Changing the Game for LGBT Students

via HuffPost Gay Voices, by Chris Murray

As a high school teacher and coach in Bethesda, Md., I have found our school to be a generally safe and wonderful place for our 2,500 students and faculty.

However, like any community of this many people, there is a wide range of views and opinions in terms of acceptance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues.

But three specific and upsetting instances at school this year caused me to take action.

In September I had an idea for every teacher to display an equal sign in their classroom in order to show faculty support for all of our students.

When I proposed this idea to the sponsor of our high school's Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), she questioned how many teachers would actually put them up. She added that the student club had tried this activity before and was met with resistance.

I was bewildered. It had never crossed my mind that a teacher would not be accepting of a student because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Why would an educator bring their personal beliefs into the classroom when we're supposed to support the needs of each student?

Later, in December, I had the opportunity to meet two representatives from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) at a social studies conference in Washington, D.C. During our conversation I mentioned that it seemed as if things had been getting better for LGBT people in the country.

The look that I received was one of absolute astonishment, as if I were from another planet.

And really, I was. As a straight, white, upper-middle-class male, I have not had to face or endure any true injustice because of the personal characteristics that make me who I am.

It was after listening to these representatives that I realized that the D.C. metropolitan area has come a long way but is still far from perfect in the level of acceptance of LGBT issues compared with the rest of the country and world.

But the latest instance was an eye opener and what pushed me to do something for LGBT students. It did not come from a fellow teacher, or a GLSEN representative, but from a member of our student body.

I will call her "Emily." I have known Emily as a student for a while, but I never had the chance to sit down and listen to her story. I was astounded by what she had to say.

Thanks to Emily's courage to address the entire staff and administration of our school, she relayed to us with vivid detail what it means to be a gay student in high school.

Emily shared the hurtful words and acts that often sprout up, making sure that we all understood that pretending away or ignoring the anti-gay jokes and comments heard in school was not only unacceptable but sending a negative message to all students.

Emily made the point that our lack of intervention was telling students that it is not OK to be gay and that it is acceptable for a student to be hateful toward another student who is.

At that moment I knew I had to do more for students like Emily. I realized being a silent bystander was not only hurting people but in essence giving the green light to allow bullying and hatred to continue in my school.

I thought a lot after hearing this 17-year-old girl pour her heart out to people in both educational and administrative roles.

I couldn't help but ask myself if this really was the kind of world that I wanted my own son to grow up in.

What troubled me even more was that some of my colleagues, mentors like me, didn't applaud Emily for her courage in coming forward.

They didn't stand for the ovation at the end of her story and, more strikingly, didn't even acknowledge her speaking. They instead focused on their smartphones.


Read the rest

GSA is a OK!

via ThinkProgress

A new study from the Family Acceptance Project published in the current issue of Applied Developmental Science details many important benefits for middle and high school students who have access to a gay-straight alliance (GSA) in their school.

Of note are the ways LGBT students benefit from the mere presence of a GSA at their school, even if they do not actively participate.

Though the study has a limited sample size, it demonstrates the significant impact GSAs can make:

•Students at a school with a GSA were less likely to experience depression and more likely to have higher self-esteem.

•Students at a school with a GSA were less likely to drop out and more likely to succeed in higher education.

•Participation in a GSA was associated with fewer problems with substance abuse, depression, and lifetime suicide attempts.

•Having a perception that a GSA effectively promoted school safety was associated with less depression, fewer problems with substance abuse, and greater college attainment

So, while GSAs make a very big difference for LGBT youth, they do not solve all problems.

The study suggests that in addition to supporting the formation of GSAs, “school administrators and personnel should consider additional policies and programs that are associated with safer schools for LGBT students,” such as anti-harassment and anti-bullying policies.

Nevertheless, creating visibility and support for LGBT youth in schools clearly contributes to many positive outcomes.

GLSEN found similar GSA benefits in its 2009 National School Climate Survey with adolescents.

This new study from the Family Acceptance Project shows how the benefits of GSAs during adolescence affect LGBT young adults as well.


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Young Gay Activist Nabs Prom Queen Title

 via Ken Pierce on FB,originally posted April 17

Jason Galisatus is well known in his school for leading their successful Gay-Straight Alliance club for the past three years. He is also well known for his many speaking engagements supporting marriage equality and safe-schools and has been quoted in national publications. Yesterday Galisatus became well known at his high school for another reason. The out 17-year-old was crowned Prom Queen, a coveted honor usually reserved for a popular female.

Galisatus has never backed away from making a statement, and encouraging others to do the same. Reminiscent of a popular Lady Gaga song, "Born This Way", about running for Prom Queen he remarked, "I had several reasons why I decided to run in the first place. First I wanted to show people that I could run. Another reason is I wanted to send a message out to all the little gay boys out there that if they want to be King, Queen, Prince or Princess, they can be whoever they want to be."

His decision to run for Prom Queen rather then King made him a target for those who were less tolerant of LGBT people. On a popular site, Formspring where you can ask any question without your identity being known to the person Galisatus said, "Yeah I got several threatening messages like ‘If you run, everyone will hate you!’ and ‘Just because you’re a fag doesn’t mean you can change the way things are.’ Of course the words hurt, but it made me even more determined about running. It also was satisfying to actually get enough votes from my peers to win. I took a stand and proved them wrong."

Galisatus is in the final stages of planning an event at his school, Aragon High School in San Mateo, CA. "Bay Area Youth Summit" was an idea he had to gather professionals, youth, lawmakers, and school administrators and talk about the problem of bullying in schools and the community. Organizing such activities has become a passion for this senior. Running for Prom Queen was another way to make a stand for equality.

