Pride: Urdd Eisteddfod row over LGBTQ+ area in Llandovery

A row has broken out over an area at the Urdd Eisteddfod where young people learn about the LGBTQ+ community.

The Welsh-language youth festival is in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, this year, where the Cwiar Na Nog area was launched along with pronoun badges.

Organisers describe criticism as "shameful" while Owain Wyn Evans said if it had existed when he was young it would have changed his life.

However, women's group Merched Cymru said it was not appropriate.

The area, which is a colourful tent, has been labelled as a "safe space" by the Urdd for children and young people to socialise, network and learn more about their identity through the Welsh language.

As well as holding a range of activities, Cwiar na Nog also sells pronoun badges.

Urdd staff have been wearing the badges all week and have encouraged others to do the same.

The Urdd's mascot, Mistar Urdd, is wearing a "Fe/Fo" badge, meaning "He/Him".

Urdd Gobaith Cymru is Wales' largest youth movement with tens of thousands of members, and its Eisteddfod is held annually at a different location in Wales.

It brings young people, aged seven to 24, together to compete in categories including music, literature and performing arts.

The launch of the Cwiar na Nog area coincides with the start of Pride Month which runs through June.

Thursday's event president for the day Owain Wyn Evans said: "How lucky are we that the Urdd are changing with the times like the Cwiar na Nog area?

"If something like this existed when I was young, it would've change my life completely... it shows it's OK to be gay, it's OK to be LGBT."

However, the move drew criticism from some quarters.

On Twitter, one person called Helen said: "Why? Let children enjoy without pushing this ideology on them."

Other comments have branded the badges "Stupid", "Disappointing" and "Disgraceful".

Another Twitter user went as far as saying: "It's a children's festival, not an LGBTQ festival. My children won't be doing anything with the Urdd in future."

Women's group Merched Cymru said it supports "meaningful initiatives" to tackle sexism, homophobia and gender stereotyping.

However, it added: "We believe that children should be free to be themselves and not be labelled for not conforming to regressive sexist stereotypes of how a boy or girl should be.

"Focusing on pronouns does nothing to tackle these stereotypes, instead promoting the unscientific belief that a 'gender identity' and stereotypes are more significant than whether we are physically male or female."

A spokeswoman added it was "not appropriate" for an organisation such as the Urdd to "push a contested ideology that has no basis in fact and is at odds with what is known about child development".

She added: "The Interim Cass Report on gender identity services is clear that schools should not socially transition children as it is not a neutral act - changing pronouns is a part of this.

"Normalising an obsession with pronouns is potentially damaging to all children whether they conform to gender expectations or not."

However, Education Minister Jeremy Miles said he did not understand the criticism.

"This is basically an initiative which has been directly requested by young people in Wales as part of the Urdd's engagement, so the voices I'm interested in listening to are the voices of young people in Wales who the Urdd is there to serve," he said.

"If you want to wear a badge wear a badge, if you don't want to wear a badge, don't. This is inclusion and equity and I think it's a really positive development."

Aled Rosser, who is one of the organisers of the area, said there had been a positive response to Mistar Urdd wearing his pronoun badge.

"It's really important that the ideas came from people on the ground, young queer Welsh people," he said.

"The important thing that came from the discussion was that they wanted a safe space, that they could ask questions without being judged."

In a statement, Urdd Gobaith Cymru said: "The offensive and extreme comments shared by some individuals against the Urdd's position to support the LGBTQ+ community are extremely disappointing.

"As an inclusive and open organisation that supports all our young people, it is important for us to show support."