Proud Changemakers (Proud Changemakers)

Museums are a way of recording us as human beings, our experiences and our surroundings. But they only capture what we ourselves record.

The history of the LGBTQIA+ community often go untold because many generations were too afraid to leave any trace of their queerness for fear of exposure, prosecution and violence.

In this episode, Fiona Moorcroft (she/her) from the LGBT youth charity SAYiT talks us through what we have learnt about queer history from the artefacts left behind and how we can preserve our current lives for future generations.

This was recorded at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield in front of a live audience therefore the sound quality is lessened from our usual recordings.

If you would like to join us on our podcast, suggest a topic, guest or theme, or just have a chat with us you can find us across the socials or our email at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers.

We gather together our leadership team - Luca Straker (they/them), Suneet Sharma (he/him), Graysen Whittaker (he/they), Catherine Goodall (she/her) and Paige Hughes (she/her) - to reflect on our first full year as a group and as a podcast.

We share our learnings, our highlights and what topics we'd like to cover in 2025!

Plus we've got our new intro music.

If you would like to suggest a topic, be on the pod talking about your passion or would like to send us your reflections on the year then you can reach us at proudchangemakers@gmail.com.

Thank you to you all for listening and we hope you've had a good year too.

Come and say hello to the Proud Changemakers team!

In this episode, we - the Proud Changemakers team - got together to talk about why we set up Proud Changemakers, what our hopes and aspirations are, what we are really excited about and what we have already gained.

So who are we? We are Amy Whitelock Gibbs (she/her), Catherine Goodall (she/her), Cathy Swift (she/her), Graysen Whittaker (he/they) and Lucy Straker (she/they).

Catherine is a Policy and Influencing Manager at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). In this role she leads influencing work on government policy relating to volunteering. She works closely with stakeholders across the voluntary sector, using evidence and insight to create positive change.

Lucy is the Campaigns Manager for Brake, the road safety charity. Here Lucy leads on the charity’s national campaigns which can include calling for new legislation to support all road users, raising public awareness of road dangers or advocating for road crash victims. Lucy is responsible for creating and delivering the charity’s campaign strategy plus is one of the key media spokespeople.

Graysen worked in the charitable sector for their first salaried employment and progressed into the position of LGBT+ Service Development Manager for a charity in Kent called Porchlight.

Graysen also worked for City, University of London as Senior EDI Officer: Gender and LGBTQI+, striving to support the institution more equitable for LGBTQI+ people and women.

Graysen has been a Board of Trustees member of Mosaic, LGBT+ Young Persons’ Trust for two years, and is currently the Vice Chair of this Board.

Have a question or want to learn more about Proud Changemakers?

Then reach out to us across any of our networks at ⁠https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers⁠

Music was by ⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠

Proud Changemakers exists to empower the LGBTQIA+ voluntary sector and civil society leaders of tomorrow. The community supports and champions LGBTQIA+ and other leaders and civil society organisations. Proud Changemakers is a community, a network and a group, organised and coordinated by volunteers. This is a new, emerging and developing community, which welcomes new members, connections, funders and supporters.

Proud Changemakers aims to:

• Champion and support LGBTQIA+ leaders, staff and volunteers and organisations 

• Provide advice, guidance and support to educate non-LGBTQIA+ leaders and organisations 

• Create and improve cultures of inclusion and belonging for all LGBTQIA+ staff and volunteers, and organisations 

• Provide a safe space and community for LGBTQIA+ people, to celebrate each others’ achievements, demonstrate solidarity and share learning and experiences.  

Proud Changemakers was formed in 2023.

Interview with Dr. Surabhi Shukla on Intersex rights in India

In this bonus episode of Proud Changemakers, we sit down with Dr. Surabhi Shukla to discuss a groundbreaking case on intersex rights in India. Dr. Shukla is a legal scholar whose research examines the intersection of law, gender, and human rights.

Key Discussion Points

• The Kerala High Court Case (2023):
  Dr. Shukla breaks down the case where parents of a 7-year-old intersex child sought permission for genital reconstruction surgery. The court ruled against non-consensual surgeries, reinforcing the child’s right to self-determination.

• Legal and medical context:

  • What does it mean to be intersex?
  • The history of non-consensual surgeries on intersex infants.
  • Lack of clear legal regulation in India and the role of medical practitioners.

• The Role of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019:

  • How an inaccurate legal definition of "transgender" unintentionally provided legal protection for intersex children.
  • The court’s reliance on this law to prevent parents from consenting to surgeries on their child’s behalf.

• Judicial and policy gaps:

  • Previous rulings in Tamil Nadu and Delhi banning these surgeries.
  • The Kerala High Court’s directive to form an expert committee but the lack of intersex representation in decision-making.

Why This Matters Intersex rights remain under-discussed, even within broader LGBTQIA+ advocacy. This case is a milestone in legal recognition of bodily autonomy for intersex individuals, yet much work remains in India and globally.

Tune in to hear Dr. Shukla’s insights on what this case means for intersex rights, legal protections, and the fight for gender justice in India.

And read her blog on this case at: lawandsexuality.com

Follow Proud Changemakers on Bluesky, LinkedIn and Instagram or visit our website proudchangemakers.org for more discussions on LGBTQIA+ history, representation, and activism.

If you would like to discuss this or any other topic for our podcast please contact us at hello@proudchangemakers.org

Trigger warning - this episode contains references to transphobia

We spoke with a lovely bunch of humans on how some charities are dealing with transphobic hate - either because they are trans-focused charities or they are simply including trans people in their dialogue.

Speaking up in support of the trans community is important - but staying spoken when the vocal minority use online platforms to target you, is even more important.

In this episode, our host Graysen Whittaker (he/they) starts by speaking to fellow Proud Changemaker and former CEO of Birthrights, Amy Whitelock Gibbs (she/her) about how the organisation stood its ground when faced with transphobic hate. This was after they changed their language to reference women and pregnant people.

We then hear from Zoe Amar (she/her), of Zoe Amar Digital, about how she supported Amy during this period of crisis communications.

Plus we get valuable insight from Carrie Lyell (they/them), Head of Digital and Communications at Mermaids, and Chay Brown (he/him), Director of Healthcare and Operations at Transactual on how they are managing the hate they receive online.

We hope that by listening to this, more charities, people, organisations, groups will speak up and stay spoken for the trans community who deserve better than to face this abuse on a regular basis and on such mainstream platforms.

We plan to do more episodes like this with some other fab charities who are doing excellent work in this area. So if you are one of those charities or know one - do get in touch at proudchangemakers@gmail.com.

We are also on socials at:

• X - @proud_change
• LinkedIn
• Instagram - @proud_change

Or head to our link.tree for all the ways you can get to us.

To celebrate Lesbian Visibility Week 2024 (happening from 22-28 April), two of our Proud Changemakers - Paige Hughes (she/her) and Lucy Straker (she/they) are bringing to you an episode all about lesbians.

So that’s the word lesbian, how it came to be (looking at lesbian history from Sappho, to Anne Lister through to Ellen DeGeneres and beyond), what being gay/a lesbian means to us and what we've learnt and experienced along the way.

We aim to be educational, spicy and humorous - plus throw in a few mic drop moments too. We do discuss our personal experiences, different types of lesbian pop culture and the tensions within the LGBTQIA+ community.

Please note that Proud Changemakers is a trans inclusive organisation and always will be.

Trigger warning - there are a couple of references to a gender based attack but no details are shared.

"Lesbian identity is strong and activist orientated. At it's heart it’s inclusive, radical and anti-patriarchy. I think it’s pretty beautiful." Paige Hughes (she/her)

Paige is a strategist and consultant for charities, placemakers and small businesses. She has 10+ years of experience in business development, marketing and communications. Paige has a degree in Politics from the University of Leeds, and an MSc in Place Management and Leadership, delivered by the Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University,

Until recently, Paige was the Head of Business Development and Engagement for national membership organisation, CharityComms and now works freelance with charities, place-makers and small business owners, balancing strategic consultancy, creative coaching and hands-on delivery. See her website here.

Paige has had multiple volunteering roles, including a Trustee for a charity that supports people with Autism, mentorship and coaching for young professionals, a group lead at an LGBTQ charity, and has been a national EDI lead.

"I have negative connotations with the word lesbian as it has regularly been used in a derogatory way towards me. So I have always had a stronger connection to the word gay so that’s the one I use to describe myself." Lucy Straker (she/they)

⁠Lucy ⁠is the Campaigns Manager for Brake, the road safety charity. Here Lucy leads on the charity’s national campaigns which can include calling for new legislation to support all road users, raising public awareness of road dangers or advocating for road crash victims.

Lucy is also a public speaker and trainer on creating inclusive workplaces specifically regarding the LGBTQIA+ community. Lucy has co-founded and led a number of inclusion networks and activism groups across the voluntary sector during their 17 years of communications and campaigning work in the sector.

What are your thoughts around the word lesbian, its culture, identity etc? Reach out, get in touch - and you could be on our next lesbian pod! https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

Music was by ⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠

Is progress inevitable or is it something we have to fight for? In our latest LGBTQ+ History Month episode we look at the history of queer activism and the role played by trade unions. Plus we discuss how we can use this history to prepare us for the current climate of anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric that is growing in our society.

We are joined by our chair Heather Paterson (she/her) - who has marched for many an LGBTQIA+ right in her lifetime - and Dave Pike (he/him) - who is part of the National Education Union. Our host is Fiona Moorcroft (she/her).

This episode was produced in partnership with SAYiT - an LGBTQIA+ youth charity from South Yorkshire as part of their LGBTQ+ History Month activities.

Get in touch with us at Proud Changemakers through our website or by email.

Being queer and growing up within a religious environment has over the years led to many tragic situations. Both the LGBTQIA+ community and the religious community are extremely diverse, complex and have not always been supportive of each other - especially with one (religion) holding much more societal power and privilege throughout history than the other (LGBTQIA+).

So how does it feel to be both queer and of faith? What can we do to bring people closer together? To promote acceptance and create safe spaces? So that queer people can practice their faith safely and without judgement from both communities?

How do you navigate working environments where people's beliefs (ie Gender Critical) seemingly deny the existence of those within the LGBTQIA+ community (trans, non binary and intersex folk)? And how does the law act in those circumstances?

These are the questions this episode tackles. And the amazing humans that do this are SJ Cooper-Knock (they/them), Becky Emery (she/her) - both of whom are bringing their lived experience of being queer and within the religious community - and Surabhi Shukla (she/her), a lecturer from the Law School at the University of Sheffield bringing the legal perspective on faith and the LGBTQIA+ community. The episode is also hosted by Lucy Straker (she/they).

Trigger warning - there are discussions around statistical chances of people dying by suicide and lived experience of exclusion.

Proud Changemakers is explicitly trans and intersex inclusive. We honour and respect each others’ identities, experiences and insights. We will not tolerate any bigotry, hatred or questioning of others’ identities or experiences.

If you have questions about this or any other episode please contact us at proudchangemakers@gmail.com or through one of our social channels https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

Proud Changemakers aims to elevate, advocate and support LGBTQIA+ people across civil society. We want to give our community a platform to share our voices and our challenges, and to celebrate our stories and our diversity. We want to provide insight and guidance to those wanting to support our community - because we won’t make change to the wider society all by ourselves. Find out more about us at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

We are joined by poet Tom Juniper (he/they) who has written a number of poems about Maurice Dobson and his partner Fred Halliday as a way to tell their many stories.

Maurice and Fred ran the local shop in the 1950s in Darfield, Barnsley and were open about their relationship at a time when it was illegal to be a gay man. They are now so revered in South Yorkshire that their shop has been transformed into a museum.

In this episode, we discuss what and how Maurice and Fred had to be in order to be accepted in the community, how this would have compared with other, more affluent areas of the country, how this affected their relationship and we share some of the stories (including a foul mouthed parrot and a chair with a wonky leg).

This interviewed was conducted by Fiona Moorcroft from SAYiT and was recorded at SAYiT's offices in Sheffield.

SAYiT is a charity in South Yorkshire that works with young people aged 8-25 and professionals to make real lives better. They provide practical support to LGBTQ+ young people, host a parent and carer group, and their training helps organisations improve knowledge and address discrimination.

Proud Changemakers is a voluntary group that celebrates and elevates LGBTQIA+ folks from across civil society and make noise about issues affecting the LGBTQIA+ community today.

Follow, subscribe, get in touch with us at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

This forms part of our LGBT+ History Month series and was released in connection with National Poetry Day.

The UK's General Election is happening on 4 July 2024 and in recent years LGBTQIA+ people's lives have been used as a political football - and in the past few weeks of the campaign this has ramped up even more.

So in this episode our Lucy Straker (she/they) and Catherine Goodall (she/her) walk us through the manifestos of the Conservatives, Labour, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats - to see what is and what isn't being proposed for LGBTQIA+ people.

The aim of this isn't to tell you who to vote for - but to help cut through the spin and bring the conversation of LGBTQIA+ people into the foreground. Because largely that has been absent in the past few weeks.

Below are the links to the full manifestos for the parties discussed:

• The Conservatives
• Labour
• The Green Party
• The Liberal Democrats

In order to keep this episode to a reasonable length we only selected the main parties operating across most of the UK nations. We decided against covering Reform as they did not have any positive elements for LGBTQIA+ people in their manifesto.

If you are unsure of who to vote for we recommend using the Vote for Policies tool which shows you the various policies without the affiliations. You can see that here.

But most importantly on 4 July 2024 please go and vote, it really does matter, think of Emily Davison when you do and please remember you ID!

And if you want to chat about this or any other episode you can catch us at proudchangemakers@gmail.com or follow us at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

Please note that after this we are taking a break over the summer period and our next episode will be with you on 4 September 2024. Thank you for all your support.

**Please note - in this episode there is mention of crisis, therapy experiences that are not safe to come out to the professional and feelings around struggling in the current climate with LGBTQIA+ people being politicised.

Ever had your sexual or gender orientation assumed? What if the person assuming was supposed to be creating a psychological safe space for you? What if you didn't have the capacity or energy to correct them?

Good mental health is so important for everyone on this planet. But as LGBTQIA+ people we can experience additional barriers to mental health support. That’s why it is so vital that we find spaces where we can be ourselves, be vulnerable, and find the right person who can truly empathise and understand our needs.

This is why we spoke Leeds LGBT+ Minds group who are co-producing support services for LGBTQIA+ people by LGBTQIA+ patients and practitioners.

Please do listen to Beth Stepan (she/her), Uzayr Khan (he/him) and Noah Roberts (they/them) as they discuss their experiences with mental health services and how they are producing a Zine for the Leeds LGBTQIA+ community to help everyone access the mental health support they need.

Beth Stepan (she/her), Coproduction Coordinator - Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service

[pronounced b-EH-th steh-PAN]

"I've been working at Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service for four years now, and the most important part of my role for me has always been to work towards better inclusion and accessibility for everyone. As a queer person with my own experience of mental health difficulties and using services, I was keen to be involved in the Leeds LGBT+ Minds project from the start. In my current role, I'm coordinating the project and grateful to connect with others and share peer support, creativity and activism."

Email Beth at bstepan@touchstonesupport.org.uk

Uzayr Khan (he/him), Student volunteer

[pronounced Uz-air Khan]

"As a queer POC, every day feels like a fight for representation. I see more queer people around me than before, but I don’t relate to most. It takes the efforts of people like Tan France to fuel us with the drive to put more of ourselves out there.

"It’s hard, but it’s necessary. We exist and I am here to prove we aren’t going anywhere. I know what it’s like to feel like you’re not in control of your life, coming from a not so accepting secondary school and struggling to find my place within my family.

"I know what having someone like me in a podcast would’ve meant for younger me, so I do this for him. He’s seen, he’s heard and he’s accepted, just as we all deserve to be."

Find Uzayr on Instagram.

Daisy Chain (their Zine) is available here.

Here is a link to Switchboard the national LGBTQIA+ support line should you need any support.

Have a question or want to learn more about Proud Changemakers?

Then reach out to us across any of our networks at ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers⁠⁠

Music was by ⁠⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠

Proud Changemakers exists to empower the LGBTQIA+ voluntary sector and civil society leaders of tomorrow. The community supports and champions LGBTQIA+ and other leaders and civil society organisations. Proud Changemakers is a community, a network and a group, organised and coordinated by volunteers. This is a new, emerging and developing community, which welcomes new members, connections, funders and supporters.

Proud Changemakers aims to:

• Champion and support LGBTQIA+ leaders, staff and volunteers and organisations 

• Provide advice, guidance and support to educate non-LGBTQIA+ leaders and organisations 

• Create and improve cultures of inclusion and belonging for all LGBTQIA+ staff and volunteers, and organisations 

• Provide a safe space and community for LGBTQIA+ people, to celebrate each others’ achievements, demonstrate solidarity and share learning and experiences.  

And how does it intersect with the queer community?

That's the challenge we set ourselves with this podcast. So join Graysen, Paige and Lucy as they discuss all the various terminology, the history of non monogamy, their personal experiences, the myths and assumptions, and finally how non monogamy sits within the LGBTQIA+ community.

If you have any questions for the team about this topic or anything else connected to the LGBTQIA+ community then get in touch. Our email is proudchangemakers@gmail.com or take a look at our socials and sign up to our newsletter at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

Join us for the first of our LGBTQ+ History Month episodes!

In this we have SAYiT's Fiona Moorcroft interviewing Dr Helen Smith, University of Lincoln, who is a historian specialising in LGBTQ+ history in the working class communities of South Yorkshire.

During this episode we discuss what it was like to be LGBTQIA+ from the 1850s to 1960s in South Yorkshire where the majority of people were working class, what the regional attitudes and culture differences were between different parts of the UK, and how hard it is to research LGBTQIA+ women in history.

This is the first part of the interview with Dr Helen Smith (with part two coming out later in the year) who has also written a book on this topic called 'Masculinity and same sex desires in industrial England 1895-1957' which you can see here (but be warned its a tad expensive).

You can find our more about Dr Helen Smith here.

SAYiT is a charity based in Sheffield which works with young people aged 8-25 and professionals to provide practical support to LGBTQ+ young people, host parent and carer groups, and trains organisations improve knowledge and address discrimination.

You can find out more about SAYiT here.

The podcast was produced, edited and hosted by the Proud Changemakers team who are Catherine Goodall, Cathy Swift, Graysen Whittaker, Amy Whitelock Gibbs and Lucy Straker.

Please rate, review, subscribe, email us, follow us, report us, ask us out for coffee, whatever. We love to chat (that's why we run a podcast) and we also do so much more than this. Find out what we do by getting in touch!

And remember no matter what life throws at you - be proud, stand together and make change.

Music was by ⁠⁠⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠

Ever wanted to build a network for LGBTQIA+ staff in your organisation but were unsure where to start?

In this first episode of the Proud Changemakers podcast, we talk to Ed Drew (he/him), Rei Kanemura (she/her) and Amy Walton (she/her) who are the architects of NCVO's Rainbow Network - a staff network for LGBTQIA+ folks and allies - which has 25% of NCVO staff as its members.

NCVO is the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and is the membership body for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups in England.

In this episode, we discuss why they set up the network, what were the challenges and lessons learned, their messages to anyone thinking of setting up a network and how we can expand this kind of peer support to those in small charities who may be the only LGBTQIA+ person in their organisation.

Guest bio: Rei is a former co-lead of NCVO's Rainbow Network as well as Research and Insight Manager and is currently a Senior Researcher at NatCen. There's not a letter in LGBTQ+ that represents her, but she considers herself an ultimate ally. She firmly believes in the power of alliance and in the role of allies in fighting for LGBTQ equality. She is also a researcher with decades of experience in research for the voluntary sector, and outside work, she is busy raising her small Rainbow family.

Proud Changemakers:

This podcast is hosted by Catherine Goodall (she/her) and Lucy Straker (she/they).

Catherine is a Policy and Influencing Manager at NCVO. In this role she leads influencing work on government policy relating to volunteering. She works closely with stakeholders across the voluntary sector, using evidence and insight to create positive change.

Catherine has long been involved in supporting the LGBTQIA community. She has been involved in developing and leading staff networks at several organisations, and volunteering in the wider community.

Lucy is the Campaigns Manager for Brake, the road safety charity. Here Lucy leads on the charity’s national campaigns which can include calling for new legislation to support all road users, raising public awareness of road dangers or advocating for road crash victims.

Lucy is also a public speaker and trainer on creating inclusive workplaces specifically regarding the LGBTQIA+ community. Lucy has co-founded and led a number of inclusion networks and activism groups across the voluntary sector during their 15 years of communications and campaigning work in the sector.

Have a question or want to learn more about Proud Changemakers?

