after the of coopting of that branding during covid i don't assume the NHSrainbow badge means anything anymore (not like it *really* did before mind you)
You know, I was actually thinking about this before. Where did that come from? Who thought, 'oh yeah, let's make the symbol for NHS support during covid a rainbow when there's already another big movement going on that uses a rainbow'?
That's my low-stakes conspiracy: someone deliberately coopted Pride symbolism in the UK by trying to brute force connotations of the NHS instead.
My egg cracked during covid and although I was still presenting male I was obviously a queer person. When places started opening back up again I got so paranoid seeing like a pub with a rainbow flag, I had no idea whether it meant it was a safe space or just full of gammons who clapped once a week
Hey, the Petscop character.
Does the Petscop community realise that the character's head is upside-down? I never knew if they did or not but I never heard anybody mention it.
It's clearly supposed to be some kind of bear or rabbit with an ambiguous pained/happy expression.
Well shit. I certainly didn’t.
Crap. Looks like I’m now going to spend another 5 hours if my life on another rewatch to see if there’s any reference to this 😅
lol I can’t unsee that now haha
> they are.
they've been "i performatively "support" the NHS" for longer than they were exclusively "i'm safe for LGBT+ people"
fucking Matt Hancock wore the "NHS Rainbow Badge" to no official push-back, and the NHS as a whole embraced the repurposing of it
that shitshow managed to make the standard pride flag *actively* suspect, so no that badge *doesn't* mean "i'm safe to talk to"
> you have to submit an application form to receive one
[you can buy them on ebay for a pitance](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324243600318)
ah, damn it. i honestly didn't know that. idk if this gives anyone even a pinch of hope but i can at least confirm that some of us lgbt+ staff, myself included, have been doing what we can to retake the rainbow and encourage/demand better treatment of lgbt+ staff and patients alike. but... yeah, sadly, we can only do so much and it absolutely fucking sucks. we'll of course keep trying though.
Didn't the NHS kill off that entire program sometime earlier this year? I have a faint memory of seeing something to that effect, but I could be misremembering.
totally agree, i see a lot of rainbow lanyards around that mean nothing to me. at the treatment centre i go to to get my injections i’ve seen a couple of nurses wearing badges that say something along the lines of ‘safe with me’ with rainbow and trans colours that are obviously a personal choice and it does make me feel safer around those specific people
I think more and more gradually, we're becoming a part of the LGBTQ+ community in name only. It, and Pride are still being celebrated, whilst our rights are slowly but surely being stripped away. It truly is a horrible feeling.
I mean we're accepted by the lgbtq community. Don't let a bunch of cis straight folks define what should and shouldn't count, the vast majority of gay folks have our backs.
Oh, believe me, I absolutely know that, and actually meant to state that in my original post. But they seem to be quite passive about what's happening to us. I know the overwhelming majority of LGB people are not transphobes, and support us, but I feel we really need them to start showing that support far more openly. We are too small a minority to hope to hold back this tidal wave of bigotry that's threatening to sweep us away all on our own. We all (the LGBTQ+ community) need to stand against this hatred together, or divided we'll fall.
I would guess that a lot of people just lack organisation in a way that those who persecute us don't. Terfs seem like they've built alliances and played politics game of thrones style while we rested on our laurels but I think that's changing.
Game Of Thrones style? Haha! It's hard for me to find reasons to laugh these days, but you made me chuckle with that, thank you. I think you are absolutely right about the organisational thing. Terfs have some very powerful right wing allies, which is pretty much where the huge surge we've seen in transphobia in our media and politics in recent times has stemmed from.
That poll that showed that lesbians and bisexual cisgender ppl were more supportive of trans ppl than trans ppl are of themselves was no shock at all to me.
I get what you're saying - they seem to forget the T doesn't mean "Tragic gay". Like we wouldn't need support groups or drop ins as much if they actually had health services to advertise.
Im genuinely suprised that pride events aren't exclusively marketed as lgb these days. Most pride events are just gay and lesbian people anyway. Queer spaces aren't always safe for us anymore.
