Last summer, we were lucky to spend a month with high school senior, Hannah Murray. Hannah lives in Iowa City, IA, and she is particularly interested in issues related to gender and identity. As she and her friends have learned more about gender identity, Hannah wanted to find a way to help people talk about these issues and to support adults to be better allies for transgender and gender non-conforming youth.

During Hannah’s time as a Healthy Teen Network intern, we talked about ways that she could contribute to the resources and conversations that will help teachers, parents, and other community members best support young people who are exploring their gender and identity. It was important to her to create resources that weren’t intimidating, were fun, and could be used with lots of different people.

….Tah-dah! Hannah conceptualized a two-part product including:

• A short Prezi presentation, titled LGBTQ+ – Who?!, outlining basic-yet-important information about gender, sexual identity, and the critical need to better meet the needs of LGBTQ+ youth, generally. The presentation includes a handy list of dos and don’ts for educators and other trusted adults to acknowledge and support transgender and gender non-conforming youth.
• An interactive game where players move along a board similar to Chutes-and-Ladders while responding to questions that cover vocabulary, etiquette, and general things-to-know.

Hannah conceptualized the presentation and game while taking photos and researching how to best structure the game and its content so that it would be user friendly.

We’re excited to share these resources with you and your community. The game is suitable to use during most professional development and enrichment opportunities with youth, adults, or a mixed group.

Hannah is now finishing high school and preparing to attend college in the fall. We appreciate her hard work and dedication to helping communities and schools welcoming and safe for youth of all gender identities and sexual orientations!

Reach out if you have questions about its content or use.