The Controversy Of Homosexual Discrimination In Schools

Growing up I was different from all the other boys; for example, during recess in elementary school most boys would elect to go play “Power Rangers”, but I would always choose to play house with the girls. If we had a free day during Physical Education the boys would generally chose to play some sport that requires a ball, and I would choose to go play double Dutch with the girls, pretty much anyone I chose to hang out was a girl. At the time I didn’t think it was weird that I generally enjoyed doing things that were traditionally considered girly, It was just an aspect of who I was, But once I went to middle school I learned that meant people would call me gay. It would later take me over eight years to have the courage the courage to come out of my closet, and admit that I was gay.

As a nine-year-old girl I knew I was not “normal”. I didn’t like boys the way my friends did and I would always push my thoughts about girls away because it was “wrong”. At fourteen I started to come to terms with who I was. The thought of being a lesbian in high school petrified me. I thought I would never be able to openly be myself, I would lose friends and everyone would see me differently. The thought of finding love never crossed my mind because I never knew how I would tell a complete stranger that I was a lesbian. My family was extremely supportive after the initial

Living in a small, conservative town in rural Illinois, I knew there would be many people opposed to my decision to simply exist as I would. However, I knew I couldn’t internalize this. My sexuality was like some sort of horror

Throughout the years, the LGBT community has put forth tremendous effort to gain rights and recognition in the United States. Yet there have been numerous laws that have discriminated and made them feel unequal. LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered. Many people in the community have a hard time accepting who they truly are in terms of sexual orientation or gender identity. Coming out is challenging enough on its own, and laws and regulations that discriminate against those who only wish to live freely can make it hard for them to do so. Living in the time period we do, we have seen many changes in the right direction as far as having equal rights for all, but it has not always been this way. There have been many movements and actions the LGBT community has taken over the years to get to where we are today. There have also been many laws and regulations specifically targeted at same-sex and transgendered individuals, some of which that still apply today.

The LGBTQ youth community should be able to attend school with a safe environment. As stated in Violence Prevention Works ,“Seventy-eight percent of gay (or believed to be gay) teens are teased or bullied in their schools and communities, a percentage significantly higher than for heterosexual youth, a national survey of 760 students, ages twelve

Dad suggested that I write you instead of talking to you over the phone, so I’m somewhat begrudgingly listening to him. As I’ve learned, there really isn’t a good place to start, so here it goes. I’m gay. There it is, I said it. I am romantically and sexually attracted to men instead of women. Around 13, I thought it was just a phase that I would grow out of, and I didn’t really process it much, but as time went on it just became more and more apparent that I was NOT going to “just grow out of it”. I started hating myself more and more, thinking that if I had more willpower, more faith, if I prayed harder that I could change. I thought I was broken, and my health reflected this. I started throwing up regularly, especially when I was stressed.

Through paralleling the success of gay rights with the more recent successes secured for marriage equality, one can pin point the steps necessary to create successful political mobilization within a conservative political system. A key point to understand the success of political mobilization is the political logic, or “background set of assumptions about how society works” (Armstrong 2002:14). Political logics drive the transformation of movement organization and social change. Only through the creation of new political logics can mobilization occur. Yet, “New political logics cannot simply be created at will through the strategic framing efforts of activist, but only emerge under specific conditions of heightened cultural creativity” (Armstrong

“I don't know how I'd live with you if you were gay, you'd be gross." This blunt statement caught my attention as I exited a local ice cream parlor the summer prior to entering high school. This remark, while radical, was not abnormal for the old fashioned and rural town I had grown up in. At first, I told myself not to let it get to me and that this mother had every right to believe what she wanted. After all, I didn't want to overthink what could have been the misinterpretation of a crude joke. When I saw the look of pure disgust at the simple thought of being gay on her daughter's face however, I felt weak and without dignity. As a lesbian myself, my esteem seemed to deteriorate like paper thrown into a fire. Nevertheless, I was inspired by this experience to analyze the state of society and to search for justice in situations where it is lacking.

