The Hotel and Restaurant Museum is part of the We Speak Gay community
This spring the Hotel and Restaurant Museum has joined the We Speak Gay community. Founded in 2018, the community promoting LGBTQ+ inclusivity brings together safe spaces for queer people. By joining the community, the Hotel and Restaurant Museum aims to incorporate LGBTQ+ themes more strongly into the museum’s communications.
“Although society has not always welcomed queer people with open arms into public spaces, the LGBTQ+ community has played an important role in the development of Finnish restaurant culture. Queer people have been present in restaurants throughout history, but legislation and discrimination have unfortunately affected how material from LGBTQ+ history has been preserved,” says museum director Päivi Balomenos.
The Hotel and Restaurant Museum strives to preserve LBTQ+ restaurant culture in its collections and to highlight also the queer perspective in Finnish food and drink culture.
The We Speak Gay community emphasizes the importance of LGBTQ+ communication in building a sense of inclusion and safety for queer people. When traveling and choosing a destination, queer people unfortunately still have to consider their mental and physical safety.
“Active LGBTQ+ communication can make LGBTQ+ inclusivity visible and thus increase the sense of safety for queer people and reduce minority stress,” says Hannu Medina from the We Speak Gay community.
Active LGBTQ+ communication can make LGBTQ+ inclusivity visible and thus increase the sense of safety for queer people and reduce minority stress
Members of the We Speak Gay community participate in trainings and workshops that increase understanding of the diversity of sexuality and gender and share tools for implementing LGBTQ+ -aware communication. The community already has over 160 companies, communities and events that are committed to LGBTQ+ communication and promoting LGBTQ+ inclusivity.
“Everyone is welcome at the Hotel and Restaurant Museum just as they are and we want to make this strongly visible in our communication. By joining the We Speak Gay community, we aim to develop our inclusiveness and more actively highlight the museum as a safe destination for everyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation,” summarizes Balomenos.