As I've explained previously (over on the blog), one project we didn't have time to complete and launch before the closure of NHS North West and our equalities team was a new resource aimed at helping commissioners and primary care clinicians to tackle the health inequalities experienced by men and boys as a group.
And, as I explained last month, we undertook to complete this resource during April, in our own time.
The MHF were looking for some investment to support running a couple of events to educate NHS commissioners and primary care staff about one of society's greatest areas of health inequality … the shorter life expectancy and poorer health outcomes for men and boys.
Rather than simply fund a few isolated workshops we decided to make a film which MHF and others could use. It's another one of our legacy projects.
The film is now complete and MHF used it for the first time on 30th April, as part of a facilitated workshop.
They will be running educational events nationwide using the video as part of the overall package.
They will also be teaching GPs and CCG leaders about established best practice ideas for reaching out to men and boys.
But the video material could also be used on its own too, to encourage GPs (in particular) to think differently about how to reach men and boys.
Expert contributions
The 75 minute film includes some great contributions by MHF and European Men's Health Forum President, Professor Ian Banks; MHF Trustee and epidemiologist Professor Alan White; and former MHF Chief Executive, Peter Baker, who now works as an independent consultant in this field.
Last month, over on the blog, I explained how we had managed to complete our Disability History Timeline at NHS North West, before the organisation was disbanded as part of the NHS reorganisation on 31st March.
The timeline is similar to our previous Black and Minority Ethnic and LGBT peoples' histories, in that it consists of three parts: a mobile exhibition, a printed booklet and a video.
The booklet was printed in March and the timeline panels were similarly completed in time, as a result of heroic efforts by my colleague Loren Grant. However, although we had also completed the video, we weren't ready to release it at that time, as it needed to go to the specialist organisation who add British Sign Language signing.
The video is now completed … in time for a public launch of the whole resource at the headquarters of Greated Manchester Commissioning Service Unit (GMCSU) on Wednesday 8th May. As NHS North West's online resources are now all closed I have also agreed to host an online version of the film on the Plain Sense platforms.
The film runs for just over 20 minutes and is signed throughout. It is in two parts. In the first section disabled people talk about their personal experiences of the NHS. In the second half disabled NHS staff talk about disability from their own perspective. A short section at the end also explains how we worked with stakeholders to coproduce the whole resource.
Alice Purnell OBE is an important contributor to the development of the trans community in Britain.
She was involved in founding the Beaumont Society in the 1960's; founded the Gender Trust in 1990; and instituted a groundbreaking series of biennial conferences bringing trans people and clinicians together that same year.
In this extended interview, on her 70th birthday, Alice speaks openly about her own childhood; the experiences which moulded her approach towards community support; and those pivotal developments in which she had a leading role.
Paris Lees appeared in an earlier edition of Just Plain Sense about the signing of a Memorandum on trans people at Channel 4. Even then she was probably not all that well known outside of a small circle, having only moved to London the previous year. These days she is rapidly emerging as a rising star.
She has quickly established herself as an art reviewer and commentator on issues of diversity. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian and the Independent, in Attitude magazine, and in Pink News. She has regular columns in Gay Times and Diva. She has appeared on Radio One and BBC TV ... and acted as a consultant on several programmes about trans people. Most notably, she launched a unique magazine, META, earlier this year.
Paris recently won the title 'LGBT Role Model' at the National Diversity Awards. This interview was recorded with her the following morning whilst she was still getting used to the recognition.
July 16th will mark the thirtieth anniversary of a campaign supporting what became known as the 'Bradford Twelve'.
On that day in 1981 a dozen young Asian men from the United Black Youth League were arrested in dawn raids across the city and charged with conspiracy to make explosives and to cause explosions.
The case was set against a backdrop of racist attacks on black and asian communities in Britain, which the Police had done little to address.
The defendants asserted that "Self defence is NO offence" and the hearing of their case lifted the lid on racism in Britain at that time.
