Safety and LGBT Students

How is attending school different for LGBT students?

http://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/NSCS13%20Unsafe%20Shareable.jpg

Summary:

In the annual National School Climate Survey, conducted by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Striaght Education Network) it was found that in all cases students of the LGBT community are more likely to be physically and verbally harassed than any other population.

Important Passages:

“LGBT students who experienced higher levels of victimization because of their sexual orientation: - Were more than three times as likely to have missed school in the past month than those who experienced lower levels (61.1% vs. 17.3%); - Had lower grade point averages (GPAs) than students who were less often harassed (2.8 vs. 3.3); - Were twice as likely to report that they did not plan to pursue any post-secondary education (e.g., college or trade school) than those who experienced lower levels (8.7% vs. 4.2%); and - Had higher levels of depression and lower levels of self-esteem.”

• Analysis
• I think this set of percentages and facts reflects the effect of the harassment students face in their everyday lives. Upon initially reading the percent of missed school in kids harassed due to their sexual orientation is astounding. 61% is a completely ridiculous number of students who are so uncomfortable that they must miss school, as a society I think we should place a large value on each individual's well-being. Besides have social workers and guidance counselors, I think health classes should be required to cover also the health of LGBT teens in depth. Like the idea of evolution not being taught in biology classes, it's important that the history and movement of LGBT people is taught not only to educate and prevent ignorance, but also to protect those kids that are just a little different than everyone else.

“More than half of LGBT students (55.5%) reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation.” and “Nearly three quarters of students reported being verbally harassed at school because of their sexual orientation; more than half were verbally harassed because of their gender expression.”

• Analysis
• I think that this idea is difficult to see at Hinsdale Central, but in other places (more urban places) it is a lot more prominent. In a place, like Hinsdale where deviant, or non-conforming behavior is not accepted many LGBT students are forced to maintain a constant veil of their actual identity. Students outside the bubble of Hinsdale are facing constant negative harassment, verbally at least. Here, students are harassed but it is extremely secretive and I think it's important to find a way to combat it.

• Analysis
• I think these statistics pose a very interesting question, how similar are that of homophobic and sexist remarks? According the survey in nearly every category they scored the same. Many feminists, myself included would argue that women often hear the same remarks and are treated unfairly. But, putting the fact that I'm a woman beside- do LGBT people really receive the same treatment? No. They are scrutinized at a much higher level.

Future Research:

• I think it would be very interesting to explore the relationship between the LGBT movement and other movements today. Specifically the recent movements against police brutality and the women's movement.