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homophobia in the schools
Each day as students walk through the halls of their respective schools,
they hear an average of 25.5 anti-gay remarks. This ongoing bashing of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons sets into every student's
mind as they go throughout their education. Homophobia, if not introduced to
a child at school, is at least reinforced. According to a study by the
University of South Carolina, the average student realizes his or her sexual
orientation at age 13. For a heterosexual student, many avenues of support
including family, friends, school, and the community, exist to help with any
difficulties that may then arise. By contrast, gay students rarely feel able
to ask their families, friends, schools, or communities for help, fearing the
possible response they might get. The essential difference between gay youth
and youth from other minorities is that gay and lesbian youth do not grow up
with people like themselves. The products of heterosexual families in the
vast majority of cases, gay youth usually come from communities where few gay
adults are visible, attend schools with no openly gay staff, and belong to
friendship groups where anti-gay rhetoric is commonplace. Often feeling
completely isolated, these youth must make a perilous journey to adulthood
through a society, which provides them with a mostly negative stance
regarding homosexuality.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "Homosexuals are probably
the most frequent victims" of hate crimes. Gay and lesbian youth are hardly
immune to this society-wide phenomenon: a survey by the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force found that 45% of gay men and 20% of lesbians reported
being harassed or attacked in high school because they were perceived to be
lesbian or gay. It comes as no surprise to any teen-ager or high school
teacher that gay students are often subjected to verbal abuse. Comments like
"fag," "dyke," and "that's gay" are used so regularly in high schools that
few even notice such hateful language as being anything out of the ordinary.
According to a survey conducted, 97% of students at one suburban high school
had heard homophobic language used in school. Also, 53% of the students
surveyed said they had heard teachers use such language. It's sad that the
place youth spend such a great deal of their adolescence, is also a place
where they learn to hate. Many families react badly when they find out one of
their children is lesbian or gay. A University of Minnesota study found that
26% of young gay men reported being forced to leave home because of conflict
resulting from their "coming out." Under such stress, many gay and lesbian
youth turn to alcohol or other drugs to escape from their problems. The
Minnesota study also found that 58% of the young gay men surveyed could be
classified as having a substance abuse disorder. The U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services found that 28% of gay youth drop out of high school
altogether, usually to escape the harassment, violence, and alienation they
face at school. Often, gay youth feel so hopeless that ending their lives
feels like the only solution to their problems. Up to 30% of completed teen
suicides each year are by gay teens. That equals 1500 gay youth dying every
year of suicide alone. This means that a gay youth tries to kill him or her
self every thirty-five minutes in the United States, and that a gay youth
succeeds in doing so every six hours. Overall, LGBT youth simply aren't given
the opportunity to feel secure and supported as every child should.
The article above was written by Andy Olson of Duluth YSA.
