The Blue Book

THE BLUE BOOK

Derived from: Blue is not the Only Colour in the Rainbow.

A project for THRIVEFEST 2020.

Part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival.

THE BLUE BOOK A creative project by SX Scotland, Waverley Care.

SX is Waverley Care’s service for gay and bisexual men and all men who have sex with men (GBMSM).

GBMSM experience many health inequalities throughout their life from homophobia, biphobia and judgemental attitudes around the relationships they form. We know that over half of GBMSM experience some form of poor mental health at some point in their life, such as anxiety or depression. There can sometimes be a perception that GBMSM no longer experience inequalities due to the decriminalisation of same sex marriage and the establishment of equality legislation. However, while GBMSM legally have more protections and rights, there are still many unique issues that can have a significant impact on GBMSM’s mental health and wellbeing.

Despite the fact that mental health issues are so common in our communities, many of us find it difficult to talk about mental health, or feel ashamed and stigmatised for doing so.

At SX we’re changing that.

This project asked men from our community to submit an image and small piece of text that reflected their mental health or wellbeing in some way.

We then printed their images using a technique known as cyanotype. Cyanotype is when sunlight is used to develop an image almost like a shadow.

This technique is unique to each day as it requires sunlight and how long you expose the image to the light. This technique allowed us to start interesting conversations about people’s mental health and wellbeing, especially when reflecting on how men struggle to discuss their mental health openly. The submissions have been really interesting snapshots of the lives that GBMSM lead and we’ve had a diverse range of images from individuals’ memories, safe spaces and small gestures which make a difference to their lives.

We want this project to start a conversation. A conversation that helps men in our community feel able to speak more openly their experiences but also brings their voice to life for this World Mental Health Day.

THE BLUE BOOK SX Scotland and Waverley Care would like to thank all the contributors for their submissions.

SX is about improving the sex, health and wellbeing of gay and bisexual men, and all men who have sex with men living in Scotland.

We are proud to be part of the LGBTQ+ community, and we aim to reflect the diversity of the people we work with.

Our ethos at SX is to be sex positive and we strive to improve the physical, sexual and mental health and wellbeing of all men who have sex with men. SX works also with cis and trans men, and many other allies across Scotland.

Through listening to the people in our community, and empowering them to have their voices heard, we provide support to those we work with, encouraging them to have consensual and pleasurable sex with the least harm.

SX is part of Waverley Care, which is Scotland’s charity helping people who need support with HIV, hepatitis C and sexual health. By being part of Waverley Care, we have benefited from over 30 years of learning and expertise working to reduce new infections, increasing access to testing and challenging the stigma experienced by our communities.

If you would like support advice, support or information, get in touch.

www.s-x.scot info@s-x.scot