Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure in who they are.​
Our platform is a Safe Space for anyone aged 15 years or older that is a self-identifying gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, queer or questioning and non-binary persons wishing to access a safe online space. This is inclusive of trans women/men, non-binary and gender-fluid people, people of color, older persons and disabled persons, straight allies and supporters of the LGBTQ community to come together and celebrate. In order to enable this, there are a few ground rules to ensure that everyone feels as welcome and comfortable as possible at all times. If you feel unsafe at any point, or witness any problematic behavior, please let a group administrator know. This is a living document and as such the guidelines can and will be modified as needed to maintain the safety of our members. If you have resources to add for your country, state, county or community, please send that information to: support@queerlinq.com
IP Address Tracking
As part of our commitment to you, our servers track all IP addresses connecting to our platform and the accounts they are associated with. This information only provided to Law Enforcement in cases of emergency or legal issues arising from actions taken from your account.
As part of our commitment to you, our servers track all IP addresses connecting to our platform and the accounts they are associated with. This information only provided to Law Enforcement in cases of emergency or legal issues arising from actions taken from your account.
Age limit
Participants must be 15 years old or older. (All platform rules will be enforced in addition to Safe Space Guidelines)
Participants must be 15 years old or older. (All platform rules will be enforced in addition to Safe Space Guidelines)
Introduce yourself
If you are uncomfortable, give a limited introduction of yourself such as first name only, use an avatar that does not show your face.
If you are uncomfortable, give a limited introduction of yourself such as first name only, use an avatar that does not show your face.
Video Chats
If you are uncomfortable with having your face on screen you can turn video function off, or put it on to introduce yourself and then switch off.
If you are uncomfortable with having your face on screen you can turn video function off, or put it on to introduce yourself and then switch off.
Pronouns
A pronoun is how you refer to someone, for example using she or they. Please ask people what their pronouns are if you are meeting them for the first time. Use their correct pronouns, even if the words are unfamiliar to you. If you make a mistake and refer to someone with the wrong pronoun, apologize and move on.
A pronoun is how you refer to someone, for example using she or they. Please ask people what their pronouns are if you are meeting them for the first time. Use their correct pronouns, even if the words are unfamiliar to you. If you make a mistake and refer to someone with the wrong pronoun, apologize and move on.
Assumptions
Don’t make assumptions about someone’s identity and think about the ways that people from minority groups may be impacted in different ways by the issues you discuss. Be aware that your experiences as a gay, lesbian, bi, trans, queer or non-binary person are not necessarily the same as everybody else in the group/platform. Be aware of any position and privileges you may bring regarding for example your race, your class, your gender identity, your ability or your age. Try not to make generalizing statements such as 'All gay men hate women'.
Don’t make assumptions about someone’s identity and think about the ways that people from minority groups may be impacted in different ways by the issues you discuss. Be aware that your experiences as a gay, lesbian, bi, trans, queer or non-binary person are not necessarily the same as everybody else in the group/platform. Be aware of any position and privileges you may bring regarding for example your race, your class, your gender identity, your ability or your age. Try not to make generalizing statements such as 'All gay men hate women'.
Oppressive Behavior
Racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia, ageism or discrimination on basis of ethnicity, immigration status, or religious, cultural, and/or spiritual beliefs, or any other kind of oppressive behavior is unacceptable and will be challenged. Please do not use slurs that are not yours to use: e.g if you are white do not use racial slurs, even if you are being critical of them. Please give a choice for people to interact without having to talk if they don’t want to, If they are neurodivergent, do not tell people off if they want to talk about a subject, give space to people to go at their own pace.
Racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia, ageism or discrimination on basis of ethnicity, immigration status, or religious, cultural, and/or spiritual beliefs, or any other kind of oppressive behavior is unacceptable and will be challenged. Please do not use slurs that are not yours to use: e.g if you are white do not use racial slurs, even if you are being critical of them. Please give a choice for people to interact without having to talk if they don’t want to, If they are neurodivergent, do not tell people off if they want to talk about a subject, give space to people to go at their own pace.
Sexual Harassment
There is a zero tolerance policy to sexual harassment. This means no pornography and/or nudity of any kind, including but not limited to, adult pornography, Anime, child pornography, "adult content" and/or the written word of a sexual nature. This also means no inappropriate sexual comments or sexually based jokes, songs or taunts. (Platform wide rules apply as well.)