Shahnaz Ali was a teenage girl at the time and was very much involved in the United Black Youth League in Bradford. She was taken for questioning and came close to being charged with conspiracy herself.
Now a senior public sector official, Shahnaz looks back on those events with me, and describes what it was like to almost become the thirteenth defendant.
The goal of the memorandum is to help eliminate discrimination relating to trans people in all media by setting out goals that all the parties can aspire towards. Channel 4 were the first organisation to subscribe to the principles.
The MOU doesn't call for censorship but aims instead to give media organisations the tools they need to address endemic problems.
Trans Media Watch say they are guided by the basic principle that they wish to see transgender people and issues treated with accuracy, dignity and respect.
Just Plain Sense was there to capture the atmosphere of the event, including speeches by Minister for Equalities, Lynne Featherstone MP, Stuart Cosgrove from Channel 4 and reactions from the audience.
Listen to the show online with the player below or click one of the options on the right to download into your favourite music player or feed reader. You can also read more background on the Just Plain Sense Blog
Professor Joan Roughgarden is no ordinary biologist - and no ordinary trans woman either - though there are quite a few high academic achievers within the world wide community of gender variant, transgender and transsexual people.
Joan is perhaps best known for her 2004 book “Evolution’s Rainbow” - an academic work, written in a language accessible to the public. In it she challenges Darwin’s theory of Sexual Selection.
Her subsequent book, “Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist”, published in 2006, showed that her willingness to take on controversial subjects was, if anything, stronger and more confident ... despite the inevitable way in which her critics responded to the first.
This interview was originally recorded for another channel in the summer of 2007, but hasn't been aired on Just Plain Sense before. In the course of conversation Joan reveals an unexpected debt of gratitude to former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and talks about her biologist's view of sexual orientation.
Note that this show features a new, alternative, signature tune that I'm trying out. I'd appreciate listeners' feedback on whether you like it or prefer the traditional one. The theme is "New Ways of Seeing", composed and performed by Richard Harvey in 1978
I’ve covered a lot about crime in various forms over nearly three years of these Podcasts. A lot has been said about hatred directed towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans People. We’ve also covered domestic violence, which is mostly directed towards women.
None of these subjects are pleasant. Yet the hatred which seems the hardest to understand is that which is directed towards disabled people and those with Mental Health problems or Learning Difficulties.
The question why people behave so awfully in the first place tends to be brushed aside. And it’s clear that the unease that society as a whole has in this area is perhaps the elephant in the room.
In this episode I talk to Karen Machin, a campaigner in this field. She and her colleagues work to raise awareness about disability hate crime and how to report it.
She also works with the ‘Time to Change’ campaign, educating people about Mental Illness and she’s been involved in setting up the ‘ROLE Network’ - which is open to anyone who has experienced or supported someone through these kinds of distress or mental health issues.
What do you think about minority groups like transgender people? Unless you actually know someone in person, have you ever questioned where your beliefs and opinions come from? Chances are, like most people, what you believe and think can be traced back to what you've gleaned from media coverage.
The issue of media representation is nothing new. Study the history of any minority which has struggled for equality and you'll generally find that such issues have been of concern to those who were engaged bringing about social change.
Juliet Jacques is a transsexual writer and journalist who has thought a lot about these questions in her own context. She is writing a groundbreaking fortnightly column for the Guardian newspaper, documenting her own transition. She is therefore ideally placed to offer some perspectives on how the communication problems arise, and how to address them.
Since this show was recorded Juliet has blogged some more detailed thoughts about some of the topics we covered. Please also feel free to build on this discussion through the comments below and on her blog
It feels incredible to reflect that we are coming up to the third Christmas for the Just Plain Sense Podcast. The show has covered so much in the last 80 episodes and I hope to continue for a long time to come.
Usually, as the producer and presenter of these shows, it is my job to ask the questions. With the occasional exception, I try not to be self-indulgent.
