Creating a safe space for young LGBTQIA+ people to be active and have fun

Ri Baroche

I’ve been based in Southampton for about ten years and have been active locally as a musician, performer and events organiser since 2016.

I’ve worked and toured extensively as a solo performer and musician, performing at major festivals from Isle of Wight to Glastonbury and Boomtown. In recent years, I’ve moved into theatre-making and writing for stage and am currently working on a musical-comedy production about climate change, Call Me, Mother Nature, which has its first sharing at MAST Mayflower Studios on 19th March.

I’ve always worked in the arts, going full-time about three years ago. As a neurodivergent queer person with an overactive brain, freelance creative work allows me to channel my passions into a huge array of art forms and media, from performing to writing, poetry and comedy. I’m interested in people and finding ways to bring communities together using the arts as an empowering tool.

My passion is finding accessible, fun ways to talk about the biggest issues humans contend with. I wrote and toured a one-person show about gender and quantum physics, Drag ‘n’ Drop!, using each topic as a compliment for the other, to try and break down barriers to access for these contentious, seemingly inaccessible topics for the average person, using the drag, theatre and musical-comedy to bring more people into the conversation.

I’m also strongly motivated by the fact that, as a teenager and young person, I didn’t grow up with an awareness of being openly queer and transgender and didn’t have the opportunities to safely explore and find joy in these identities, as I have learned to do as an adult. Much of my work is inspired by the idea of giving these opportunities to young people now and providing safe, inclusive spaces for self- exploration, self-articulation and self-empowerment.

Historically, football has been a very inaccessible, hostile place for the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly gay men and trans+ people. Very few men feel able to come out until after they’ve retired from the professional game. In the women’s game there is more acceptance and support. In terms of the picture for young people currently,
particularly trans, non-binary and gender-non-conforming young people, it is very challenging, with the government’s decision to ban puberty blockers and an
overarching hostility towards trans+ people in sport contributing to a hostile environment. 

On top of this, according to Sport England’s 2016 LGBT in Sport report, at least 50% of LGBT men, women and gender non-conforming folks are not active enough to maintain good health. The picture this creates suggests a serious health crisis for the LGBT community within the UK, which is what drove me to create Pride in The Shirt – a programme that aims to create a safe, inclusive space for anyone aged 16-21 within the LGBTQIA+ in Hampshire to be active and have fun.

I first pitched the project in November 2023 to local sports charity Energise Me’s project, Culture in Common, and they helped bring on board the Hampshire FA and AFC Totton in the Community. We’ve also received support from the Football Supporters’ Association, Southampton Pride and John Hansard Gallery. All this interest has been really encouraging, and we’re so excited to get started from Monday 31st March, which marks Transgender Day of Visibility.

The project will run for nine weeks, every Monday, 6-9pm at AFC Totton, until Friday 9th June. The sessions will be split into two halves: a football and sports session run by an LGBTQIA+ coach from Hampshire FA, followed by a creative session, with a different focus and creative LGBTQIA+ facilitator each week.

Our creative sessions will be a mix of writing, theatre, music, fashion and design. Participants will create their own project football kit, a zine telling their story of connection to sport and how things could change going forward, and a new LGBTQIA+ football chant or song. Their work will be displayed at John Hansard Gallery during Pride Month.

My hope for the project is that it will bring a lot of joy to our participants, help them foster new connections with other young people locally, and increase their confidence to be active.

There are so many talented people in this city and I’m really encouraged by the growth in creative initiatives and projects in recent years. I’ve been really well supported by the community since first moving here and have enormous gratitude to the people and organisations of Southampton for how much they’ve invested in my growth as an artist and a person.

For more information on Pride in The Shirt and to sign up, visit: https://cultureincommon.co.uk/event/pride-in-the-shirt/