and economic justice, where are the disabled people in our communities, organizations, bases, and movements? Are they isolated? … What would access beyond logistics look and feel like? Access that allows people to not just be included, but maintain their dignity and connection to their communities?” — Mia Mingus, quoted in OCTOP Skillshare
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Accountable
MEDIA THAT WORKS
About three quarters of surveyed organizations seek written or verbal consent for use of their members’ stories. Some also establish clear systems of community accountability in other aspects of their media work; for example, about half review campaign messages with their members. However, few establish clear systems to ensure ongoing community oversight of, or participation in, organizational media strategy. Just one in five have a community steering committee that develops messaging and framing. Many organizations see a need to develop stronger community accountability mechanisms, both internally and in partnerships, such as when working with other organizations or professional media-makers (such as filmmakers). LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations are using participatory media campaigns to help hold the powerful (elected officials, celebrities, and companies) accountable for homophobia, trans* phobia, racism, and more. Social media provide important opportunities for the LGBTQ and Two-Spirit movement, but are also sites of risk: more than half of surveyed organizations say they are concerned about discrimination, stalking, and gender based violence against their members based on information revealed on social media sites.
“Love is Love” Poster Campaign, by Freedom INC.
DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING TO HELP ENSURE THAT YOUR MEDIA WORK IS ACCOUNTABLE TO YOUR COMMUNITY?
We ask for verbal consent to use our community members’ stories
78%
We gather written consent to use our community members’ stories
73%
We review campaign messages with a group of our members We have a community steering committee that develops our messaging and framing Other accountability practices
45% 17% 18%
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Participatory
MEDIA THAT WORKS
Most LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations do some kind of participatory media work: six out of ten ask their community members to create media, and nearly four out of five share their community members’ stories. Participatory media making takes place across many different media platforms, not just online. Nearly half of organizations report that their Executive Director leads their media work, yet many would like to see more community members supported to lead, as well as participate in, media work. DO YOU EVER ASK YOUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO CREATE MEDIA AS PART OF A CAMPAIGN OR ADVOCACY WORK?
No: 43%
Yes: 57%
#GSAs4Justice, by GSANet
“For the National Week of Action on School Pushout, we asked members to share images of their GSA pushing back against school pushout with the hashtag #GSAs4Justice. In addition to participatory media campaigns, we often ask individual youth to write a blog post or email.” — survey participant
DO YOU EVER ASK YOUR MEMBERS TO SHARE PERSONAL STORIES AS PART OF YOUR MEDIA WORK?
No: 22%
Pen Pals and Newspaper, by Black & Pink
Yes: 78%
“The Black and Pink newspaper is an excellent media source. It’s created by incarcerated members of Black and Pink and goes out to nearly 5,000 LGBTQ prisoners across the country.”
- 16 OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
Strategic LGBTQ & Two-Spirit organizations are producing a wide range of media across platforms, offline and online, in order to reach their communities. Yet there are gaps between the audiences that organizations most want to reach with their media work, and those they feel they are best able to reach. Nearly all feel able to reach their own communities, but only one-fifth say they are reaching the mass media, policymakers, or the broader public.
internet and to digital media tools and skills. Many organizations said they would like to make their media accessible, as well as multilingual. WHAT PROPORTION OF YOUR COMMUNITY IS MOSTLY OFFLINE?
29% 24% 17%
HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE OTHER ORGS STRENGTHENED YOUR MEDIA WORK? IF SO, HOW...?
12% 4% 1%
2%
11-
10
Yes: 69%
0-
We haven’t partnered on our media work 25%
6%
% 20 % 21 -3 0% 31 -4 0% 41 -5 0% 51 -6 0% 61 -7 0% 71 -8 0 81 % -9 0 91 % -10 0%
3%
proportion community offline
MEDIA THAT WORKS
No: 6%
Working with mainstream reporters is one of the most important strategies for publicizing an organization’s work, according to survey respondents. However, not all organizations maintain lists of press contacts. Partnerships are powerful; three quarters of organizations have partnered with other groups on media work, and nine out of ten say that partnerships are an effective way to amplify their messages. In addition, nearly half of LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations estimate that more than a third of their community is mostly offline, so face-to-face organizing remains essential. LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people, especially POC and immigrants, are incarcerated and detained at very high rates, and their communication rights are systematically violated. This underscores the need for offline media making and distribution strategies, as well as for LGBTQ & Two-Spirit digital justice initiatives to expand access to broadband
Know Your Rights Materials, by Streetwise and Safe
“We created ‘Know Your Rights’ materials, tailored to LGBTQ youth and packaged in condom cases — which have been replicated by a number of agencies serving homeless LGBTQ youth ... And we made a “Know Your Rights” website for LGBTQ youth!”
- 17 OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
Rooted in Community Action Media work is most powerful and effective when it is deeply rooted in the struggles, narratives, and actions of the community. Research participants emphasize that it is important to lift up effective work that already exists. LGBTQ & Two-Spirit organizations already use a very wide range of strategies to address issues faced by their communities. Seven out of ten groups take part in coalitions, and the same proportion conduct social media campaigns; six in ten offer leadership development programs, and the same proportion engage in grassroots organizing; four out of ten provide direct services, and a quarter take part in direct action, among many other approaches. Half of survey respondents are involved in policy advocacy, and many would like to see national LGBTQ policy strategy that is more aligned with their members’ lives and experiences. Many also say that resources are especially needed for local projects outside of major cities and away from the East and West coasts.
Cultural work, in addition to more traditional press and online media work, is deeply important to many organizations and their communities. For Two-Spirit organizations especially, gatherings, dance, drumming, music, storytelling, and ceremonies are all essential forms of community organizing. MEDIA THAT WORKS
Fotohistorias del Westside, by Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
WHAT DO YOU DO TO ADDRESS ISSUES LGBTQ & TWO-SPIRIT COMMUNTIES FACE? 69%
Social Media Paid Advertising
MEDIA
9% 27% 27%
Media Campaigns Mass Media Outreach / P.R.
POLITICAL & KNOW YOUR RIGHTS EDUCATION
Know Your Rights Education/Campaigns
37%
Popular Education
35% 36%
Political Education
50%
Policy Advocacy ACTION AND ADVOCACY
19%
Lobbying Legal Advocacy
18% 25%
Direct Action
59%
Grassroots Community Organizing
42%
Online Organizing ORGANIZING, ORG DEVELOPMENT & MOVEMENT BUILDING
61%
Leadership Development Electoral / Get Out the Vote
15% 48%
Arts/Cultural Work
70%
Coalition/Alliance/Network-Building Research
DIRECT SERVICES
35%
Direct Services Individual Advocacy (Help folks navigate systems)
- 18 OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
43% 48%
RECOMMENDATIONS Based on these findings, we recommend the following: For Funders Resource grassroots LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations to do media work – however they define it. Support and trust organizations to do media work in the ways that they want and need. Move beyond the tendency to measure success by counting column inches in newspapers, or clicks, likes, comments, and shares on social media. Support intersectional media work. Intersectional work is often under-resourced, in comparison to single-issue media campaigns. We need to find new models to fund, resource, and otherwise support and encourage intersectional organizing, and resource media work that reflects the complex realities of our communities. Support LGBTQ and Two-Spirit media organizing work by organizations led by, or working directly with, those who live at the intersections of multiple systems of oppression. LGBTQ and Two-Spirit youth, immigrants, women, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, trans* and gender nonconforming people, and people of color are not only among those critically impacted by oppression, exclusion and violence, they also lead much of the most cutting edge media making, organizing, and advocacy happening today. However, they receive just a small share of funding. Funders can help change this by following the slogan of the disability justice movement, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” when making funding decisions. Digital access inequality persists, and it must be challenged through media justice initiatives focused on LGBTQ & Two-Spirit communities. LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people, especially those who are low-income and/or living in rural areas or reservations, and those who are incarcerated, need greater access to broadband connectivity and digital media education. Resource digital justice efforts to increase access and affordability, as well as digital media literacy programs run by and for LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people to build capacity for media creation of all kinds. Support spaces where media makers rooted in grassroots communities can gather to share strategies, successes, and challenges. Media impact assessment must include transformative impacts. As funders develop media impact metrics and use them to inform grantmaking, it is crucial to recognize that transformative impacts, such as leadership development,
healing, and personal and organizational growth, although perhaps the most difficult to measure, are among the most powerful. Lift up what works, and support people — not just platforms. We encourage funders to promote and share existing, powerful media work that is bubbling up from the grassroots, support existing collaborations, increase resources to local organizers, and fund face-to-face, offline, artistic, and cultural approaches to media work — not only television and print advertising, or the latest social media tools. Amplify media made by grassroots LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations through funder gatherings and information networks, as well as in publications, such as annual reports and the philanthropic press.
For Media-Makers Be respectful. We invite journalists and members of the press who write stories about LGBTQ and Two-Spirit communities to dig deeper into the intersections between gender, gender identity, sexual identity, race, class, immigration, and other axes of identity. Don’t sensationalize. Use the language used by the person you are speaking with to describe them and their situation, and stick to the story they are telling, not the one you think will cause the biggest splash. Be mindful of how the media you create might inadvertently perpetuate perceptions of LGBTQ people which are ultimately limiting or harmful. Create clear accountability mechanisms when you partner with LGBTQ and Two-Spirit organizations. Media professionals, such as filmmakers, should agree upon accountability mechanisms and ethical representation practices when partnering with organizations. It is possible to do this without sacrificing artistic freedom (a common objection). For example, create a community advisory group to review your media project’s narrative, messaging, and any “action asks,” very early in the production process — not just at the tail end or when you get to the rough cut. This will make your project stronger, more believable, and more useful to the community, in additional to being the the ethical thing to do.
- 19 OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
Value community media. Understand that you will not always be able to interview someone who is directly affected by the issue you are reporting on. Publicity can still put some LGBTQ people at risk of discrimination, abuse, and violence, particularly if they are people of color, Two-Spirit, youth, migrants, or are engaged in criminalized survival strategies. Seek out media made by LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people and communities on their own terms, with whatever precautions they feel necessary to take, and consider using this media as a possible credited source in your own stories.
For Organizations
Find partners to amplify your message. Develop accountable partnerships with media-makers and organizations with strong media presence, build relationships with journalists and bloggers, and find artists and cultural workers who are sympathetic to your organization’s mission and vision. Local media outlets, such as local newspapers and local TV news, can be important allies when national media are hard to reach. Larger and better funded organizations should develop concrete initiatives to share their media access, skills, staff, reach, and other assets with smaller, more regional and local organizations. This is a key aspect of community responsibility, and can help surface and amplify intersectional narratives.
Ground media work in community action. Recognize that we are not going to win with online-only strategy; our communities are the heart of our movements. We need media that is generated organically through genuine engagement with members of directly impacted communities, which will creatively speak to members of those communities, in addition to reporters and policymakers. Use media work as an opportunity to build grassroots leadership. Ideally, those who participate in transformative media organizing build power together, and gain skills, relationships, opportunities to express creativity, and space for healing and growth along the way. Develop intentional community accountability structures. Invite and support your community to meaningfully participate in all stages of your media work, from strategy, messaging, and framing to media-making and sharing. Work with your community to use participatory media to hold powerful people (such as elected officials and celebrities) and companies accountable for homophobic, trans* phobic, racist, sexist, ableist, anti-immigrant, and other oppressive statements, actions, and policies. Plan for and promote safety, security, and harm reduction online. Social media are powerful tools, but they also expose our communities to harm. Develop dedicated materials and workshops for LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people to learn about online safety and security. Develop materials for securing informed consent for the use of images, testimony, and other forms of media that have the potential to be widely disseminated around the globe through the internet, and be sure your community understands that for practical purposes all digital media can be used and altered without permission, and will persist indefinitely online.
- 20 OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
References Bowman, Karlyn, Andrew Rugg, and Jennifer Marsico. “Polls on attitudes on homosexuality & gay marriage.” American Enterprise Institute. 27 March, 2013. www.aei.org/outlook/politics-and-public-opinion/ polls/polls-on-attitudes-on-homosexuality-gay-marriage-march-2013.
Gruberg, Sharita. Dignity Denied: LGBT Immigrants in U.S. Immigration Detention. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2013. http:// cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ImmigrationEnforcement-1.pdf.
BreakOUT! We Deserve Better: A Report on Policing in New Orleans by and for Queer and Trans Youth of Color. New Orleans: BreakOUT!, in collaboration with National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 2014. getyrrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WE-DESERVE-BETTER-REPORT. pdf.
Hanssens, Catherine, Aisha C. Moodie-Mills, Andrea J. Ritchie, Dean Spade, and Urvashi Vaid. “A Roadmap for Change: Federal Policy Recommendations for Addressing the Criminalization of LGBT People and People Living with HIV.” New York: Center for Gender & Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School, 2014.
Burdge, H., Licona, A. C., and Hyemingway, Z. T. LGBTQ Youth of Color: Discipline Disparities, School Push-Out, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline. San Francisco, CA: Gay-Straight Alliance Network and Tucson, AZ: Crossroads Collaborative at the University of Arizona, 2014. www. gsanetwork.org/Pushout-Report.
Kan, Lyle Matthew. Out in the South: Building Resources for LGBTQ Advancement in the U.S. South. New York: Funders for LGBTQ Issues, 2014. www.lgbtfunders.org/resources/LGBTQsouth.cfm.
Center for Transformative Change. Framing Deep Change: Essays on Transformative Change. Berkeley: Center for Transformative Change, 2010. issuu.com/xsochange/docs/framingdeepchange. Conrad, Ryan (Ed.) Against Equality: Queer Revolution, Not Mere Inclusion. Oakland: AK Press, 2014. Daniels, Jessie, and Mary Gray. Vision for Inclusion: An LGBT Broadband Future. LGBT Technology Partnership Institute, 2014. lgbtbroadband.org. DataCenter. The National Trans*, Two-Spirit, and Intersex Landscape Survey. Oakland: DataCenter, 2012. www.datacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012-FINAL-Arcus-Landscape-Survey-Report-Final-Draft-120705_ v2.pdf,
Movement Advancement Project. LGBT Community Center Survey Report. Denver: Movement Advancement Project, 2014. www.lgbtmap.org/ lgbt-movement-overviews/2014-lgbt-community-center-survey-report. Movement Advancement Project, Center for American Progress, Freedom to Work, Human Rights Campaign, and National Black Justice Coalition. “A Broken Bargain for LGBT Workers of Color.” Denver: Movement Advancement Project, 2013. www.lgbtmap.org/file/a-broken-bargain-for-lgbt-workers-of-color.pdf. Napoli, Philip. “Measuring Media Impact: An Overview of the Field.” Los Angeles: Norman Lear Center, 2014. www.learcenter.org/pdf/measuringmedia.pdf.
Detroit Future Schools. “Guide to Transformative Education.” Detroit: Detroit Future Schools, 2014. www.detroitfutureschools.org/toolkit.
Pastor, Manuel, Ito, J., & Rosner, R. Transactions, transformations, translations: Metrics that matter for building, scaling, and funding social movements. Los Angeles: USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, 2011.
