The World’s First Non-Binary Mayor

A few months ago, the town of Bangor in Wales, UK, elected its first non-binary mayor. What’s it like for them?

Level: Intermediate

Duration: 15 mins

Theme: English, gender

Tasks: Comprehension questions, video, exercise on pronouns

Teacher/Student Answers: Here. (May need request from englishclassesforthemasses@gmail.com)

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Exercise 1

1. What do you know about the acronym LGBTQIA+? What does non-binary mean?
2. Do you know any other political or social acronyms?

Exercise 2

Watch the video below and answer these two questions, either alone or with your teacher.

1. When did Owen first know he was queer?
2. How else did the new mayor make history?

Exercise 3

Watch the video once more and answer true or false. If you need to reduce the speed of the video, do this using the Youtube settings.

1. Owen first moved to Bangor to study archeology True/False
2. Owen came out as nonbinary in 2018 True/False
3. Owen feels he has sometimes been disrespected “on the council” (Bangor’s administrative authority) True/False
4. There is little representation of nonbinary people in the media True/False
5. Bangor was founded in 500 AD True/False

Exercise 4

In the video, Owen asks the question “Where else can you have the amenities of a city…the community spirit of a small scale town?”

This is a form of rhetorical question that uses an interrogative pronoun. Complete the sentences using the correct pronoun.

whose, why, when, whom, how, what, where, who

1. ___ else are we going to get to the Pride festival, other than by train?
2. ___ didn’t you bring? There’s enough food to feed an army!
3. To ___? The general public of course!
4. ___ else could we go with these travel restrictions in place?
5. ___ wouldn’t want to have a mayor that cares about the environment?
6. ___ else would she be scared? The abuse that she received is terrible!
7. ___ else could those trousers be? I’ve seen them wearing them many, many times before.
8. ___ would be a better time than in 2021? Things are changing for the better!

Exercise 5

Consider these questions and write an answer, or discuss them with a teacher or partner.

1. The pronouns “they/them” have been used for many years to describe someone whose gender is unknown or not clear. Nowadays they can be used for nonbinary people. Does your native language have similar pronouns? What are they?
2. Owen has received many messages of hate online. What can we do to help him and other people? Have you ever received hateful messages or comments for something you said or did?
3. Have you ever thought about living as a different gender? What things might be easy and what things might be hard?

Don’t forget to search for any words you don’t know, and leave us a comment!