Homophobia Is The Leading Cause Of Suicide And Depression Among Teenagers And Young Adults

In the article, How Homophobia Hurts Everyone by Warren J. Blumenfeld, Blumenfeld describes his experience growing up as a homosexual, and how homophobia affected him, as well as his family and peers. To begin, homophobia can be separated into two different catergories, personal homophobia and interpersonal homophobia. Personal homophobia can be described as a personal belief system, or prejudice that homosexuals, bisexual and transgender people are entitled to, should be disliked or remain powerless, due to their desires. They are also sometimes seen as psychologically disturbed, genetically modified or defective and overall, unfortunate human beings. While on the other hand, interpersonal homophobia refers to the personal prejudice or bias that affects relationships within individuals. An example of interpersonal homophobia could be making a joke, name calling, or insulting certain individuals or groups. This can be either verbal, physical or intimidation related.

As a member of the graduating class of 2016 at Burncoat High School, I care deeply about its students and their wellbeing. I am currently enrolled at Smith College, and in my sociology class we read a book titled, “Dude You’re a Fag,” by C. J. Pascoe. This book has brought to my attention many problems regarding gender and sexuality in high schools. That being said, I am concerned about institutionalized heterosexuality1 and homophobia2 and their effects on the student population at Burncoat. During my four years at Burncoat High, I witnessed many instances of blatant homophobia with absolutely no intervention from anyone in a position of authority. This must be changed. The curriculum must be updated and new rules must be enforced.

Areas of particular relevance to health educators include heterosexual bias in sexuality education curriculum and textbook context, AIDS education, hate violence, adolescent suicide, and health education research on lesbian and gay topics. Strategies for eliminating homophobia include professional development of health educators and curriculum change at the university level” (Baker, 1991, np). Other researchers like Black, Oles and Moore (1998) “reported on a study of the relationship between students' attitudes toward women and toward gay men and lesbians and changes in those attitudes during social work courses at two universities. The study found a significant relationship between students' levels of homophobia and sexism. The relationship was stronger for female students than for male students and varied by race and academic major. The article also discussed the implications of the findings for changing social work curricula” (np). Barry (1998) explained “that a series of contemporary theories that had been used to explain homophobia. Structural, feminist, comparative, gender panic, queer, and socio-historical theories rely on the premises of a diverse set of scholarly disciplines, and in turn, generate their own objects of analysis, whether `homophobia', `heterosexism', or `heteronormativity'. While the current flourishing of gay and lesbian studies had generated important insights into the workings of homophobia, analyses have also

Homophobia is the concept in which people are hateful or fearful towards lesbians and gays (Dictionary.com, 2014). Fear and revulsion of the LGBT population commonly emanate from religious concepts or traditional ideas of society. In 2011, 18% of hate crimes based upon sexual orientation were reported, however, the number proved to be higher than expected due to the fact that many more individuals are reporting these crimes to the authorities (Northhumberland View, 2013). This further demonstrates the progression of LGBT rights in Canadian society due to the fact that lesbian, gay and transgender individuals alike feel comfortable enough to report these matters to the police and receive justice rather than allowing the issue to go unnoticed out of fear of being judged. Also, though many laws have been implemented to prevent discrimination, it is a reality in which many members of the LGBT community still face today. In terms of bullying, 25% of homosexual adolescents reported being physically harassed by heterosexual peers in 2009 (CBC, 2010). However, in 2002 approximately one third of homosexual students were harassed based upon their sexuality (Riese, 2014). Although discrimination and bullying based upon sexual orientation is prevalent in today's society, Canadians have become more accustomed to the idea of homosexuality which is reflected through the decrease in the amount of harassment that occurs. However, with adequate education and continuous learning about the matter, discrimination based upon sexuality can be virtually eliminated in the

Homophobia. A word that has been thrown around for a while, and yet there is no exact meaning for it. According to Wikipedia, an average website used or seen by many people, “homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).”, and yet to Merriam-Webster, a highly accredited online dictionary website, homophobia is the “irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.” There are many definitions and perceptions of homophobia, all varying by mind set and cultural stances. In “Why Can’t We Talk About Homophobia in the Black Community,” by Daniel Reynolds, Reynolds talks

Along with verbal abuse, LGBTQ youth also experience physical violence in schools across the country everyday. Back in the 1980’s and 1990’s sociologists such as Joyce Hunter thought that much of the physical abuse happening towards the LGBTQ population stemmed from the stigma and fear that came from the AIDS epidemic that was spreading rapidly among the gay community in that time. In a study as recent as 2003, 60% of LGBTQ youth had reported being assaulted physically due to their sexual orientation (Chesir-Taran, 2003) These physical actions towards the gay and lesbian youth has caused many to fear going to school. In fact, many LGBTQ students avoid school in order to escape the physical harassment. This drop in attendance has detrimental effects on the student’s academics (American Educational Research Association).