While many Christians tend to belong to a "traditional", or conservative, school of thought and beliefs, a subset of more liberal Christians count themselves as a sizable minority of their communities. Therefore, there exists a sizable population on campus who follow a more progressive system of beliefs: a support of gay rights, forward thoughts on female roles in the Church, and other thoughts which fall more in the "Left" end of the political spectrum. These are the voices on college campuses which find themselves aligning with, and protecting, their fellow peers of non-heterosexual orientations.

My sexual orientation is questionable at this point in my short life. When I was younger, I was in my tomboy phased, where I didn’t like using lip gloss or do hairstyles to look “cute” in elementary or in middle school. I was one of those few girls that I would surrounded myself with the boys, talk about video games, sports, basically anything that wasn’t so feminine. I was raised with two older brothers, so I would play more with their toys than you gay? or Are you a dike?” I wasn’t clear what that meant, I was young and with an innocent mindset. I searched what it meant to be gay. I felt insecure about myself, wasn’t sure how to handle this but to keep saying no. No matter how many times, I have responded "No"to to people, now and then I

31% of the homosexual youths that reported attacks or bullying said the school did not do anything to help but instead ignored or down played the attacks or bullying, which only makes the problem worse because the bullying will continue until the student breaks, or, although it is very unlikely, the bullies stop on their own. 86% of homosexual students are bullied or harassed; compared to the 27% of overall students that are bullied, those who are lesbian, gay, transgender, or bisexual are at a much higher risk than the average student. Finally, and perhaps the most worst of it all, is that someone who is homosexual is 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt or commit suicide, and they are eight more times likely to attempt suicide if their family doesn’t accept them and abandon them which is sad because family is something we expect to always be there and be there for us through anything, I never understood how someone can just disown their child because of their sexual orientation. Because of this, 1/3 of all suicides are because the person was harassed due to conjectures about their sexual orientation by others. Suicide and bullying is a very serious issue, and those who are homosexual are more likely to be trapped by its giant hands, and disappear into the

After taking the self assessment on sexuality, my score came out as a 38. After analyzing where I got these beliefs from, I came to the conclusion that my family and my friend Kailey were the biggest influences. Growing up my mom was always an open book, not that she would come walk up to you, but she would answer any questions about gender or sexuality if you asked it. I never did but I had overheard her talking to my brother one time and she did talk to me and let me know one time that she was there if I had questions. My aunt is a hairdresser and a social butterfly. While going to beauty school and throughout her jobs at different resorts she has made many friends, quite a few of them gay males. My middle and high school years were spent around her, my family, and her friends. No one ever made it seem as though it was

Moreover, I learned that my sexuality was natural and healthy until the AIDS crisis in the eighties. The crisis around HIV/AIDS generated numerous myths which may or may not have been considered sexual, but the most devastating was the revision of the myth that “God hated fags.” This was proven to mainstream society because God was punishing gay men with AIDS and causing us to suffer for our sin of loving. As one can see, my sexuality at an early age was wrapped up in politics, religious proclamations, and fear. It was only when I assimilated myself in a community of gay people that I truly understood that the myth based rhetoric was wrong and damaging to my well-being.

The rights of the LGBTQ people have been highlighted in the United States over the past several years. The LGBTQ community is facing discrimination and a twisted portal of their character throughout the media. A more recent example of discrimination is the HB2 law that our governor Pat McCrory signed into effect in April of this year. This law created an issue that did not even exist in what feels like an attack towards the LGBTQ community. Discrimination to this community has become something that we can no longer afford to ignore. We have normalized discrimination against this group of people by allowing it to invaded our homes, schools, and workplace.

Current social attitudes toward the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) community can be seen as a significant contributor to the equity, or lack thereof, of the sexual education syllabus in schools. The range of topics covered in regard to homosexuality varies greatly between and within Australia and the United States of America (Bell, 2008, 2). This variance in service provisions can be attributed to differing social attitudes, specifically those held by parents, teachers, students and policy-makers. These social attitudes directly impact the equity of a schools sexual education program. Further, while social attitudes shape education provision they are also shaped by education. With statistics showing that the