The UU Common Read for 2024-25 is Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families. The book lifts up themes of love, resilience, and joy in authenticity through stories and portraits of trans and nonbinary people and their family members. This Common Read invites UUs to deepen their understanding of how gender identity has shaped their lives, while the workshops spotlight our own true storytelling as an exercise of faith.

In today’s reality, openly sharing some of our stories has become dangerous. For a trans or nonbinary person, public knowledge of their gender identity could attract harm, even violence. For this reason, as we engage with the Authentic Selves Common Read, the UUA offers new guidelines (below) for UU congregations to uphold the dignity, privacy, and safety of transgender and nonbinary participants, guest speakers, and facilitators.

Transgender and nonbinary people are the authorities on guidelines for protecting trans and nonbinary participants in UU Common Read events. The guidelines below are based on the stated needs and concerns of trans and nonbinary UU religious professionals and individuals whose stories appear in Authentic Selves.

Consent for Use of Images and Names in Publicity

• Policy: Do not use any images or names of trans or nonbinary individuals in any form of publicity without their explicit, written permission.
• Explanation: Although images and names appear in Authentic Selves, additional privacy and safety concerns arise when these details are shared publicly in association with a specific time and place. Publicizing when and where a transgender or nonbinary person will be present can expose them to safety risks. Sharing names and images online is especially risky; these can be widely shared instantaneously, they can be digitally altered, and AI or crowd-sourcing can be used to track people down.
  Always seek direct consent and clearly explain how an individual’s information will be used before sharing out their information. We suggest keeping publicity as neutral as possible, without names and images of special guest speakers. Further, we discourage reproduction of the original Authentic Selves book cover, which shows images of people who are in the book.

Inclusive and Safety-Centered Planning

• Policy: If a transgender or nonbinary person may participate in or will be invited to speak at a UU Common Read event, include them in all stages of planning.
• Explanation: Full inclusion in planning ensures that transgender and nonbinary participants can voice any safety concerns and influence the event logistics to support their well-being. This process fosters a respectful environment and reduces the risk of unintended harm. For a guest speaker or visitor, considerations may include transportation, security measures, and how questions from a congregational Common Read group or a wider audience will be moderated.

Additional Recommendations

• Confidentiality: Protect the personal information of all transgender and nonbinary participants. Only share details with those who need to know for the purposes of planning and safety.
• Empowerment: Respect and affirm the autonomy of transgender and nonbinary individuals in deciding how they wish to be represented and engaged. If you are not transgender or nonbinary, invite trans or nonbinary members of your faith community to be involved and, as they are willing, include them in the plans for providing any aspect of this UU Common Read.
• Make and Keep Covenant: Throughout the Common Read workshops, hold up the importance of making and honoring community covenants, to ensure the door remains wide open for transgender and nonbinary people’s experiences, needs, and input.
• Educational Resources: Engage with educational offerings from the Transforming Hearts Collective, which provides comprehensive training on creating inclusive communities for transgender and non-binary people. Details about the curriculum and associated costs can be found on their webpage.

Please Continue to Engage with This UU Common Read!

To engage with Authentic Selves while following these guidelines offers congregations a unique opportunity: to affirm their commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of every person and help create safer, more inclusive spaces for all.

For further support, contact your regional UUA Congregational Life staff or email faithengagement@uua.org.