Introduction Many youth are examining their sexual identities at earlier ages than in previous years which lead to youth disclosing their sexual orientation identity in schools. LGBT students in American schools systems tend face harsh treatment from students and faculty because of how they define oneself and how they choose their sexual orientation. American schools practices, policies, local and state laws affect LGBT students greatly. LGBT youth in american schools are more likely to experience homophobia in their school setting than anywhere else noted. American schools tends to try to focus greatly on faculty, school administration to provide advocacy for LGBT youth. The youth are victims of physical harassment ,violence ,victimization and are targets of homophobic slurs. Suicide, emotional stress, self harm, and depression, are at an all time high for youth in the american school systems.
Background
LGBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.The initialism has become mainstream as a self-designation and has been adopted by the majority of sexuality and gender identity-based community centers and media in the United States and some other English-speaking
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Graybill (2009) found that 74% of preservice teacher surveyed on a measure of homophobia scored in the homophobic range, suggesting that these teachers in training hold negative views about LGBT students. Also studies show that without proper knowledge of LGBT and continued under-representation of LGBT history in school psychology textbooks there will always be limited knowledge in this area. The problem of discrimination and harassment in schools needs to be addressed through policy. It is time to focus on state laws and district policies that can make our schools safer for all
Matt Zalaznick’s article, “Creating Inclusive Climates”, offers suggestions for how schools can support transgender students and improve school climate by educating classmates and faculty about the needs and experiences of transgender children. The need for such education starts at the elementary school level, with many students beginning to identify as being transgender as early as the age of the average kindergartener. Although the implications of Title IX protections state that schools must not discriminate against students on the basis of sex, many districts have strengthened the wording with amendments to include specific wording to include stronger protections for transgender students. Leaders need to ensure that there are adequate district policies in place to prohibit mistreatment of students based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Increased acceptance among the peers of transgender students.
Imagine you were left-handed. How would you feel if you were bullied for this mere reason? What if you had blue eyes and I beat you up in the school yard because of your eye colour? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?
Before beginning my research, I was very curious about the causes of homonegativity and how they translate into certain effects. Being that I have close friends and family members who have struggled with both internalized homonegativity and societal prejudices, I thought the subject was important to bring attention to. I did not predict how significant the effects of homophobia are on homosexuals, especially living in the most progressive era in U.S. history. Thus, homonegativity is a subject that needs to be taught based on the mental and physical wellbeing of those in the LGBTQ
According to a study done by National Youth Association in 2010, 9 out of 10 students in the LGBT community have experienced harassment in school, and over ⅓ of LGBT youth have attempted suicide. More recently, statistics by the Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org) claim that 4 in 10 LGBT youth say that their community is not accepting of LGBT people. In 1998 the Westboro Baptist Church was brought into America’s spotlight when they picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young man in the LGBT community who had been beaten to death because of his sexuality. Since then, the cruelty of WBC hasn’t ceased to leave many in sickening shock. Bullying, throughout time, has evolved. It’s not just Little Timmy being beaten up for his lunch money anymore. Now, parents are involved. Many religious households raise their children on the beliefs that bullying is A-OK if Little Timmy is a homosexual. Parents ar...
What really grinds my gears is seeing homophobia in the modern world. Yes, I acknowledge that it is seen as a sin—especially in the early times when people believe in witchcraft. Seriously, it’s 2016 and we’re having a little fit over who uses what bathroom? We’re having worse things going on! We have ISIS, we have a potential war coming up, we have school shootings and gang violence, and worse of all we have the possibility of Trump being our president and people are losing their marbles over who uses what bathroom? It’s just a bathroom! If it makes you so uncomfortable to go into a bathroom that is gender neutral, then don’t use it! Simple! Being a gay boy in school made me uncomfortable going to the boy’s bathroom/locker room. I grew up in a small town—Oroville, WA—where homosexuality wasn’t really seen, and some people felt uncomfortable by it. I hated going to the boy’s bathroom/locker room because I constantly felt I didn’t belong with them, but I didn’t belong with the girls either…I didn’t know where I belonged. I felt if I went into the boy’s bathroom/locker room, then they would judge me or feel uncomfortable with me in there—I used to think that boy’s hated me in there because they felt that I was looking at them or checking them out
Despite there being many reasons as to why people discriminate homosexuals, the most popular ones are due to their religion or cultural norm. They include acts of verbal and physical abuse towards individuals who are homosexual. For those who are homosexuals, they are verbally abused by name calling such as fag, homo or sissy more than two dozen a day. There was a survey conducted by Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and found that 86 percent of LGBT teens are being harassed at school in 2007. In 2013, 82 percent of teens had problems from previous year with bullying about sexual orientation. 64 percent felt unsafe at school and 32 percent did no go to school because of feeling unsafe. Even as an adult homosexual are attacked verbally.