Then reach out to us across any of our networks at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

Music was by Vitaliy Levkin from Pixabay

Proud Changemakers exists to empower the LGBTQIA+ voluntary sector and civil society leaders of tomorrow. The community supports and champions LGBTQIA+ and other leaders and civil society organisations. Proud Changemakers is a community, a network and a group, organised and coordinated by volunteers. This is a new, emerging and developing community, which welcomes new members, connections, funders and supporters.

Proud Changemakers aims to:

• Champion and support LGBTQIA+ leaders, staff and volunteers and organisations 

• Provide advice, guidance and support to educate non-LGBTQIA+ leaders and organisations 

• Create and improve cultures of inclusion and belonging for all LGBTQIA+ staff and volunteers, and organisations 

• Provide a safe space and community for LGBTQIA+ people, to celebrate each others’ achievements, demonstrate solidarity and share learning and experiences.  

Proud Changemakers was formed in 2023 by Catherine Goodall, Lucy Straker, Cathy Swift, Amy Whitelock Gibbs and Graysen Whittaker.

Come and listen to the latest of our LGBTQ+ History Month episodes!

For this we recorded a panel discussion hosted by our friends at SAYiT at Sheffield Central Library between a group of LGBTQIA+ folks who attended school during Section 28. The discussion covers topics such as how each one of the panel navigated understanding their sexual orientation at a time when having any affiliation with the LGBTQIA+ community was socially rejected, where they each found their connections to the community - books, the club scene, dancing, music, theatre, the arts etc. and then asked the all important question - who did you pretend to fancy to appear heterosexual? ]

There are a couple of trigger warnings - there is a story about being outed to parents by the school which is upsetting and there stories shared which demonstrate biphobia within the community (a topic we will be talking more about very soon).

A big thank you to SAYiT - a charity based in Sheffield which works with young people aged 8-25 and professionals to provide practical support to LGBTQ+ young people, host parent and carer groups, and trains organisations improve knowledge and address discrimination. You can find out more about SAYiT here.

The podcast was produced, edited and hosted by the Proud Changemakers team who are all lovely volunteers and whose names are Amy Whitelock Gibbs (she/her), Becky Emery (she/her), Catherine Goodall (she/her), Cathy Swift (she/her), Claudia Baldacchino (they/them), Ellis Black (they/them), Graysen Whittaker (he/they), Lucy Straker (she/they) and Paige Hughes (she/her).

Please rate, review, subscribe, email us, follow us, report us, ask us out for coffee, whatever. We love to chat (that's why we run a podcast) and we also do so much more than this.

Email is proudchangemakers@gmail.com and click here to find others ways to see us, engage with us etc. Find out what we do by getting in touch! And remember no matter what life throws at you - be proud, stand together and make change.

Music was by ⁠⁠⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠.

Listen to the second of our LGBTQ+ History Month episodes! In this we have SAYiT's Fiona Moorcroft (she/her) and Oliver Harrap (he/him) discussing their project - 'bury your gays' - where they research the cemeteries and archives in Sheffield to see who and what LGBTQIA+ history they could find.

They were inspired by a similar project that ran in Birmingham - so if you are interested in following them and doing some LGBTQIA+ history research in your local area please get in touch.

The podcast was recorded at the offices of SAYiT - a charity based in Sheffield which works with young people aged 8-25 and professionals to provide practical support to LGBTQ+ young people, host parent and carer groups, and trains organisations improve knowledge and address discrimination. You can find out more about SAYiT here.

The podcast was produced, edited and hosted by the Proud Changemakers team who are all lovely volunteers and whose names are Amy Whitelock Gibbs, Becky Emery, Catherine Goodall, Cathy Swift, Claudia Baldacchino, Ellis Black, Graysen Whittaker, Lucy Straker and Paige Hughes.

Please rate, review, subscribe, email us, follow us, report us, ask us out for coffee, whatever. We love to chat (that's why we run a podcast) and we also do so much more than this. Email is proudchangemakers@gmail.com and click here to find others ways to see us, engage with us etc.

Find out what we do by getting in touch! And remember no matter what life throws at you - be proud, stand together and make change.

Music was by ⁠⁠⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠

What do you know of Annie Hindle? Betsy Bonehill? Ella Shields and Hetty King? Maybe even Vesta Tilley?

Well they were all successful drag kings from history - or male impersonators as they were known then.

In this episode, SAYiT's Fiona Moorcroft (she/her) takes us through a brief history of these amazing humans and how they dominated the stage impersonating men of their eras - some more inclusively than others.