Talking about how he felt when the Prom Court was announced Galisatus stated, "My name was immediately accompanied with a deafening cheer, in that moment I was overwhelmed with a sense of acceptance. I remember the days just a couple of years ago at my school when I thought the entire school hated me because of the gender I loved. Things have come such a long way in terms of acceptance of those who are different. I was grateful not only for myself, but for the entire lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender community at the school who has been dying to break the restrictive norms of high school. I’m proud to have been one of the first to do so."

Taking another male student as his date to the prom was not a big deal for Galisatus or for the school. When taking the official court pictures with the Prom King who was the boyfriend of one of the three nominees for Queen, he smiled and said, "My King was a great sport. He’s really open-minded and he put his arm around me for the Prom Court pictures."

Next year Jason "Power Gay" Galisatus will be headed for Stanford University and no doubt continue inspiring others to be who they are and take a stand for their civil rights in ways that will make a difference.

The Real Story Behind Gay Bullying in American Schools

via Salon.com, by Thomas Rogers

When 18-year-old Rutgers student Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, he meant to kill himself -- he probably didn't mean to spark a national uproar. But Clementi's death, along with a series of ensuing gay teen suicides, has prompted an intense conversation over the problem of anti-gay bullying. Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Project," a video project aimed at gay teens, has solicited heartbreaking contributions from everyone from President Obama to Tim Gunn (who admitted his own early suicide attempt) to the employees of Google.

But gay suicide is hardly a new problem -- and, by most accounts, homophobia is on the decline in American culture. So why are we suddenly so concerned? As Stuart Biegel, a professor at the UCLA School of Law, explains in his new book, "The Right to be Out," anti-gay prejudice remains a pervasive problem in American schools. Despite tremendous legal strides over the past two decades, gay students are still punished more severely than their straight counterparts, their pleas for help are often ignored, and, most surprisingly, many LGBT teachers still feel enormous pressure to remain in the closet for fear of reprisal from parents.

Salon spoke to Biegel over the phone about the current state of gay bullying laws, what parents can do if their kids are attacked and the flaws of the "It Gets Better" campaign.

Read the interview.

Can a Boy Wear a Skirt to School?

“It was terrible!” said Ms. Sturgis, an honors student, band president and soccer goalie, who has been openly gay since 10th grade. “If you put a boy in a drape, that’s me! I have big shoulders and ooh, it didn’t look like me! I said, ‘I can’t do this!’ So my mom said, ‘Try on the tux.’ And that looked normal.”

via New York Times, by Jan Hoffman

By now, most high school dress codes have just about done away with the guesswork.

Girls: no midriff-baring blouses, stiletto heels, miniskirts.

Boys: no sagging pants, muscle shirts.

But do the math.

“Rules” + “teenager” = “challenges.”

If the skirt is an acceptable length, can a boy wear it?

Can a girl attend her prom in a tuxedo?

In recent years, a growing number of teenagers have been dressing to articulate — or confound — gender identity and sexual orientation. Certainly they have been confounding school officials, whose responses have ranged from indifference to applause to bans.

Last week, a cross-dressing Houston senior was sent home because his wig violated the school’s dress code rule that a boy’s hair may not be “longer than the bottom of a regular shirt collar.” In October, officials at a high school in Cobb County, Ga., sent home a boy who favored wigs, makeup and skinny jeans. In August, a Mississippi student’s senior portrait was barred from her yearbook because she had posed in a tuxedo.

Other schools are more accepting of unconventional gender expression. In September, a freshman girl at Rincon High School in Tucson who identifies as male was nominated for homecoming prince. Last May, a gay male student at a Los Angeles high school was crowned prom queen.

Dress code conflicts often reflect a generational divide, with students coming of age in a culture that is more accepting of ambiguity and difference than that of the adults who make the rules.

“This generation is really challenging the gender norms we grew up with,” said Diane Ehrensaft, an Oakland psychologist who writes about gender. “A lot of youths say they won’t be bound by boys having to wear this or girls wearing that. For them, gender is a creative playing field.” Adults, she added, “become the gender police through dress codes.”

Dress is always code, particularly for teenagers eager to telegraph evolving identities. Each year, schools hope to quell disruption by prohibiting the latest styles that signify a gang affiliation, a sexual act or drug use.
But when officials want to discipline a student whose wardrobe expresses sexual orientation or gender variance, they must consider antidiscrimination policies, mental health factors, community standards and classroom distractions.

And safety is a critical concern. In February 2008, Lawrence King, an eighth-grader from Oxnard, Calif., who occasionally wore high-heeled boots and makeup, was shot to death in class by another student.

Read the rest.

Focus on the Family Cheers W.Va. Schools’ Pro-Bullying Policy

Via Truthwinsout.org -



Focus on the Family, the self-styled “Christian” and “pro-family” organization, calls it "good news” that a West Virginia school board voted to exclude gay and straight students from the district’s anti-bullying policy.

The decision to vaguely oppose harassment without specifying specific types of harassment allows faculty to look the other way when disfavored categories of students are bullied.

According to Focus and the Charleston Daily Mail, the decision came after Focus’ truetolerance.org web site and the so-called Family Policy Council of West Virginia rallied parents and antigay pastors to smear the school district, accusing it of promoting homosexuality by opposing violence that is committed on the basis of the victim’s perceived homosexuality or heterosexuality. The FPC also falsely accused antiviolence advocates of seeking to promote affirmative action for bisexual teachers. Read the rest...