There is a zero tolerance policy to sexual harassment. This means no pornography and/or nudity of any kind, including but not limited to, adult pornography, Anime, child pornography, "adult content" and/or the written word of a sexual nature. This also means no inappropriate sexual comments or sexually based jokes, songs or taunts. (Platform wide rules apply as well.)
Accessible Language
Try to use clear, uncomplicated language and to avoid any acronyms and in-jokes. If you mention a theory or person, please give a brief description of who they are, no matter how well known you believe they are.
Try to use clear, uncomplicated language and to avoid any acronyms and in-jokes. If you mention a theory or person, please give a brief description of who they are, no matter how well known you believe they are.
Content Warnings
Give people a heads up if you are going to discuss something that others might find upsetting. Sometimes upsetting things happen and we need to be able talk about how we deal with them as a community. It’s important to have a space where we feel able to do this, and we hope that this event will provide that. However, not everyone is able to talk about everything all the time, so let people know if you are going to talk about something potentially upsetting, such as mental illness or domestic abuse. You can also do this informally by asking ‘is it okay if I talk about X thing?’ Be sure to wait for a couple of responses before posting about your topic of discussion.
Give people a heads up if you are going to discuss something that others might find upsetting. Sometimes upsetting things happen and we need to be able talk about how we deal with them as a community. It’s important to have a space where we feel able to do this, and we hope that this event will provide that. However, not everyone is able to talk about everything all the time, so let people know if you are going to talk about something potentially upsetting, such as mental illness or domestic abuse. You can also do this informally by asking ‘is it okay if I talk about X thing?’ Be sure to wait for a couple of responses before posting about your topic of discussion.
Space to Speak
|Please be aware that it is difficult for those belonging to marginalized groups or minority groups to participate in discussions online. Do not hijack the conversations even if it is appropriate for you to speak on certain topics. Try to give less confident and quieter people a chance to speak.
|Please be aware that it is difficult for those belonging to marginalized groups or minority groups to participate in discussions online. Do not hijack the conversations even if it is appropriate for you to speak on certain topics. Try to give less confident and quieter people a chance to speak.
Privacy and Confidentiality
We will ask everybody to respect the fact that not everybody is “out” everywhere outside of our platform so if you use other social media platforms, please do not share any contact information or identifiable information of other people without their explicit consent.
Social Media
Everything in our safe space guidelines also extends to social our media platforms, including X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and SNAPchat, so keep that in mind when using social media.
We will ask everybody to respect the fact that not everybody is “out” everywhere outside of our platform so if you use other social media platforms, please do not share any contact information or identifiable information of other people without their explicit consent.
Social Media
Everything in our safe space guidelines also extends to social our media platforms, including X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and SNAPchat, so keep that in mind when using social media.
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State And Local Resources
- Basic Rights Oregon – 503-222-6151 Has various resources on LGBTQ+ legal rights, advocacy training, and advocates who assist with reporting discrimination.
- Basic Rights Oregon, Fierce Family Members Group For family of transgender youth
- Brave Space, LLC Private practice support groups and counseling for transgender and non-binary children, youth, adults & families (fairly costly)
- Bridging Voices Portland queer youth choir
- Cascade AIDS Project – 503-223-5907 Cascade AIDS Project(CAP) is the oldest and largest provider of HIV services in the Pacific Northwest. CAP provides services around health, prevention, testing, housing, and employment for individuals affected by HIV. CAP also provides Peer Support for HIV+ individuals who also require mental health services or linkage to care.
- Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Portland LGBTQ – 503-679-2999 A drop-in peer led support group for LGBTQ persons living with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, bipolar, anxiety, PTSD or related illnesses.
- Janus Youth, Rivera House independent living for LGBTQIA+ youth reentering community under jurisdiction of Oregon Youth Authority
- NAMI Clackamas – 503-344-5050 LGBTQ peer support services in Clackamas and Multnomah Counties, including one-on-one peer support.
- Northwest Gender Alliance – 503-533-8787 A nonprofit social, support and educational group for trans individuals.
- Outside In – 503-535-3828 A coalition of medical and naturopathic doctors and interns, acupuncturists, and Chinese herbalists who provide multidisciplinary primary care to homeless youth and low-income individuals lacking health insurance in Portland. Specific trans nights offered.
- Parachute Media Through their social media, newsletter and user-generated content, they provide a unique lens that empowers, represents, and informs their audience, while emphasizing self-care.
