18 Dec 2020

Diversity Lens - Issue 57

Diversity Lens - Issue 133 Diversity Lens - Issue 132 Diversity Lens - Issue 131

Dec 18

Diversity Lens - Issue 57

Welcome to Diversity Lens

Diversify your news consumption.

IN A RUSH?
In this week's issue, our last of 2020, we spotlight the first Black female 007. Don't miss the groundbreaking new radio show, and a podcast breaking down boundaries of intersectionality. Read up on the racial barriers to the new vaccine and the scientist working to make her field more accessible.

Thank you for supporting our newsletter this year! We will be taking a short break over the holidays but make sure you look out for our next newsletter on January 8th. We welcome any feedback you have to make Diversity Lens the best it can be.

DEFINING MOMENTS OF 2020

Take a look back on the momentous year that was 2020, the good and the bad.

LATEST NEWS

For 100 points, who can spell Michelle Pfeiffer? Bameshow, the chaotic panel-show parody

A "mould-breaking" new gameshow comes to Radio 4 that satirises the panel shows that have come before it. In the pilot episode, we hear from established comedians Desiree Burch, Ken Cheng, Kemah Bob and other comics of colour as they mock the tokenism and racial stereotyping they experience. in the industry. Leila Navabi, creator of the show, grew up watching Mock the Week but could never picture herself participating. She wanted to create something different. Bameshow weaves brilliantly between acknowledging well-known experiences of racism, and playfully ridiculing it. In one segment, contestants are tested on their spelling of a difficult white name, from Tchaikovsky to Michelle Pfeiffer.
Catch up on the show...

The new podcast ‘smashing the box’ of disabled feminism

The New Women podcast series uncovers the stories of disabled first-wave feminists Rosa May Billinghurst, Helen Keller and Mabel Normand. In each 10-minute episode, we hear a dramatised retelling from the pioneering women activists. Written by Louise Page and founded in partnership with Disability Arts Online, the podcast gives voice to the radical activism and intersectionality from the feminist voices of the early 1900s, rather than the "sanitised version" more often told.
"I think we, as disabled people, are often viewed through a sanitised lens. The focus is on putting disability, and disabled people, into neat boxes."
Learn about the revolutionary lives of three pioneers of activism.Listen here...

Medical racism could hold back the UK’s Covid-19 vaccination drive

According to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, people from BAME backgrounds are three times more likely to reject the COVID-19 vaccine than white people, even though BAME communities have been the worst affected by the pandemic. However, this reluctance is not the result of viral anti-vax conspiracy theories. Rather it stems from generational cases of discrimination by authorities and institutions. This legacy of systematic racism towards people of colour has led to a collective distrust towards the new Coronavirus vaccination. Wired's Winston Morgan expands on this stalemate, comparing US and UK statistics.
Read more... (4 minutes)

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INSIGHTS

You Can't Say Anything Anymore!: new podcast episode

As the year comes to a close, we reflect on what organisations can do to support trans and non-binary employees, foster a culture of allyship and make workplaces inclusive for everyone. This week we speak with Joanne Lockwood, Michael Cerasi and Joke Daems to get their perspectives on how to proceed.

They talk policy implementations, effective ally actions, the importance of language and labels, amongst other hot topics. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Buzzsprout.

Arachnologist Lauren Esposito is on a mission to empower queer scientists

Lauren Esposito studies scorpions at the California Academy of Science and she is passionate about making her field more inclusive. Esposito is determined to break down the "ivory tower of science" that makes it seem so inaccessible to large portions of society. Co-founder of Islands and Seas, a nonprofit that develops science education facilities in high biodiversity areas, and founder of 500 Queer Scientists, a project for queer visibility, Esposito wants to change the perception of the sciences. Her 500 Queer Scientists project had an overwhelming response, surpassing the target within two weeks, proving the community is out there.
Read more... (5 minutes)

STORY OF THE WEEK

Why one woman filmed her transition: ‘I want to show young trans kids it gets better’

In a new BBC Three documentary, we hear 20-year-old Lily’s story of growing up in a small village as transgender. Lily knew from a young age that she didn’t fit in somehow. As she got older and began transitioning, there was a lot of ignorance and lack of understanding; yet Lily felt supported by her friends, parents, and crucially, the internet.

“When I was about ten, that was when I discovered the first trans person on YouTube”

Once Lily stumbled across the idea of being transgender, the feeling stuck; she describes it as ‘discovering a big part of me’. She began socially transitioning whilst still in school, and one of her big motivations for making the documentary was to represent transgender adolescence and show people who might be struggling that there are others out there who have been through the same thing, and come out the other side. You can watch the documentary, filmed over five year, here.

FEATURED VIDEO

Why we need to talk about Black mental health

Agnes from Black Minds Matter UK speaks on why mental health is integral to the Black Lives Matter movement

INSPIRATIONAL PERSON OF THE WEEK

Lashana Lynch

July 2019 saw the announcement of Lashana Lynch as the new 007 in the latest upcoming Bond film No Time To Die – not as James Bond himself, but new secret agent Nomi. Inevitably, this casting was met with backlash from Bond traditionalists who can't possibly conceive of a female 007. Some critics maintained that a Black Bond was one thing, but a Black, female character was a step too far. For Lynch of course, the response was no surprise although the magnitude of it was somewhat tiresome.

Speaking of her casting, and the cultural push towards Idris Elba as the 'Black Bond', she says,
"For my community, those are really big things, but for the world, I need you to not care about it."
Lynch doesn't want these decisions to be seen as revolutionary acts. She describes having reservations before taking on this career-defining role, afraid to get lost "behind the man". Another fresh female perspective on the Bond franchise comes from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, credited for supporting on the script. For Lynch, it was vital that her character represented a three-dimensional, believable Black woman, and the two women sat down together to achieve this through Nomi. "The Black experience that I’m presenting needs to be 100 per cent authentic", Lynch explains. No Time To Die is now set to be released in April 2020.
Read more... (9 minutes)