Homophobia has been an uprising issue since the 80s, and it needs to be stopped before it gets more out of hand. Homophobia has been the motive behind various crimes; in just the US alone. One of the various crimes was the Pulse Club shooting in Orlando.(Attaiah) wrote after an interview with the shooter's father, “Mateenn(shooter) had seen two men kissing and was instantly enraged by what he saw.” The fact that someone's sexual preference is the cause of a mass shooting shows how homophobia is a major problem here in the US. Another issue with homophobia is that it is driving a vast amount of teens to suicide. Suicide rates have increased drastically for members of the LGBTQ community. (WONG) “Suicide rates amongst gay youths are devastating. With suicide becoming a far too common way “out” of unbearable homophobic condition.” Not only suicide in general, but there has been a trend of gay youths killing themselves because it is the only way “out”. Fortunately, a man by the name of Dan Savage is trying to help with that. He has created a project by the name of “It gets better project” which is for gay, lesbian, or Transgenders to have a “safe place”.

[The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) organization at my high school, which meets twice per month, generated a list of concerns that they shared with school administration. The focus was specifically about gender identity, the lack of support from school staff, and the daily scrutiny they face as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Through collaboration with my colleagues it was evident that there had been an increase in teacher and student referrals surrounding gender identity. The feedback from GSA clearly identified that as a school we are not meeting the needs of our LGBT students and those struggling with sexual orientation. Members of the GSA clearly feel that teachers ignore negative comments like “gay” and “faggot” when they hear them in class, that teachers may not clearly understand gender neutral language, and that our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) students do not feel safe and protected in school. Students needed support advocating for their right to use a restroom, correct pronoun, etc., requiring district, community, parent, and colleague

A comprehensive anti-homophobia school policy that includes the needs of staff and students, commitment to staff development and curricula development, can assist principals, teachers, and students to challenge and disrupt homophobic beliefs and practices in their schools. Evidence into the implementation of current anti-homophobia school policies from Canada, Australia and USA shows that policy based protection makes a positive difference to LGBT students as it has a highly significant relationship with reduced likelihood of thinking about self-harm, actual self- harm, suicidal ideation and attempted suicide [34]–[36].

Sexual orientation and gender identity are two things that members of the LGBTQ community often fear opening up about. They fear that they will be rejected or harmed because of who they are, and it is important that we make all aspects of our society a safe place for every human being, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. As School-based risk and protective factors for gender diverse and sexual minority children and youth: Improving school climate explained, “64% of students feel unsafe at school because of sexual orientation prejudice, and 44% feel unsafe at school because of gender expression” (American Psychological Association). Therefore, schools in America should be making a conscious effort to make their buildings a safe, comfortable place for members of the LGBTQ community. Schools can do several things to promote the

Experimentation with or realization/recognition of homosexual tendencies seems to surface during the early teen or Middle School ages. I have questioned whether these students actually have gender identity issues, or homosexual tendencies, or if they are using this behavior for sensationalism in an attempt to gain attention. At times, this behavior results in discipline issues, and creates a distraction for these students and others around them. Teachers often find themselves in a quandary due to social standards, which sometimes cause the subject of sexual orientation and sexuality to be off limits. I want to be equipped to help, while being mindful of student privacy, school rules, community standards, and my own personal beliefs. I

Society began to rethink homosexuality in the 1960's when heterosexual psychologist George Weinberg coined the term "homophobia." Weinberg used the term to label heterosexuals' fear of being in contact of homosexuals as well as the self-loathing of homosexuals, meaning that homosexuals hated themselves for being gay. As of the new millennium, there has been a new special term that has been born to define the fear, hate and disgust that people show towards anyone's sexual orientation called "sexual prejudice." Like other types of prejudice, there are three main principals that surround sexual prejudice: it is an attitude, it is directed at social groups and its members, and it is negative as

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

In our society, we have many different issues that we are opposed to. Our different opinions on these issues, separates us into two different sides. Homophobia has been one of the most occurring issues that has been happening over these recent years.

In simple terms, homophobia is the fear or hatred of gay people. It is not unheard of that gay people are discriminated against simply due to who they are attracted to. People will often use excuses to justify their beliefs. These excuses include "being gay is a choice!", "it's a lifestyle!", "you chose to be this way!", when, in fact, none of these are true. Studies have shown that sexual orientation is a