For any young journalist, getting your work published can be a hard-won task. But, for LGBTQ+ young people getting someone to take a chance on your work and platform your voice can be even harder. 

One charity, however, is giving its young volunteers the chance to get their work published by some of the biggest news titles in the UK, whilst talking about issues close to their heart. 

Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, has a media group which its volunteers – called ambassadors – can join. Once a member they can pitch pieces around themed pride days, what is happening in the news or even just based on their own life experiences. 

Opportunities are not just limited to print though, ambassadors have also appeared on radio and on TV.

This Pride Month, we chatted with the media manager of Just Like Us, Lily Wakefield, and ambassador Carden Cappi about the scheme and why giving LGBTQ+ young people a voice in the media is vital. 

Lily Wakefield

How does the ambassador media group support the aims of Just Like Us? 

Our media group primarily gives a platform to the LGBT+ young people we work with, allowing them to have their voices heard, share their experiences and highlight the issues that matter most to them.

As volunteers, ambassadors give talks in schools allowing them to be the positive representation they needed when they were pupils, and being able to have a platform in the media – whether that is written press or broadcast – is an extension of that role.

Our ambassadors in the media group also help us to reach a wider audience, creating awareness of our programmes among those who need them, both school staff and young people. 

Why is it important to have the voices of young queer people in the media?

In the current media landscape, LGBT+ lives can be politicised, debated or criticised without a true understanding of the lived experiences of LGBT+ people themselves.

Young people, especially, can struggle to have their voices heard, resulting in misunderstandings or misrepresentations of their experiences.

We know from Just Like Us’ recent research that those who know a trans person in real life are twice as likely to be supportive of trans people – I think this is a perfect example of how representation and an understanding of LGBT+ lives can have an enormous impact. 

What has been the media group’s biggest achievement for Just Like Us, in your opinion?

I am proud every day of the work of the ambassadors in our media group, it would be difficult to pin down a single achievement!

From being open about their experiences in a public forum, to having the courage to speak on national TV, every single one of them is making a difference to young LGBT+ people UK-wide.

Carden Cappi

Why did you join the media group? 

I’ve always enjoyed the idea of working in media and making my voice heard, so there was no question of me joining the media group when I found out about it.

Also, I’m asexual, which is a rather invisible identity in the media, and having the opportunity to have a voice and reach thousands of people with my experiences can increase visibility and knowledge and foster inclusion.

What do you feel you get out of the media group? 

Quite a few things. Firstly, I think I’ve gained more confidence, especially when doing live media like radio interviews.

It has also helped me write and articulate more concisely. I have a habit of creating long and overcomplicated sentences to explain things, but writing for press has helped me with that a lot.

Finally, it has helped me establish boundaries and realise what I want to share with the world, and what is personal and no one’s business! Before joining the media group and starting to talk about my personal experiences, I was never sure what to share or where I reached the point of too much.

But through my work in the media group, I have established firm lines of what I feel comfortable with and what is too much. 

Did you have any experience with the media prior to volunteering with Just Like Us? 

I haven’t had any experience with actually working in media before starting.

I was definitely a consumer and always dreamt of creating media, but never did before joining the group.

What are you proudest of from your time in the Just Like Us media group?

Getting my voice heard. It’s both rewarding and makes me proud of how far I’ve come.

When I was younger, I never talked about anything personal, and when realising I might be queer, I definitely did not tell anyone. But now, I feel comfortable enough to share my experience with a massive audience and use it for good.

Being in the media also creates visibility for asexuality, which has historically been very invisible and marginalised.

By sharing experiences about being asexual and trans, it also makes us as individuals and as a group seem more human and give more context to our experiences among all the bad/fake news circulating at the moment, and it makes me incredibly proud that the other ambassadors and I can be a positive force against that.

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