By Becca Harrington
Imagine for a moment you are twelve years old and struggling with your sexuality.
You think you might be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. You have tried to reach out to your parents, and they told you it’s a phase that will pass, yet you continue to struggle. You feel different from your peers, lost, and isolated. It seems that there is nobody you can talk to who will hear you out and help you understand your feelings. In fact, other students at school start to bully you. They call you names, they push you, they whisper behind your back, and they openly laugh at you.
You are humiliated.
You reach out to a teacher or guidance counselor with the hope that they might stand up for you and stop the bullying. However, you are told you can’t talk about being gay at school because it is not age appropriate and sexuality is something to be discussed at home. Your struggles and the bullying are dismissed.
The isolation you were experiencing before grows stronger. You have nobody to talk to and there is nowhere you feel safe. You come to the conclusion there is something wrong with you. You don’t deserve to live. You want to end your life.
For too many young people, this situation is all too real. In Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin school district, faculty and staff were required to “remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation.” Meanwhile, as reported recently in Rolling Stone Magazine, students were facing rampant anti-gay harassment and bullying. Six LGBT bullying victims committed suicide in a two year period.
The school district’s policy on sexual orientation has since been changed to “affirm the dignity and self-worth of all students, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation,” and they recently paid out a settlement of $750,000 to two students who filed discrimination complaints. It’s a shame that it took tragedies and legal action to address student safety and wellness.
The state of Tennessee is moving in the opposite direction. Just last year, lawmakers voted to ban schools from discussing matters of “homosexuality” before the ninth grade. The bill, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents, is sponsored by Republican Senator Stacey Campfield of Knoxville.
School staff are on the front lines of bullying prevention, and they are frequently the first adults to notice student behavior that may indicate suicidal intent. If there’s a gag around their mouths when LGBT issues come up, many troubled students will be ignored. Not only does this put youth in harm’s way, it also perpetuates a cycle of violence that impacts society as a whole.
Similar policies to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, whether formally or informally enforced, are in place all over the U.S. schools. They need to be exposed, challenged and overturned. It’s a matter of social justice.
