GRIN Campaign

GRIN Campaign, Global Respect in Education, is a transatlantic non-profit organisation and advocacy group which campaigns primarily for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) people's social and political equality in education.[1][2][3] It seeks to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in all educational institutes with an underlying message that "being different was 'cool'".[4] It is one of the first campaigns of its kind to originate outside the United States, be run by students and intentionally international.[5][6][7]

Global Respect In Education
Founded2010
FounderClaudia White
TypeEducational Charity
FocusEducation, LGBTQ, Respect, Bullying and Homophobia
Location
  • UK
Area served
Global with focus on the US and UK
MethodPopular Education and social media awareness campaigns
Websitewww.grincampaign.com

The campaign supports both direct action and a viral photographic protest, known as “RESPECT” to help "make respecting people in school a cool idea" and ignorance to be “uncool”.[1][6] The photographs show people in front of a white backdrop wearing block rainbow colors with “RESPECT” painted on their face in the colors of the gay pride flag.[8] The campaign was created on October 29, 2010, by Bedales School student Claudia White.[1] The RESPECT photographs are featured on the campaign's website, as well as Facebook and Flickr. The campaign also had over 1000 followers on Twitter within a week of its website going live.[9]

History

GRIN Campaign was initiated in response to a rash of widely publicized bullying-related suicides of juvenile, particularly, LGBTQ youth, including that of Tyler Clementi.[2][10] It was established as a UK and US alternative to other, older LGBT civil rights advocacy organizations, which did not place as much emphasis on education, and focused only on the United States.[6] The campaign hopes to build awareness in the same spirit as the Day of Silence, It Gets Better Project, No on 8 campaigns and efforts to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell.[11]

The campaign coordinated with Spirit Day (October 20) when people are encouraged to wear purple symbolic of spirit from the rainbow flag.[2]

In 2011 the campaign worked to add "amendments to the UK’s Educational White Paper, started developing anti-bullying and LGBT rights lesson plans, and wrote letters to corporations in the UK that they believed were being homophobic or transphobic."[6] In the summer of 2012 the campaign received a grant to travel to San Francisco in the United States to teach their lesson plans about discrimination based bullying and utilize the RESPECT photographic campaign.[6]

In 2013 the campaign started a petition to add the word 'transphobia' to the Oxford English Dictionary and the dictionary lexicon of Microsoft Office. The petition was hosted on the website Change.org and gained nearly 10,000 signatures. By June, both Microsoft and the Oxford English Dictionary had added the word 'transphobia' to their dictionary lexicons.[12][13][14]

See also

References
  1. Bryan Moore, "Respect protest: Anti-bullying effort launches beyond the United States", San Diego Gay & Lesbian News, December 24th, 2010.
  2. "Teens from Sussex School Go Public with Their GRIN Photo Campaign to Combat Bulling of Gays in Schools", UK Gay News, December 31, 2010.
  3. "On the Show from 9 January 2011- School Students' Global Respect IN Education (GRIN) Campaign & Whitehawk & Manor Farm History Society Book", RadioReverb (97.2 FM - East Sussex), 9 January 2011.
  4. "Online anti-bullying campaign launched", Petersford Post, 18 March 2011, page 5.
  5. Tom C. "Gaytalk Live", 4 December 2010, Episode 048/383, Queer Public Radio.
  6. Jason Chu, B. Brian Topaz editor, "Put On a GRIN and Stand for Equality", SF Gam Newpower, 9 December 2011.
  7. "Sgoilearan Sussex a’ dèanamh sabaid air gràin air luchd-gèidh le iomairt GRIN", Naidheachdan Pinc, January 1, 2011.
  8. "School Children Encouraged To GRIN", Shout Out: BCFM 93.2 (Bristol, UK), 10 December 2010.
  9. "Teenager Launches Global Respect in Education (GRIN) Campaign", Bedales, 15/11/2010.
  10. Michael Diviesti, "The GRIN Campaign, bringing respect for the LGBT community to our schools", Twenty Ten, December 14, 2010. (audio interview version at )
  11. "Teenager Launches Global Respect in Education", Gay UK News, 3 December 2010.
  12. Anna Peirano (2013-06-24). ""Transphobic" officially added to Oxford English Dictionary | Articles". dot429. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  13. "The Oxford English Dictionary And Microsoft Office Will Officially Recognize "Transphobia" / Queerty". Queerty.com. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  14. "New words list June 2013". Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
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