- PFLAG Oregon chapters Informational resources and online support groups for LGBTQ+ individuals
- Prism Health Compassionate healthcare for the LGBTQIA+ community. Services are offered in English and Spanish.
- The Q Center – 503-234-7837 A LGBTQ community center in Portland with a variety of support and affinity groups and events.
- Quest Center for Integrative Health – 503-238-5203 Community mental health agency and alcohol and drug treatment services provider where half of staff and clinicians identify as LGBTQ. Accepts Oregon Health Plan.
- SAGE Metro Portland – 503-224-2640 SAGE Metro Portland (formerly Gay and Grey) is a program of Friendly House, Inc. that “works to enhance the lives of older gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community members through education, advocacy, outreach and resource development.” SAGE offers social programs, diversity training, and housing resources for LGBT elders.
- TransActive Gender Project – 503-768-6024 Portland organization providing a holistic range of services and expertise to empower transgender and gender nonconforming children, youth and families. Offers youth & family support groups, professional development, advocacy, and resource referral services.
- University of North Dakota Resources for the Aging LGBTQ+ Community Healthcare, financial planning, and long-term care resources.
LGBTQ+ Youth Specific Resources
- Unity House (through New Avenues) Housing for houseless LGBTQ+ youth. Includes resources such as assistance with rental-search efforts, subsidizing housing costs, education, counseling, job training, and employment. Unity House II opened 2017.
- The Living Room – 503-901-5971 A safe haven for GLBTQQ youth (ages 14-20) in Clackamas County, with drop-in in Oregon City as well as other programs.
- Oregon Safe Schools & Communities Coalition (OSSCC) OSSCC works to support youth in feeling safe and welcome in schools and communities. Emphasis on reducing youth suicide and risk behaviors for GSM youth
- Outside In – 503-535-3828 A coalition of medical and naturopathic doctors and interns, acupuncturists, and Chinese herbalists who provide multidisciplinary primary care to homeless youth and low-income individuals lacking health insurance in Portland. Specific trans nights offered.
- p:ear – 503-228-6677 Portland organization building positive relationships with homeless and transitional youth through Education, Art and Recreation to affirm personal worth and create more meaningful and healthy lives.
- P.O.P. Rocks – 503-356-6835 Pulse on Pride (P.O.P) Rocks is a support group run by NAMI Washington County for 16 – 24 year olds who identify as LGBTQ and Allies. Meets at the NAMI Washington County office in Aloha.
- Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC) – 503-872-9664 A drop-in center for LGBTQ youth (ages 14-24) in both downtown Portland (1220 SW Columbia Ave) and SE Portland (16570 SE Oak St., Room 107).Facebook
- Triple Point Vancouver Free drop-in Vancouver-based gender and sexual minority youth group (ages 11 – 17)
- Queer Youth Summit Conference by and for queer and trans youth
National Resources
- GLBT National Help Center National Help Line – 877-565-8860
- Trans Lifeline – 888-843-4564 National hotline for transgender people experiencing a crisis.
- The Trevor Project – 866-488-7386 A national organization providing crisis intervention for LGBTQ youth ages 13-24.
Hood River County Resources:
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Websites
If you want to dig in a little deeper, we’ve got you covered. In alphabetical order…
- Asexual Visibility and Education Network — www.asexuality.org — “The world’s largest online asexual community as well as a large archive of resources on asexuality.”
- Answer — http://answer.rutgers.edu/page/training — A sex education resource aimed at providing high-quality training to teachers and other youth-serving professionals. Includes online workshops, webinars, and other resources about LGBTQ inclusive/sensitive sex ed and more.
- Bitch Magazine — www.bitchmagazine.org — “Provide and encourage an engaged, thoughtful feminist response to mainstream media and popular culture.”
- Bisexual.org — www.bisexual.org — “A voice to the bisexual community, share accurate information, answer questions, and provide resources for further learning.”
- Everyday Feminism — www.everydayfeminism.com — “Learn how to heal from and stand up to everyday violence, discrimination, and marginalization,” with plenty of articles about class, gender, LGBTQIA issues, and race.
- Get Real — www.getrealeducation.org — “Comprehensive Sex Education That Works.”
- It’s Pronounced Metrosexual — www.itspronouncedmetrosexual.com — an online resource educating on issues of identity, sexuality, gender, privilege, and oppression, but in a fun, approachable way (by Safe Zone Project co-creator, Sam Killermann).