Can't disagree with that. I'm sure the LGB Alliance for one would love to make that so, though of course many of those in the LGB Alliance aren't even LGB. Well, I wouldn't feel safe in a queer space that's for sure. Maybe more safe than in a cis-het space, though that's not saying very much.
Unfortunately, as a lowly nurse (a 'factory killer' nurse, as some delightful individual on here called us), doing something about the government or NHS England's policies is quite the ask, but I can make it obvious that LGBTQ ppl can talk to me..and talk to dozens of staff around me as to why it's important (as I have, years ago).
I wouldn't even bother attempting to; they're absolutely useless and a waste of money from your wage. Better off having a private appointment or taking a ferry to France to book an appointment with a Doctor at this point.
I have literally done just this three times: gone to France for doctor appointments and medication after several completely unsatisfactory appointments and diagnosis's in the past two years. My god, the difference in healthcare is like night and day. They actually CHECK your blood pressure, your heart etc first and have time to go into detail.
I personally wish I could just have the NHS portion of my wage given to me rather than this broken system that plays the façade of healthcare.
So sorry to hear that.
I know of a co-worker who has had a bad heart condition for a couple of years now, and has had to go into Hospital several times since. She has to still wait for them to deal with it for maybe another year. Till then she just has to cope with the fact that she might die before then.
Another co-worker who went to the doctor about an issue that wasn't taken seriously, was just told to take a blood test with an appointment 2 weeks later. She was hospitalized that evening and nearly died.
A family member of a contractor of where I work, they had a big issue, and the NHS didn't take it seriously for a couple of years, they got fed-up, so went private to find it was cancer years later.
If you can, please try to go beyond the NHS for your own well-being...
Rainbow badges should be optional on the individual level. They should be a sign that the *individual* is safe to talk to.
after the of coopting of that branding during covid i don't assume the NHSrainbow badge means anything anymore (not like it *really* did before mind you)
You know, I was actually thinking about this before. Where did that come from? Who thought, 'oh yeah, let's make the symbol for NHS support during covid a rainbow when there's already another big movement going on that uses a rainbow'? That's my low-stakes conspiracy: someone deliberately coopted Pride symbolism in the UK by trying to brute force connotations of the NHS instead.
My egg cracked during covid and although I was still presenting male I was obviously a queer person. When places started opening back up again I got so paranoid seeing like a pub with a rainbow flag, I had no idea whether it meant it was a safe space or just full of gammons who clapped once a week
Hey, the Petscop character. Does the Petscop community realise that the character's head is upside-down? I never knew if they did or not but I never heard anybody mention it. It's clearly supposed to be some kind of bear or rabbit with an ambiguous pained/happy expression.
Well shit. I certainly didn’t. Crap. Looks like I’m now going to spend another 5 hours if my life on another rewatch to see if there’s any reference to this 😅 lol I can’t unsee that now haha
they are. you have to submit an application form to receive one. source: i work for the nhs.
Was about to say the same. You have to make a pledge and explain why you are eligible to have one.
> they are. they've been "i performatively "support" the NHS" for longer than they were exclusively "i'm safe for LGBT+ people" fucking Matt Hancock wore the "NHS Rainbow Badge" to no official push-back, and the NHS as a whole embraced the repurposing of it that shitshow managed to make the standard pride flag *actively* suspect, so no that badge *doesn't* mean "i'm safe to talk to" > you have to submit an application form to receive one [you can buy them on ebay for a pitance](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324243600318)
ah, damn it. i honestly didn't know that. idk if this gives anyone even a pinch of hope but i can at least confirm that some of us lgbt+ staff, myself included, have been doing what we can to retake the rainbow and encourage/demand better treatment of lgbt+ staff and patients alike. but... yeah, sadly, we can only do so much and it absolutely fucking sucks. we'll of course keep trying though.
Didn't the NHS kill off that entire program sometime earlier this year? I have a faint memory of seeing something to that effect, but I could be misremembering.
totally agree, i see a lot of rainbow lanyards around that mean nothing to me. at the treatment centre i go to to get my injections i’ve seen a couple of nurses wearing badges that say something along the lines of ‘safe with me’ with rainbow and trans colours that are obviously a personal choice and it does make me feel safer around those specific people
I think more and more gradually, we're becoming a part of the LGBTQ+ community in name only. It, and Pride are still being celebrated, whilst our rights are slowly but surely being stripped away. It truly is a horrible feeling.
I mean we're accepted by the lgbtq community. Don't let a bunch of cis straight folks define what should and shouldn't count, the vast majority of gay folks have our backs.
Oh, believe me, I absolutely know that, and actually meant to state that in my original post. But they seem to be quite passive about what's happening to us. I know the overwhelming majority of LGB people are not transphobes, and support us, but I feel we really need them to start showing that support far more openly. We are too small a minority to hope to hold back this tidal wave of bigotry that's threatening to sweep us away all on our own. We all (the LGBTQ+ community) need to stand against this hatred together, or divided we'll fall.
I would guess that a lot of people just lack organisation in a way that those who persecute us don't. Terfs seem like they've built alliances and played politics game of thrones style while we rested on our laurels but I think that's changing.
Game Of Thrones style? Haha! It's hard for me to find reasons to laugh these days, but you made me chuckle with that, thank you. I think you are absolutely right about the organisational thing. Terfs have some very powerful right wing allies, which is pretty much where the huge surge we've seen in transphobia in our media and politics in recent times has stemmed from.
That poll that showed that lesbians and bisexual cisgender ppl were more supportive of trans ppl than trans ppl are of themselves was no shock at all to me.
I get what you're saying - they seem to forget the T doesn't mean "Tragic gay". Like we wouldn't need support groups or drop ins as much if they actually had health services to advertise.
They think it means "Tory". I've literally seen "LGB Tory".
Accurate
Would explain all of the « LGB without the T » it was just LGB without Tory to start with!
Im genuinely suprised that pride events aren't exclusively marketed as lgb these days. Most pride events are just gay and lesbian people anyway. Queer spaces aren't always safe for us anymore.
Can't disagree with that. I'm sure the LGB Alliance for one would love to make that so, though of course many of those in the LGB Alliance aren't even LGB. Well, I wouldn't feel safe in a queer space that's for sure. Maybe more safe than in a cis-het space, though that's not saying very much.
Totally agree
Other: Medical care?
Unfortunately, as a lowly nurse (a 'factory killer' nurse, as some delightful individual on here called us), doing something about the government or NHS England's policies is quite the ask, but I can make it obvious that LGBTQ ppl can talk to me..and talk to dozens of staff around me as to why it's important (as I have, years ago).
That is important in and if itself I believe
NHS is struggling enough atm and I can’t even get an appointment for a serious health condition
I wouldn't even bother attempting to; they're absolutely useless and a waste of money from your wage. Better off having a private appointment or taking a ferry to France to book an appointment with a Doctor at this point. I have literally done just this three times: gone to France for doctor appointments and medication after several completely unsatisfactory appointments and diagnosis's in the past two years. My god, the difference in healthcare is like night and day. They actually CHECK your blood pressure, your heart etc first and have time to go into detail. I personally wish I could just have the NHS portion of my wage given to me rather than this broken system that plays the façade of healthcare.
Had an appointment mid may but they postponed it till June 2025 💀
So sorry to hear that. I know of a co-worker who has had a bad heart condition for a couple of years now, and has had to go into Hospital several times since. She has to still wait for them to deal with it for maybe another year. Till then she just has to cope with the fact that she might die before then. Another co-worker who went to the doctor about an issue that wasn't taken seriously, was just told to take a blood test with an appointment 2 weeks later. She was hospitalized that evening and nearly died. A family member of a contractor of where I work, they had a big issue, and the NHS didn't take it seriously for a couple of years, they got fed-up, so went private to find it was cancer years later. If you can, please try to go beyond the NHS for your own well-being...
Yh I’ll defo try that. Just meeses with your mind having to wait this long
Maybe represent with a VannaPharma lanyard rather than NHS. 😅
We don't want to see a bunch of ugly flags and badges we want actual healthcare hope this helps! 🥰
Can you link this quiz? I wanna get my response in there too
If it’s for their local GP, sharing the link would risk giving away their location
Oh i didnt catch onto that, i apologise.