Purple Friday
The second Friday of December, the 8th to be precise, is Purple Friday. A day where we try to convince as many non-queer identifying people as possible to show support by wearing something purple. Will you?
Campuswide there will be a StudentHub picture contest! Get the biggest group of people wearing purple together, or aim for the individual prize for the best purple outfit. You can win a purple trophy and a pride flag, together with some rainbow stickers and candy.
Will you win the Purple Prize of 2023? Tag @tudelft and @outsite_delft in your picture on instagram (story or post) and win!
There are also activities at all of the faculties, check the overview below.
Architecture
Purple Pit Stop
Get yourself some purple accessories like a wristband or some purple nail polish. You can also talk to some queer students and see how you can be supportive all year long by adjusting small things in your daily life.
Purple Artwork
In the maquete hall, there will be a purple artwork that you can contribute to so we get a wonderful collaborated artwork.
Tips for allies
Language
1. Avoid gendered phrases such as "Hey boys and girls" or "Good morning boys." Try using "Hey all" and "Good morning class" instead.
2. Practice someone’s pronouns in your head if they don’t feel natural yet. When talking about a non-binary person, use phrases like, "Do you know where Ravi is?" "I saw them this morning. I think they work in the lab"
3. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. As long as you correct yourself and are working on doing better, most trans people won’t mind.
Sense of inclusion
1. Talk to people with different perspectives or experiences, and consciously set aside any assumptions about what they’ll be like.
2. Mention your pronouns with your name, in your email signature and when introducing yourself. For example, she/her, he/him or he/they. That way you’ll give someone with less obvious pronouns the chance to do so too, and the feeling of being welcome.
3. Showing interest in people is a good thing, but check that you’re not the tenth person that day, and limit any questions about medical treatments and genitals the same you usually would.
4. Point out to people when they make hurtful comments. It is easier for you as an outsider to stand up for a minority than for them to stand up for themselves
At home in Delft
Are you a LGBT+ youth under 19 or are you still unsure but want to come into contact with other LGBT+ youth with fun activities? Check out Jong&Out Delft.
From 16 to 28 years old you are welcome at Outsite, our youth group with a weekly barnight on Thursday, filled with activities and parties. We host a kennismakingsgroep twice a year, where you spend 9 weeks getting to know a group of queer people your age and the queer community.
There is also an active queer nightlife scene. DWH has its own weekly open bar in Delft and there are regular parties. There are lots of trips, organised by and for our members, to Pann in Utrecht, Popcake festival or Pride in different cities.
Are you an employee of TU Delft? Check the page of TrueU; this is the queer network of TU employees, who works on improving acceptance and inclusion at the university.
Being transgender
Finding information about being trans can be difficult. Luckily there are a few great information points such as transvisie and transgenderinfo!
It can be very helpful to share experiences and directly ask people questions. In DWH there is a group called Gender Blender, with lots of other not-cis people.
Sex-ed 101
Do you want to learn more about how to have sex as a queer person? The two sites below have lots of great tips to make it enjoyable and safe:
ExpresZo is a (Dutch) online queer magazine with some great articles on the basics of queer sex. Check out their other articles as well!
On sense.info you can find information about all sorts of topics, from how to have safe sex to how to get tested for STDs and pregnancy.
A(ce)-Okay
The Dutch Nederlandse Organisatie Asexualiteit (NOA) has a lot of information about the asexual spectrum, and links to activities and forums where you can meet others. Their international equivalent is AVEN.
Dealing with Discrimination?
Sometimes people give you a hard time because you are queer. In these cases it really helps to report it, and get the support you need.
Roze in Blauw Haaglanden is the queer police network of the region. When you need the police non-urgently, you can get in touch with someone through them who will understand you and your situation a bit better.
Stichting Inclusiviteit en Discriminatie Bestrijding (iDb) is the regional organisation mapping and fighting discrimination in Delft and a number of other municipalities. Even when something is not big enough to go to the police for, it helps to report it to them anyway so they know where there are issues remaining.