In Bandwidth Recovery, Cia Verschelden (2017) describes the tremendous amount of cognitive resources LGBTQ students on our campuses must expend in order to simply navigate their day-to-day experience of vulnerability and exclusion. Every ounce of mental energy spent resisting systems that demoralize or erase a student’s sense of self is energy that cannot be spent on learning.

One way we can work to reduce identity threat within our classrooms is to intentionally incorporate gender inclusive images in our course materials such as Power Point slides, syllabi, and handouts. There are two great free resources you can use to locate images that represent LGBTQ identities.

1. Broadly’s Gender Spectrum Collection includes stock photos of trans and non-binary models. All photos are free to use. I also recommend Lindsay Schrupp’s piece in Vice which describes how the collection got started.
2. You can also sign up for Representation Matter’s Weekly Stock Image email. Every week the company sends out a few free images to the list. Photos are also available for purchase (web quality photos are fine for teaching and the pricing is reasonable).

Resources:

• Verschelden, C. (2017). Bandwidth recovery: Helping students reclaim cognitive resources lost to poverty, racism, and social marginalization. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

To follow up on any of these ideas, please contact me at fglazer@nyit.edu. This Weekly Teaching Note was adapted from a contribution to the Teaching and Learning Writing Consortium hosted at Western Kentucky University.

Contributor:
Danielle Leek, Ph.D.
Director of Academic Innovation & Distance Education
Bunker Hill Community College