Rainbow badges at work - upset

[whatishappening123]

I work in a sector with vulnerable young people. A few years ago, we made the decision as a company to wear as part of our uniform, a name tag with the rainbow on as part of pledging our support to LGBT+
We have all received new name badges and for the first time ever- an option has been provided to have a red coloured one instead of the rainbow if staff 'do not agree with LGBT+'
I have raised this with HR and union and been told that staff are now allowed to choose and that is their right.
I feel really upset by this - colleagues I have known for years are now deciding against the rainbow badge.
We work with the most vulnerable- who are often LGBT. Some of our service users have asked staff directly why they are not using them- and they have lied saying " They'd run out , or the pin on the rainbow ones are crap, some staff are hiding the red ones.
It's not a majority by any means - it's probably about 11 staff in a staff of 60.
I just feel really really upset by it, but I can't quite put my finger on why.
I also don't understand how people can be 'against' LGBT
It's a protected characteristic.

So, as LGBT+ is essentially a list comprising female sexual orientation, male sexual orientation, self declared ‘identity’ and that oh so mysterious + , can you explain how one person can ‘identify’ as all of those things at once?

Does that genuinely make sense to you or have you not really thought it through?

Why would a gay man also identify as a lesbian women? How does that work?

Btw, do you know what the + represents or more importantly who is excluded from the +?

Regarding the 'pretending' element it's always a little situational IME. Like, you couldn't say "speak to Susan....the fat woman in the corner with the big nose" even if there were three Susans and this was an accurate description.

I have been an ally as long as I can remember but the deluge of flags this year at the corporate I work for is bordering on ridiculous. One of the other (more obvious) eye rollers was a gay man

I don't think it's about the things you enjoy or how you feel about your body. I just included those other things as examples of identity felt in the head rather than the body. Maybe religion would have been a better example.

So? The claim was “LGBT” was the pc which is demonstrably false and not all “transgender” people arguably fall under “gender reassignment”

Right and my post says “your sexuality is a protected characteristic” Gender identity is also a protected characteristic so everyone under LGBT is protected from discrimination

Bev Jackson (Co-founder of LGB Alliance) quoted from this article on the launch of LGB International which seems relevant to this situation:

"What we actually want is simple: the freedom to live our lives openly, without discrimination, without harassment, and without the threat of violence. We don’t need or want a rainbow flag shoved in your face at every turn. We don’t need banks and airlines performing allyship. We want equal treatment under the law and a society where being same-sex attracted isn’t a liability. That’s it."

You shouldn't need a badge to signal to your service users that you'll treat them with dignity and respect.

Good point!! That really upsets some people. She seems unbothered.

If staff members are made to wear badges proving their allegiance it was only a matter of time before someone says no thanks. Ridiculous situation your company has created for itself here.

“Gender identity” is not a protected characteristic either 🙄 you are simply wrong.

I don’t support LGBTQ+. So, no I wouldn’t wear a badge saying I do. Nor would I work for a company where it’s not optional. I do however support LGB. So, give me a badge that I can wear purely for LGB and I’ll wear it. Alternatively, can’t the world fucking grow up and stop wearing badges?

Your sexuality is a protected characteristic.

people shouldn’t be forced to wear a “pro” lgbt pin. But they shouldn’t have the option to show themselves as anti-lgbt. Especially when working with vulnerable people.

This.

Gender reassignment involves medical 'transitioning'.

A high proportion of trans people have not take this step.

Gender identity is not a protected characteristic, it's gender reassignment.

No, probably not, and you'll see in one of my other responses I did say that no one should be forced to express views they don't hold.

But when working w vulnerable people, many of whom are LGBTQ+ I agree it's understandable to be upset that your colleagues wouldn't want to express support for LGBTQ+ folk.

The impact of the badge is greater if you're working with a vulnerable public vs sitting in an office.

The op seems pretty confused as to what it actually means.

They are protected by the pc from the point they express a desire to “transition”, which is a bit ridiculous but there we are. It doesn’t give them the right to access opposite sex stuff though.

Ok.

What a load of shit. What I imagine was said, was, if you do not want to wear an LGBT badge you can wear the red one which in no way means by wearing it you are AGAINST LGBT.

What a manipulative post.

Religion is a protected characteristic too, and most major religions condemn homosexuality.

Nobody should be forced to make moral / ethical / political statements on their work uniform. And the organisation risks a lawsuit if they try to force them.

It’s probably because people are so sick of it all. Heterosexual people don’t walk around with banners for a week congratulating each other on being straight, why do others have to?
im all for doing what you like in the bedroom but why do we all need to know about it?
just stop and live how you want to!

I struggle to believe this is true.

But all this badge and lanyard bollocks is getting ridiculous. At this point in time, I’d struggle to know if my rainbow badge represented LGB, rainbow babies or that my dog had gone over the bloody rainbow bridge.

I wish I had the time to be upset by a badge.

Quite right to have the choice. Not everyone wants this stuff shoved down their throat