Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) have launched a new campaign, aimed at increasing awareness of under-represented sexualities and gender identities on Trinity’s campus.
The “I AM” campaign will run a series of posters over the course of six weeks, with the first set raising awareness of bisexuality and asexuality, the next concerning non-binary identities and pansexuality, and the final set possibly focussing on gender fluidity.
Speaking to The University Times, Samuel Riggs, TCDSU LGBT Officer, said that organising the “I AM” campaign is something that he has been “passionate” about since he ran for the position last year.
These posters will include slogans such as “I am bisexual, I exist” and “I am asexual, I exist”. The posters will have QR codes, which will bring students to the TCDSU website, where it is hoped they were will learn more about different sexualities.
TCDSU Welfare Officer Conor Clancy emphasised that the aim of the campaign was to spread information and raise awareness about the “diversity of sexuality that exists in our society”. Speaking to The University Times, Clancy said, “I AM” focuses on sexualities and gender identities that are “often unobserved or not really brought to the fore in campaigns that deal with LGBTQIA issues”.
Clancy said that although the marriage referendum campaign was “fantastically positive”, it was not without problems, noting that the nationwide campaigns “in the way that they publicly represented themselves often dealt with the L and the G of the acronym a bit more readily than they would have the rest”.
At the time of the referendum, the mainstream campaigns were widely criticised due to their erasure of minority identities, presenting what seemed like a palatable version of the LGBT community to the public and representing largely white, middle class and cisgender couples.
Clancy emphasised that after such a positive year in 2015, students should not become complacent about LGBT issues, “its recognised across the board that we can go one step further and continue to try to create an environment where someone’s sexuality is accepted in society.”
Leo O’Connor, the Inclusion Officer for Q Soc, Trinity’s LGBT society, noted that awareness-raising poster campaigns like “I AM” have a double-function of both representation and education: “They’re not only educational but they’re really validating for the people who are part of that community and often get overlooked”. O’Connor expressed excitement for future posters in the series, noting that “a trans one or a genderqueer one would be amazing”.
