USW LGBT+ Staff Network (SPECTRUM) is excited to invite you to a virtual lunchtime taster of short talks in honour of LGBT+ History Month.

• Thursday 25th February, 12:30-14:00
• Hosted via Zoom by: LGBTQYMRU, Wales' first online LGBT Magazine

Line up

Boxing and Performance: Memetic Hauntings 

Dr Sarah Crews, USW Senior Lecturer, Performance & Media
Faculty of Creative Industries
(she/her)  @USW_PerfMedia

This talk focuses on the cultural status of female boxing bodies, drawing attention to material properties, such as blood, as a means to disrupt gender binaries and unsettle hegemonic narratives of what a female body should be.

Dr Sarah Crews is a Senior Lecturer in Performance and Media at University of South Wales. Sarah’s research lies in the intersections between performance studies, boxing and physical culture. Sarah has recently co-authored the monograph Boxing and Performance: Memetic Hauntings (2020).

Reflections from a Makeup Box: The House of Deviant

Gareth Pahl, USW MA Drama Student & Artist
Faculty of Creative Industries
(he/they) @erniesparkles @iheartfflamingo

This talk focuses an applied inclusive arts project that explored self-image and self-esteem with adults with a learning disability and/or autism through drag performance. Gareth shares his reflections on the powerful potential for personal and social transformations in drag.

Gareth is a seasoned cabaret performer specialising in drag performance and circus, and soon-to-be-graduate from USW MA Drama degree. Co-founder of the Sparklettes, Fflamingo and The House of Deviants, Gareth has performed at cabarets, events and festivals (and digital zoom rooms) across the UK for many years under his stage name Ernie Sparkles.

LGBT+ and STEM

Dr Stewart Ayres
USW Dean of Faculty of Computing, Engineering & Science (FCES)
he/him @astrostewey

In most disciplines making up STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) the identity of the individual researcher or practitioner is almost entirely neglected and LGBT+ people are disproportionately disadvantaged and excluded by the predominant cultures. This presentation will examine some of the evidence of bias and talk about initiatives to both raise awareness of the consequences of bias, and support LGBT+ people and allies working within STEM. 

Dr Stewart Eyres is Dean of Computing, Engineering and Science, with a research background in Astronomy. Arising from a long-standing interest and activity in public engagement with science, he has supported work to widen the experiences and identities of those working within STEM subjects. His aims include making the disciplines more attractive to a wider range of participants and enhancing the impact of research by introducing more diverse perspectives. 

Under the Skin: Dance Movement Psychotherapy with LGBT+ Clients

Dr Thania Acarón, USW Lecturer, MA Drama, Dance Movement Psychotherapist 
Faculty of Creative Industries
(she/her) @thaniaacaron 

This presentation examines a case example from published research on collaborative art and dance/movement therapy workshops with LGBT+ clients in a community setting. It will focus on an exploration of the theme of skin as a barrier between internal/external aspects of self as a key thematic area for creative work in relation to mental health.

Dr. Thania Acarón is a lecturer at USW, dance movement psychotherapist, performer and movement director. Acarón offers international workshops on movement for wellbeing, therapeutic work with the LGBT+ community, embodied decision-making and violence prevention, and recently founded her own movement-for-wellbeing company, The Body Hotel LTD. 

Civil Partnerships, Sexuality and the Law

Dr Ruth Gaffney-Rhys, USW Associate Professor, Law
South Wales Business School / Faculty of Creative Industries
she/her @USW_Law

This presentation considers the development of the law relating to civil partnerships following the enactment of The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The legislation was presented by the Government as an equality measure, but it actually created new forms of discrimination based on sexuality, which will be discussed during the presentation.

Dr Ruth Gaffney-Rhys is an Associate Professor in Law, based in South Wales Business School. She specialises in family law, in particular, the law relating to marriage and civil partnerships. Her research often has an international human rights element and frequently considers discrimination issues. She is the Co-Director for the Centre for Gender Studies in Wales. 

Building a 'Qommunity

Bleddyn Harris, LGBTQYMRU Chair & Editor
(he/they) @bleddynharris

In response to Covid 19 lockdown, and in the absence of any other all-Wales on-line Pride events, LGBTQYMRU formed to bring about the first-ever Wales-Wide Virtual Pride, and will now host the first bilingual Wales LGBT+ online magazine, which launches its first issue on 26th February in honour of LGBT+ History Month.

Bleddyn will be speaking about the process of building a 'Qommunity', the magazine's key strands and the impact the magazine aims to have in contributing to a more diverse and multicultural Wales.

Bleddyn Harris is the Founder of LGBTQYMRU and works as the Organisational Development and Training Officer for Senedd Cymru - Welsh Parliament. His activism work has been featured on ITV Wales and BBC Radio Wales. Bleddyn delivering seminars and lectures on LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion for schools and organisations like Stonewall Cymru, The National Trust, among others. He is currently recognised on the Pinc List as one of the Top 15 LGBTQ+ Community Role Models in Wales and is the chair of the Senedd’s award-winning LGBTQ+ Staff Network. 

With thanks to our supporters:

• Spectrum USW LGBT+ Staff Network
• USW Learning Services Dept 
• USW Faculty of Creative Industries Research Dept
• LGBTQYMRU