Berlin, 4 April 2024
To mark World Health Day on 7 April 2024, the IWWIT campaign is publishing the video "Queer Community Spoons: How spoons can help us feel better!". The aim: to talk about mental well-being.
How are you doing? What do you need? How can we gain mental energy? These are the questions addressed in the video "Queer Community Spoons" by ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU (IWWIT), the prevention campaign by Deutsche Aidshilfe for gay and bisexual men.
In her spoon theory, blogger and activist Christine Miserandino uses spoons to symbolise limited energy: different people need different amounts of energy for the same activities.
IWWIT expands the spoon theory with a queer perspective. Coming out, living with HIV, prejudice or marginalisation demand even more energy from queer people than people without these experiences.
Jonathan Gregory, Head of the IWWIT campaign:
"Spoon Theory reminds us that mental health is just as important as physical health. By better understanding our needs and challenges as queer people, talking about them and showing solidarity, we can make our communities strong, loving and supportive."
How can we gain energy - individually and as a community? Strengthening each other is one thing. Taking care of yourself individually is another. The "Queer Community Spoons" campaign aims to bring both together:
"Fortunately, there are various ways in which each of us can take care of ourselves and our personal energy levels, replenish our own energy resources and thus regain spoons. Perhaps you have tips and tricks that you can recommend," says Jonathan. "Sharing is the order of the day!"
Share this video with people you care about and encourage them to talk openly about their mental wellbeing.
Let's draw from the full together!
Link to the Video: https://youtu.be/37y9MSuQ9ss
More info on iwwit.de/mymentalme
Background
Due to an autoimmune disease, Christine Miserandino often has to put more energy into coping with her everyday life than she can recover the following night. She invented her spoon theory to explain this to a friend.
She starts with a spoon, which represents a unit of energy. She only has very few of these spoons and has to organise them well - also because she cannot easily replenish her supply of spoons.
Energy spoons are also more limited for people with mental health problems and illnesses than for people without these problems. And for queer people, living in a society that is often still characterised by prejudice and discrimination can be an additional burden.