The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to cause a person enough mental stress that they would take their own life. This is always unfortunate, but in the case of young individuals it borders on unthinkable. Older LGBT individuals do not tend to fair much better either seeing as they were raised in generations who were stricter on what was considered proper and morally right. All this being said, even as the culture of the world shifts to more accepting LGBT individuals their mental health is something that is only now being looked at thoroughly.
In Virgil's story, “Aenied” lines 1-11, he uses a rising meter and allusions to create a theme of certainty in fate, a theme of trusting the dangerous voyage, and that gods can be cruel. Virgil’s rising meter can be seen in lines one and two, also in ten and eleven. By using unstressed syllables followed by stressed ones, this lets Virgil slow down the tempo of his poem. This heightens a feeling of grandeur as he parades himself through the poem. These unstressed and stressed syllables create a sense of urgency at the end of the lines.
Despite the transition, little consideration has been given to understanding the growing population of gay adolescents. 25% of American families are likely to have a gay child (Hidalgo 24); In the United States, three million adolescents are estimated to be homosexual. Yet, American society still ignores gay adolescents. Majority of children are raised in heterosexual families, taught in heterosexual establishments, and put in heterosexual peer groups. Gay adolescents often feel forced by parents to pass as “heterosexually normal” (Herdt 2). As a result, homosexual teens hide their sexual orientation and feelings, especially from their parents. Limited research conducted on gay young adults on disclosure to parents generally suggests that disclosure is a time of familial crisis and emotional distress. Very few researchers argue that disclosure to parents results in happiness, bringing parents and children closer (Ben-Ari 90).
“What’s the big whoop?” asks a cute, blonde, elementary school aged boy when his teacher discusses homosexuality. He didn’t understand why people cared who other people loved. Little kids are perfect examples of how society’s negativity towards homosexuality creates homophobia. Children don’t understand why it matters who you love because they don’t see it as a problem and their opinions aren’t clouded by stereotypes. If LGBT issues were taught to these innocent, uninvolved children in elementary school, it would be more likely they would be accepting as they grew up. It is important to present LGBT in a positive light before parents, classmates, and media influence their perceptions.
D’Augelli, A.R. (1998). Developmental implications of victimization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. In G.M. Herek (Ed.), Stigma and sexual orientation: Understanding prejudice against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals (pp.187-210). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Williams, T., Connolly, J., Pepler, D., & Craig, W. (2003). Questioning and sexual minority adolescents: High school experiences of bullying, sexual harassment and physical abuse. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health. Special Issue: Disrupting Normalcy: Lesbian, Gay, Queer Issues and Mental Health, 22 (2), 47-58.
Baker, Jean M. How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community. New York: Harrington Park, 2002. Print.
Throughout the years, bullying has become a significant reason for teenagers to become depressed or even suicidal. It does not matter what the teen is being discriminated against, whether it be their race, what they believe in, or who they love. When it comes to homosexuality, “one in three are under 18 who commit hate crimes” (D...
1 vols. Issues: Hate Crimes. 14 March 2014 www.hrc.org/the-hrc-story>. Joanna Almeida, Renee M. Johnson, Heather L. Corliss, Beth E. Molnar. Emotional Distress among LGBT Youth: The Influence of Perceived Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation.