Falling Forward: How to Recover Gracefully When You Biff it in Inclusion, Mason Aid

We can learn all the right words to use to be inclusive, but we're still going to get it wrong sometimes. Falling forward is a method of recovering gracefully. Pulled from roller derby, where the first thing you learn is how to fall and recover safely, Mason equates that to inclusive efforts. We expect babies to toddle and fall as they learn how to walk, why don't we expect that from people as they learn how to use more inclusive language? How someone recovers when they get pronouns wrong makes ALL the difference. Mason Aid (they/he) is an LGBTQ and neurodiversity advocate in the Midwest and beyond. Mason coordinated DEI initiatives for 5000 employees in multiple states. They help the LGBTQ community in the rural Midwest know they aren't alone and work to educate Midwestern folks on the LGBTQ community with the aim to enable there to be one safe person in every young persons life if they need to come out. Mason highlights the differences between the LGBTQ experience in the rural Midwest vs the experiences in urban center or on the coasts. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx