Why I Wouldn 't Go Back

My chosen academic journal article is Contesting silence, claiming space: gender and sexuality in the neo-liberal public high school by Susan W. Woolley. This article examines how educational institutions and its actors introduce and reinforce a heteronormative binary ideology, and reject any non-normativity that may occur. Through this deep-rooted theoretical framework, high school students struggle to freely explore individual interpretations of sexuality and

Attempting suicide is an epidemic in the United States; especially when 41% of transgender individuals have attempted suicide compared 1.6% of the general population (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). Due to this, the question of whether or not transgender youth have a harder, more straining adolescence than their cisgender counterparts rises. Although adolescence can be hard on everyone, experiences such as a school environment, puberty, laws that guarantee protection, family and social acceptance of transgender youth are harder than those of their cisgender counterparts (harder does not necessarily mean correlate with strenuous, the use of harder is aiming more towards different, costly, and possibly more confusing). The revolution for transgender lives is just beginning, change is happening. But in order for change to occur, adequate information on the material needs to be discussed and terminology must be defined and questions must be answered. Questions such as: what do the terms transgender and cisgender actually mean? Why is it important to know the difference between the two terms? What is the difference between transsexual and transgender?

Did you know that more than 50% of transgender minors have admitted to attempting suicide? How about that 82% of transgender youth feel unsafe or scared at school? These statistics are high, too high. Transgender is defined as of, relating to, or being a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person's sex at birth, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary. Years ago it was considered bad to be transgender, but our society has become more open-minded, leading to the coming outs of many more transgender minors. However, while it seems as though we are more open-minded, transgender youth are still being mistreated, to a point where suicide sometimes seems like the only good

[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

In the documentary, Noah, an 18 year old male to female transgender, many people in school ask question about her gender over and over again. Because of the harassment, many tend to drop out from school. “Harassment and bullying lead almost one-third of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) students to drop out of high school” (T Salazar). For most of them dropping out from school means working at a lower wage. Or even worse they became homeless. Some people argue that we should create a separate school of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. However critics say that it means of “segregation or shielding the youth from the real world.” Giving a class about LGBT people in schools might be the solution, since students then will be aware of it. Education about LGBT people teaches not only students, but also the whole generation. Therefore, schools should be the primary targets to teach the society about LGBT

For decades, there have been several cases and stories about how the homosexual youth have been mistreated, and Matthew Shepard is one of the many cases. The causes of the oppression may be disturbing to some, but they are clear: discrimination and inequality. This issue is dividing our community into acceptance and refutation. Those who disagree about the gap often see it as a choice between being a heterosexual or a homosexual. Often times, the maltreatment may take place in school, at a workplace, or public. It has been shown that “still, some gay students suffer harassment of their sexual orientation, and many, particularly athletes, stay “in the closet” for fear of unfavorable treatment” (“Gays on

Education is an important factor in life in order to thrive, but LGBT students face harassment in school due to their identity. According to a Human Rights report conducted in 2001, two million American students in the LGBT

(Thesis Statement) Jamie Nabozny, a kid bullied for his sexual orientation, bravely fought against and district that would not

These two deaths in a 48 hour period join two other reported transgender murders earlier this year.

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.

Every day in the United States, a young person, under the age of eighteen faces homelessness, and most often it’s because of others. In a report by The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, it was noted that 26% of LGBTQ youth were kicked out of their homes when they came out (Ray, 2006). The Urban Justice League reports numbers as high as 78% of LGBTQ youth that “were removed from or left their foster care placements because they were un-welcoming or hostile towards their sexual orientation and/or gender identity ” (Feinstein, Greenblatt, Hass, Kohn, & Rana, 2001). The United States is an independent, individualistic country; we prize the freedom of expression, but do we really? One of the most significant, if not the most important, social structures is the family. Gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals who are aware of their sexuality, must create an alternative self to present to family and friends, especially if there is an understanding, verbalized or implicit, that homosexuality is not tolerated, or simply wrong. Many gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women would rather go with the flow, assimilate, not make waves, rather than to express their own gay identity, and risk ostracism.

In “We must celebrate gender and sexual diversity in our schools” published in The Conversation, February 16 2016, Lucy Nicholas argues that the current commentary on the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) community against schools and the SSC (Safe Schools Coalition) is extremely out of touch. Many of youths already understand their sexuality, whether it be heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual.

In addition to social persecution, people who identify on the LGBTQ spectrum are at a higher risk of experiencing violence In 2010, the FBI reported in a hate crime statistics report that 19.3% of hate crimes in that year were motivated by a sexual orientation bias. Based on national statistics, more than 50% of transgendered youth will attempt suicide at least once by the age of 20 “Statistics About Youth Suicide”. These numbers are shocking, and it’s baffling that these youth have to live under the pressure of violence and mental illness all while being barred from the rights they

Transgender people face a much higher suicide risk in contrast to gender conforming men and women in this world. 41% of transgender people that were surveyed at Injustice at Every Turn, a national social justice organization dedicated to resolving discrimination and brutality against transgender people, said that they have attempted suicide in contrast to the 1.6% of the general population who have not. (“2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey Report”) Caitlyn Jenner expressed her emotions regarding the transgender community and the struggles facing the 700,000 people in just the United States alone, who recognize themselves as transgender. Caitlyn Jenner was born as Bruce Jenner in 1949, but has been transitioning since the 1980s.

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).