The festive season provides an excuse for us all to let our hair down and forget the conventions though. That's why I thought it would be nice to turn the tables and present this recent on-air show where, instead, the questions were coming my way.
Andrew Edwards presents the Saturday Forum on Gaydio -- the Manchester based LGBT FM station that I featured in a recent show. The last half hour of every show features 'the Mix Tape' where a guest selects and talks about four music tracks that mean something special. This was my turn in the hot seat...
If you’ve ever visited Manchester City Centre then you may have noticed some small rainbow coloured mosaics set into the pavement here and there. These pick out the landmarks in Manchester’s LGBT Heritage Trail.
In this show I speak to guide Jon Atkin about the background to the trail and then we visit a couple of the landmarks. If you're interested in organising a tour for a group of friends then call the Manchester Tourist Information Line on 0871 222 8223
When Nadia Almada first teetered into Channel Four's Big Brother house on impossibly high heels, in the summer of 2004, TV viewers in Britain had probably never seen more than a few minutes of any real transsexual person on their screens before.
Activists and lawyers at the time were nursing Britain's Gender Recognition Bill through Parliament, and there was momentary concern about what kind of person this unknown quantity was.
They needn't have worried.
Within days the young Portuguese woman soon had people's attention, as her immense personality, piercing laugh and manifest vulnerability took viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotions, in which her transsexual background was sometimes the focus but often pushed to the background by other dramas.
Nadia won that fifth series of Big Brother in a landslide victory that carried millions on a wave of emotion, sharing her dramatic realisation of public acceptance.
In 2010 Nadia returned to Big Brother for a celebration show with other popular or controversial housemates. The return was not such a happy event.
Three weeks after that event she agreed to give an in-depth interview and talks here about her childhood, changing gender, those television experiences and much more too.
The first LGBT Health Summit took place at Guys Hospital in London in 2005 and, since then, this major annual conference has been hosted around the country. In this fifth year the hosts were Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and the venue was the excellent conference centre at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield.
In this programme you can hear the organisers, presenters and delegates describing the proceedings as they took place over the 6th and 7th of September 2010
It was in December 1997 that the story originally known as "the John / Joan case" first came to world wide attention through a feature in Rolling Stone magazine. (The text of that feature is reproduced here)
The story was significant at that time for transsexual people, as it dealt a heavy blow to the dominant medical narrative that gender identity was malleable and a product of nurture rather than nature. For people seeking recognition that gender change was not a 'choice' but a necessity, this was more than an academic question.
Post-mortem brain research in the Netherlands that same year had suggested a biological connection for gender identity; however the story of how an accidentally castrated baby boy had been successfully reared as a girl appeared compelling because it had always been presented as an unqualified success.
The story of the child (real name David Reimer) had been part of the medical literature for a quarter of a century, and many people had an investment in the case, both as a model for treatment of physically intersex babies and to underpin sociological theories dating from the same period.
I well remember the morning when the link to the Rolling Stone story arrived in an email from an American contemporary and the haste with which we put it online for our own readers. The importance of promulgating the facts was immediately obvious.
The feature article by journalist John Colapinto blew the lid off previous accounts of what happened. It was apparent that the outcome was very different from what everyone believed.
The BBC Radio Four series 'Case Study' revisited the story this week and tells the story in hindsight through interviews and audio clips which include the account of David Reimer's mother, when she was told of the hospital accident involving one of her two sons.
You can hear presenter Claudia Hammond's programme here on the BBC iPlayer and the background on the programme is available on the Case study web page here.
Just Plain Sense provides a mix of talks and interviews about Equality and Diversity in Britain today. There is a particular emphasis on the 'developing' areas such as LGBT but overall I set out to capture a truly diverse range of voices to talk first hand about what it means to work towards and live in a tolerant, diverse society -- and what we still need to do to get there.
Christine Burns
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