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What have kids been taught that they think it's ok to bully LGBT youth in school? Why is it important to these bullies to know the LGBT students personal identities? I don't believe it is! A person's identity does not affect anyone but that person and it is only a definition of the person they are! In school, I feel that the only identity that a student should have is if they are in the band or a football player or the class president!
I think that the way people categorize each other can be harmful sometimes. Especially in this case, where LGBT youth are being bullied for their personal identity. It is hard enough for the youth to deal with hormones, growing up and then figuring out who they are and then possibly having to defend it?!
In an article I read for class about an LGBT student, "All she ever wanted" "...was an education." "Instead, ...she got a daily lesson in humiliation from classmates who called her names, threw bottles at her, urinated in her backpack and pushed her down a flight of stairs." As a lesbian, her experience in high school was a "living nightmare". "School officials knew about the abuse and ignored it." "...anti-gay harassment in...schools,...is illegal under [New Jersey's] civil rights laws." "...the code of conduct explicitly bans harassment based on various factors, including sexual orientation, and requires principals to report all harassment." (Peet, 2005:297-298)
Until this class, I never realized how much oppression there is in the world due to social differences! Growing up I never new that I was any different from anyone else. I believe that this is the way that every child should be raised. To not be taught the difference between social categories. Why does there even need to be categories?
What can you do to help educate our youth about identity's and social categories?
My daughter participated in the Nation Day of Silence ear year all through high school.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dayofsilence.org/
On the National Day of Silence hundreds of thousands of students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools.
I think if more people "came out" then people would view it as the norm not as something different. I believe that the LBGTQ community does themselves a great disservice by telling people it should not matter who they are. Come on people, put it out there in the open, that is the ONLY way we will ever have acceptance and change in this country!
ReplyDeleteI think it's really hard to influence other's opinions as they age. Acceptance begins at a young age and a majority of the influence is controlled by the parents. To help educate the youth, I think our society should fight against laws that are made to categorize and encourage these stereotypes. For instance, the "don't say gay" law that Tennessee tried to pass. If we make an issue about someone's sexuality or forbid people, it's only going to make the stereotype worse. We should also fight against any attempt to hide the truth or white lie about these topics.
ReplyDeleteI respectfully disagree with the previous comment about how everyone should come out. I don't think our society would view it as the norm. Rather I think the discrimination would get worse. Humans shouldn't have to explain every single personal preference just to be accepted. On the other hand, I also think that no matter how much we educate and inform others, it will always be up to the individual to make a choice about what they feel and believe. Our culture is ingrained and I don't think our need to categorize and characterize people will ever change.
I have had to deal with my daughter's fears about my being gay. She struggles with "what will her friends think" or "what if her friends' parents not let her hang out with them because her mom is gay"?? My daughter actually told me she was ashamed of me. That cut me to the core. However, I told her that I cannot change who I am, even for her. If I did, then I would go back to hiding who I am and lieing to myself and I refuse to do that for anyone, even my own daughter. It's a hard spot to be in. When I was in high school it was NOT acceptable to be gay. There were definitely gay girls and boys in school but nobody really talked about it. I am sure there was some bullying going on regarding the whole gay issue but I wasn't aware of it directly back then.
ReplyDeleteI have learned that people who lash out at others for who they are may simply be in denial about a part of themselves that they cannot admit to or confront so they take it out on the person that is mirroring this back at them. In other words, I have learned that just about every person has had a "gay" thought (even if they aren't really gay) and if anyone denies this, then they are completely lieing to themselves. Just because one has a "gay" thought doesn't mean the person wants to act on it. It's just a thought and thoughts do not define who you are.
As for the bullying piece, the kids that choose to carry on with bullying LGBT youth in school are simply reflecting on what they are seeing around them. I don't necessarily mean their parents but youth are highly receptive to what their peers think or what their peers do so if they hang around peers who lash out at LGBT youth, then they may choose to do that. If they choose to NOT hang out with peers who lash out at LGBT youth, then chances are they probably won't. It's up to an individual at any given moment to make a choice and that individual has to live with that choice for the rest of their lives.
Bullying of another human being for any reason is NOT ACCEPTABLE! Period!
With the technology we have in this world today, you would think that mankind could rise above the BS of stereotypes and labels and just accept people just for who they are as a human being and not for whatever label or stereotype category they fall into.