- Salacious — www.salaciousmagazine.com — “A Queer Feminist Sex Magazine”
- Soul Force – http://soulforce.org/ – Family that travels and does speaking events, have a ton of materials on their site, and do an “equality ride” (super cool), all from a Christian perspective
- TransWhat? — www.transwhat.org — “A Guide Towards [Trans] Allyship”
- We Are The Youth — www.wearetheyouth.org — “Sharing stories of LGBTQ youth in the United States.”
Read
Blogs, articles, books, and more — a huge list of written words you could spend a good chunk of the rest of your life reading.
Articles & Blog Posts
- 15+ Fantastic Resources for Talking about Homosexuality and The Bible
- 17 Lies We Need to Stop Telling Girls About Sex
- 17 Lies We Need to Stop Telling Boys About Sex
- 30+ Examples of Christian Privilege
- 30+ Examples of Cisgender Privilege
- 30+ Examples of Heterosexual Privilege in the US
- 30+ Examples of Male Privilege
- 30+ Examples of Middle-to-Upper Class Privilege
- 5 Reasons Why So Many People Believe Feminism Hates Men and Why They’re Not True
- Anti-Oppression and the Fight for LGBTQ Equality
- Breaking through the binary: Gender explained using continuums
- Butch, Please
- Everyone is Gay
- GLSEN Think B4 You Speak
- Leading Effective Classroom Discussions on Controversial Topics
- Meg Allen’s “Butch” photo project
- Genderqueer.me
- NPR’s Men In America series
- On Trans* Safety in Public Bathrooms
- The Parents Project
- Scoop.It Gender and Education
- What does the asterisk in “trans*” stand for?
- What I Be
- Words we Don’t Use
Watch
Videos that are helpful, insightful, educational, and otherwise noteworthy.
- “Do I Sound Gay?” Documentary
- The Mask We Live In Documentary
- SEX+ A Frank Video Series About Sexuality with Laci Green Youtube Channel
Organizations
Consider these organizations and projects, we strongly encourage you give them your support — whether that’s in time, donations, or just spreading awareness.
- GLAAD — www.glaad.org — Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. “GLAAD works with print, broadcast and online news sources to bring people powerful stories from the LGBT community that build support for equality.”
- GLSEN — www.glsen.org — Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. “Every day GLSEN works to ensure that LGBT students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment.”
- Forge — http://forge-forward.org/ is a progressive organization whose mission is to support, educate and advocate for the rights and lives of transgender individuals and SOFFAs (Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies). They have recorded webinars on many different issues related to trans* individuals and SOFFAs.
- It Gets Better Project — www.itgetsbetter.org — “The It Gets Better Project’s mission is to communicate to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth around the world that it gets better, and to create and inspire the changes needed to make it better for them.”
- National Gay and Lesbian Task Force — http://www.thetaskforce.org/ — “The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up.” They also run Creating Change the “largest annual gathering of LGBTQ activists, organizers, and leaders within the LGBT movement” in the US.
- National Center for Transgender Equality — https://transequality.org/ — “The nation’s leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people.”
- The “Not All Like That” (NALT) Project – http://notalllikethat.org – videos of (awesome) Christians (mostly families) explaining how they fully support LGBTQ people and that being Christian shouldn’t mean being anti-gay.
- Religious Institute — http://www.religiousinstitute.org — “A multifaith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities and society.”
- PFLAG —www.pflag.org — “Parents, Families, Friends, and Allies United with LGBT People to Move Equality Forward.”
- Transgender Law Center — https://transgenderlawcenter.org/ — “The largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation.”
- The Trevor Project — www.thetrevorproject.org — “Crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth.”
Handouts
Bite-sized learning that fits on an 8.5 by 11 inch canvas, and can do some good hanging on a bulletin board or in someone’s hand.
- Queer Umbrella Handout
- What to do When Someone Comes Out of the Closet Handout
- LGBTQ+ Language DOs and DON’Ts Handout
- Genderbread Person v4.1 Activity
Facilitate
A collection of resources for the people in the front of the room during Safe Zone, LGBTQ+, and other gender/sexuality trainings.
- All Star Facilitator Series right here at The Safe Zone Project
- Unlocking the Magic of Facilitation: 11 Key Concepts You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know
- A Guide to Facilitation (forthcoming from us!)
- Facilitating.XYZ: A Free Online Resource for All Facilitators (a project that is under way, also by us)
- FacilitationXYZ LIVE: Interviews with Facilitators About Facilitation series Youtube Channel
- The Myth of Learning Styles TedxTalk
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