In March, Project Indigo members created "If it's not a hell yes, it's a conversation" a film about consent for and by LGBTQ+ youth. Galop funded us to make this project, as many of the resources currently available centre heterosexual relationships and don’t acknowledge genders outside of the binary. Alongside the group's youth worker, I facilitated a series of workshops for the young people to research, storyboard, design and shoot a short stop motion animation.
We started by discussing what consent meant and how it was different when you were queer or trans. And came up with loads of ideas including the fact that consent itself isn't binary! Project Indigo members decided on our key questions and we recorded their answers to them. Each participant designed their own characters and animated over their voices.
The film will be a resource for young queer people but was also a chance for the group to explore the topic, ask each other questions and validate each other’s experiences: this is the magic of making work collaboratively.
Key messages we decided on with the group:
- It's not ok to take away someone's consent
- It's not your fault
- You can get help
- It's ok to know or not to know what your sexuality is
- Consent isn't binary
- If it's not a hell yes, it's a conversation
The film explores what project indigo members think young LGBTQ people need to know about consent, and the ways being queer can add complexity to understanding and acting on our desires. We were hosted by The Outside Project for our animation day, which was amazing and included lots of dancing.