Emmer, Pascal, Adrian Lowe, and R. Barrett Marshall. “This is a Prison, Glitter is Not Allowed: Experiences of Trans and Gender Variant People in Pennsylvania’s Prison Systems.” Philadelphia, PA: Hearts on a Wire Collective, 2011. www.galaei.org/documents/thisisaprison.pdf.
Sen, Rinku, Seth Wessler, and Dominique Apollon. Better Together: Research Findings on the Relationship between Racial Justice Organizations and LGBT Communities. Oakland: Applied Research Center, 2010. www. antiracistalliance.com/Better_Together_ARC_2010-1.pdf.
Gates, Gary. “LGBT Adult Immigrants in the United States.” Los Angeles: Williams Institute, 2013. williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/us-lgbt-immigrants-mar-2013.
Sender, Katherine. Business, not politics: The making of the gay market. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
Grant, Jaime M., Lisa A. Mottet, Justin Tanis, Jack Harrison, Jody L. Herman,and Mara Keisling. Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Washington: National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011. www.thetaskforce.org/static_html/downloads/reports/reports/ ntds_full.pdf. Gray, Mary. Out in the country: Youth, media, and queer visibility in rural America. New York: NYU Press, 2009. Gross, Larry P. Up from invisibility: Lesbians, gay men, and the media in America. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
Torres, C. Angel, and Naima Paz. “Denied Help! How Youth in the Sex Trade & Street Economy are Turned Away from Systems Meant to Help Us & What We are Doing to Fight Back.” Chicago, IL: Young Women’s Empowerment Project, 2012. ywepchicago.files.wordpress. com/2012/09/bad-encounter-line-report-2012.pdf. Trans Justice Funding Project. 2013 Trans Justice Funding Report. Trans Justice Funding Project, 2013. www.transjusticefundingproject. org/2013-report. Whyte, William Foote (Ed.) Participatory action research. Sage Publications, Inc, 1991.
- 21 OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
Appendix: Participating Organizations Ackerman Institute for the Family
City of Angels Two-Spirit Society
Global Action Project
ACT for Women and Girls
Colorado Anti-Violence Program
Grand Street Settlement
Advocates for Youth
Colorado State University
Health Imperatives
All Out Arts, Inc
Columbus Public Health
Heartland Pride
Alliance For Full Acceptance
Communities for a New California Education Fund
Hispanic Black Gay Coalition
ALSO Youth, Inc
community of unity
American Civil Liberties Union
CultureStrike
API Equality-LA
DarkMatter
Arbor Circle Youth Services Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Atlanta Pride Committee, Inc. Audre Lorde Project Autonomous Communities for Reproductive and Abortion Support
DeColores Queer Orange County
Indiana Two-Spirit Society
El/La Para TransLatinas
Indigenous Peoples Task Force
Encuentro
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
Equality Michigan
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
Birthmark Doula Collective
Family & Children Services of Silicon Valley
Bisexual Resource Center
Fenway Health
Black and Pink
FIERCE
Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100)
Forward Together
Blue Mountain Clinic Family Practice
Freedom to Marry
Boston Bisexual Women’s Network
Freedom, Inc
Bread & Roses Community Fund
Fresno BHC (Hood Fix Up)
BreakOUT!
Funders for LGBTQ Issues
Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
Capital City GLBTA Democratic Caucus
Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada
Center for Media Change Center on Halsted CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers Central Oklahoma Two-Spirit Society
imMEDIAte Justice
Dreams of Hope
Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits
Center for Gender & Sexuality Law
Hudson Valley Community Services
INCITE! Women & Trans People of Color against Violence
Equality Toledo
Center for Constitutional Rights
Hope Manifest, Inc.
Detroit REPRESENT!
Basic Rights Oregon
Center for Artistic Revolution, CAR
HIV Prevention Justice Alliance (HIV PJA)
JCC of Greater New Haven Kaleidoscope Youth Center LaGender inc. Lesbian Health Initiative (LHI) LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland Los Angeles Immigrant Youth Coalition Los Angeles Transgender Film Festival Madison NOW MakeShift Boston MAP For Health Marriage Equality USA Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth Media for the Public Good, Inc.
Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools
Media Literacy Project
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center
Gender Justice LA
Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC)
Georgia Equality
Miami Gay Men’s Chorus
GetEQUAL
Milwaukee LGBT Community Center
GetEqual Massachusetts
Moab Pride
Global Action for Trans* Equality
Mobile Homecoming
- 22 OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
Montana Gay Straight Alliance Network
Rainbow Center
Time Out Youth Center
Montana Two-Spirit Society
Raise A Child Inc.
Trans-E-Motion
Movement Advancement Project
Red Umbrella Project
Trans(forming)
Murray Grove Retreat and Renewal Center
Resource Center
Transgender Law Center
National Black Justice Coalition
River City Mixed Chorus
National Center for Transgender Equality
Ruth Ellis Center
Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
New York City Anti-Violence Project
Scenarios USA
Twin Cities Pride
New York Law Collective
SCO Family of Services
Two-Spirits of Seattle
North East Transwomens Alliance Inc. (NETA Inc.)
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
TYSN
Skidmore College LGBTQ Faculty & Staff group
Unity Fellowship of Christ
SMYAL
Urban Justice Center
Soulforce
Utah Pride Center
Southerners On New Ground
VINE Sanctuary
PFLAG Tampa, Inc.
STAR Program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Voices Rising
PFund Foundation
Streetwise and Safe (SAS)
PIzza Klatch
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan
T-FFED: Trans Folx* Fighting Eating Disorders
Positive Wellness Alliance
TEACH Alliance
Pride Films and Plays
Texas Two-Spirit Society
Women’s Health and Justice Initiative
Pro-Choice Resources
The Center for Hope and Healing
Young Women United
Project South
The Center of SWFL-LGBTQA
Youth Action Coalition
Providence Youth Student Movement
The Family Partnership
Youth Leadership Institute
QSanAntonio.com
The Family Tree Community Center
90.9 KRCL
Queer Ancestors Project
The Frederick Center
Queer Asian Pacific-Islander Alliance (QAPA)
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
NorthEast Two-Spirit Society NW Alliance for Alternative Media & Education OneAmerica Otter Activism
Queer Detainee Empowerment Project Queer People of Color CSUF Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP)
The Living Room The Montrose Center The Night Ministry The Queer Connection
QUIP
The UP Center of Champaign County
Qulture.org
Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Transvisible Film Tulsa Two-Spirit Society
Waterloo Counseling Center Western States Center Wichita Two-Spirit Society Windy City Times
We thank all of the participating organizations for taking the time to complete the survey, and for the tremendous work you do. The organizations listed above consented to being identified publicly as participating in the survey; the survey was completed by over 40 additional organizations.
- 23 OUT FOR CHANGE: Towards Transformative Media Organizing
What Is Transformative Media Organizing? Transformative media organizing is a liberatory approach to integrating media, communications, and cultural work into movement building. Transformative media organizers begin with an intersectional analysis of linked systems of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and other axes of identity. We seek to do media work that develops the critical consciousness and leadership of those who take part in the media-making process, create media in ways that are deeply accountable to the movement base, invite our communities to participate in media production, create media strategically across platforms, and root our work in community action.
Why You Should Read This Report “Social movements are using new tools to tell their own stories and mobilize their communities in powerful ways, from #GirlsLikeUs to #IdleNoMore, from #Occupy to #BlackLivesMatter and beyond. This report provides an incredibly valuable overview of how the organizations that work to improve the lives of LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people currently utilize media, and of opportunities to support innovative work and address capacity challenges. It is essential reading for funders and organizational leaders alike.� -- Luna Yasui, Program Officer, LGBT Rights, Ford Foundation
www.transformativemedia.cc