Photos of these drag kings will be shared on our socials so use this link to find your preferred social media outlet and take a look at these fabulous humans. Whilst you are there please do give us a follow.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience as part of our LGBTQ+ History Month series in February 2024 at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield - which forms part of Sheffield Museums who are also a charity.

SAYiT, who researched and organised the talk, is an LGBTQIA+ youth charity in South Yorkshire.

If you enjoyed this episode why not rate, review and subscribe as this helps others find the podcast. Plus take a look at our other episodes - especially those from our LGBTQ+ History Month series. Thank you to Vitaly Levkin for the music and to all the Proud Changemakers out there.

Trigger warning for this episode - examples of trans exclusion and discrimination are shared.

Huge thank you to Jo Kerr (she/her) from Marie Curie for sharing her story of transitioning at work. She tells us of how moving from a workplace that wasn't inclusive to trans people, to one that is (Marie Curie) has helped her feel better in herself, have a better relationships with her family and friends and ultimately become a better leader as a result.

Please listen to her story, share it with your networks and help make your workplace more inclusive for trans and non binary people.

Special mention to Anna Pashley, from Charity Retail Association who very kindly connected the Proud Changemakers team with Jo.

If you have an LGBTQIA+ story to share or any questions about this episode, please get in touch with us at proudchangemakers@gmail.com or via our socials. Details at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

Come and say hi to our first ever Trustees! As we move towards registering as a charity, we have been busy finding and bringing together our Board of Trustees.

And we are so excited for you to meet them all because we have such an amazing bunch of talented humans who are all so passionate about our mission of celebrating and elevating LGBTQIA+ people and stories.

This episode is hosted by Suneet Sharma (he/him) our Deputy CEO of Governance. And Suneet talks to our four new trustees:

And because we have now launched our brand new website - www.proudchangemakers.org - you can find our Trustees on there too.

If you would like to suggest a topic or guest to come on our podcast please email us at hello@proudchangemakers.org.

Proud Changemakers is a group made up purely of volunteers. So when Pride month and Volunteers Week collided we knew we had to make an episode celebrating the queer volunteers in our group and across civil society.

Here we have our Lucy Straker (she/they) and Catherine Goodall (she/her) talking about the benefits volunteering has especially for LGBTQIA+ folks. Choice, community and a chance to develop skills - that's what good volunteering can give you when done right.

Lucy and Catherine have spent a lot of time working on improving the landscape for volunteering over the years in their day jobs - which is why they (and a bunch of other lovely folks) decided to set up a volunteer based group called Proud Changemakers. And here they talk us through some of that knowledge.

Also we take a moment to thank all LGBTQIA+ volunteers across civil society who are making a massive difference even if they don't always know it.

If you would like to volunteer with Proud Changemakers we currently have two volunteer roles open:

• Deputy CEO (Governance)
• Marketing and communications lead

Find out more about the work we do and who we are here.

This episode was inspired by it being Volunteers Week. Find out more about that here.

Music was by ⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠

In partnership with our supporter, SAYiT (an LGBTQ+ youth charity in South Yorkshire), we talked to Jennifer van Gessel, an Australian writer and producer, who is writing a gothic film about Anne Lister called 'Langton'.

The film is still in pre-production so instead we delved into her knowledge about Anne Lister's diaries - as she has done a lot of research for the film!

Whether you are an Anne Lister super nerd or just starting your Anne adventure, jump into this episode and hear about her many escapades and the types of timeframes that Jennifer is looking to for her upcoming film.

This episode was created as part of 2025's LGBTQ+ History Month and was hosted by Fiona Moorcroft (she/her) from SAYiT.

Got a question, theme or guest to suggest for the podcast? Get in touch at hello@proudchangemakers.org or head to our website www.proudchangemakers.org.

Want to connect with Jennifer van Gessel?

• IMDb - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2623046/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jenniferislost/
• Twitter - https://x.com/jenniferislost?lang=en

We recorded a very interesting panel discussion on how to tackle homophobia in football at a conference by Rainbow Owls - Sheffield Wednesday's LGBTQIA+ supporters group.

The panel was hosted by Ollie Mitchell (he/him) – the head of sport at Forge Radio; and the panellists were Joe White (they/them), co-founder of Three Lions Pride – the LGBTQIA+ fans group for the England national football teams; Kian Ward (he/him), media coordinator for Dulwich Hamlet FC; Kirsty Tonner (she/her), Goalkeeper for Sheffield Wednesday Ladies and referee and influencer Mikey Connor (he/him).

This was all recorded in support of Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign which runs every year and is a space to highlight and tackle queerphobia in sport, and it was funded by Fans for Diversity.

This was recorded at the offices of SAYiT - an LGBTQIA+ youth charity in Sheffield and includes the expert knowledge of Dr Naomi Sutton (she/her), Liz Wilson (she/her) and Dr Jo Bassett (she/her) discussing why we need to remove the fear, stigma and general lack of understanding of HIV.

Dr Naomi Sutton - "My issue is the word AIDS. I really don't like that word because of the campaign. I think we really need to start saying people with HIV. Language is really important"

Liz Wilson - "There were two things going on that made it hard to tackle. The fear and stigma around HIV itself and the way that the government dealt with it, I think, encouraged that fear and stigma."

Dr Jo Bassett on taking Prep - "There's a lot of education around that really needs to get out there".

In this episode we talk about the how the UK responded in the 1980s when AIDS/HIV first came into our society, and then move onto how some of that misinformation remains even today when we now know so much more about it.

If you have any questions about topics raised in this episode, or you would like to join us for another episode on this topic or something else related to the LGBTQIA+ community then get in touch with us at https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers. We always love to hear from you.

Please remember to rate, review and subscribe as it helps others find the podcast.

Please show your support to SAYiT who are a fabulous charity who have helped us tremendously in our first year. https://www.sayit.org.uk/

Music was by ⁠Vitaliy Levkin⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠

Proud Changemakers exists to empower the LGBTQIA+ voluntary sector and civil society leaders of tomorrow. The community supports and champions LGBTQIA+ and other leaders and civil society organisations. Proud Changemakers is a community, a network and a group, organised and coordinated by volunteers. This is a new, emerging and developing community, which welcomes new members, connections, funders and supporters.

What if the relationship model that is centred as the "norm" isn't right for everyone?

What parallels are there between the LGBTQIA+ community and the growing ethical non monogamy community?

And why as a society are we so keen to other people for their differences?

We tackle these questions and many more with our special guest comedian, write, speaker, actor and charity mental health advocate - Juliette Burton (she/her). In this episode, Juliette talks about her pathway into ethically non monogamous relationships and the parallels between the stigma of being queer, mental health and non monogamy - AND tells us why all of this feeds into her comedy.

TRIGGER WARNING - there is discussion of mental unwellness within the episode.

You can follow Juliette on socials - and go to her shows. Click here to see where she is performing next, and see her socials below.

• Facebook - Juliette Burton Writer Performer
• Twitter - JulietteBurton
• Insta - juliette_burton

The Proud Changemakers involved in bringing this podcast to you were your hosts Paige Hughes (she/her) and Graysen Whittaker (he/they), and the show was produced by Amy Whitelock-Gibbs (she/her).

If you would like to become a Proud Changemaker volunteer, check out our two volunteer roles:

• Deputy CEO (Governance)
• Marketing and comms lead

Find out more about the work we do and who we are here.

If you would like to nominate someone to come onto the podcast, maybe you'd like to come on yourself or pose a question or topic - then get in touch with us at proudchangemakers@gmail.com. We'd love to chat with you.

Music was by Vitary Levkin.

The Proud Changemakers podcast is here to support, elevate and celebrate the amazing work and contributions by LGBTQIA+ people across civil society - and to amplify the LGBTQIA+ perspective across key issues affecting society today.

The first episode drops at the beginning of January 2024 where our guests will be Amy Walton (she/her), Rei Kanemura (she/her) and Ed Drew (he/him) who were essential to the building of NCVO's rainbow network. They will share the joy and safety the network has brought them plus the challenges they faced along the way.

Proud Changemakers is brought to you by Catherine Goodall (she/her), Graysen Whittaker (he/they), Amy Whitelock Gibbs (she/her) and Lucy Straker (she/they).

If you want to follow us, subscribe, ask a question for us to discuss, or suggest a guest for a future episode get in touch with us - https://linktr.ee/proudchangemakers

Music is by Vitaliy Levkin from Pixabay