Pro-LGBT support in schools

[Wander]

All I ever hear about on this site is how students are abused, insulted, attacked, and rejected based on their sexuality, but surely there are some people here who have had experiences in school where someone supported LGBT students (other than themselves).

For example, I remember last year hearing a girl behind talking with her friend: "I just don't like that word at all, 'dyke'. It's such a rude word. I can see why people wouldn't want to be called that." It wasn't much, but it made my day much better to know that there really were people in the south who don't use 'faggot' and 'dyke' to describe the people they don't like. Anyone else?

[Hoppip]

I love my history teacher. She's a self-proclaimed feminist, and talks about her "best friend Kevin, who's gay."

And when some kid said "that's so gay," he was sitting behind me and she threw a curve-ball glare at him and forcefully scolded him with a, "WHAT'S HAPPY?"

[pirateninja]

Although my school is not necessarily pro-LGBT, I have been on at them for the past year to try and start some more LGBT Friendly Support. On many occaisions they have said no, mainly because the headmistress is Christian, and because they're afraid of complaints from parents.

Also, I have never seen a teacher challenge a student who say's "that's so gay", "dyke" or "fag" comment, which annoys me greatly. They just pretend they haven't heard it.

HOWEVER, I have been told I can do an assembaly on homophobia, so it's a start. Just a teensy bit worried aboot coming out to 600 students and faculty.

[Wander]

...should I be concerned by how few responses there are?

[beckyg]

Originally Posted by pirateninja

Although my school is not necessarily pro-LGBT, I have been on at them for the past year to try and start some more LGBT Friendly Support. On many occaisions they have said no, mainly because the headmistress is Christian, and because they're afraid of complaints from parents.

Also, I have never seen a teacher challenge a student who say's "that's so gay", "dyke" or "fag" comment, which annoys me greatly. They just pretend they haven't heard it.

HOWEVER, I have been told I can do an assembaly on homophobia, so it's a start. Just a teensy bit worried aboot coming out to 600 students and faculty.

Wow Holly, what an awesome opportunity. This could change the whole atmosphere in your school and make it a more GLBT friendly place.

[beckyg]

Before my son came out, one of my daughters told me that one of her high school teachers had glbt friendly posters in her room. Even just a visual that kids have to look at everyday says something and makes kids think.

[ccdd]

When I was at school, Section 28 was still in force, which had the effect of teachers thinking they couldn't mention homosexuality at all, let alone being seen as "promoting" it. Even if this wasn't necessarily the purpose of the law, it is what definately happened.

However, one of my teachers, in our personal and social education class when I was 16 wrote two numbers on the board like this:

16
18

Then she asked us what we thought they represented. She then said that the top number - 16 - was the heterosexual age of consent, whilst the other - 18 - was the homosexual age of consent (it has since been equalised and they are both 16 now).

Anyhow, she then said "I can't say any more than this because the law prevents me from doing so. I'm not going to give you my opinion of this because the school has said that we're not allowed to cover this in class. However, I would like to spend next ten minutes before the bell thinking in silence about these things".

And the class sat there, in complete silence, for about 10 minutes until the bell. What was extraordinary about this is that the boys who always messed in soc ed didn't this time round. (Probably because they thought they were rebeliing!). You could have heard a penny drop. And it was the teacher's silent way of saying I don't agree with this and I support you to anyone in the class who was gay.

But anyway, I know that NO ONE I have spoken to has forgotten that class. And this is nearly 10 years later. I don't know what happened to that teacher, but she somehow managed to do her bit of "supporting" even though she was teaching in an environment that was hostile to her doing so.

I know that it's not entirely relevant to the post, but pirateninja's post made me think about it - because having such an assembly would have been IMPOSSIBLE when I was at school - and I left 2002!! But I also thought that the teacher deserved a mention. She kept her silence - but she let us know that she was being forced to do so, again her will.

[Helen]

There's no way I could ever promote pro-LGBT support in my school. Ever ever ever.

Of course, homosexuality is illegal in the UAE, with it being a Muslim country and all, but even if it did allow it, I'm pretty sure the people in my year would still be as homophobic as they are now

It's not even fair for HETEROSEXUAL couples, let alone homosexual couples. My form teacher told me something today. The school provides his flights back to the UK each year, his medical insurance, and accomodation. His new wife is teaching in another secondary school here, and they refused to provide her with that, because the school assumes that it's my teacher's school that will take care of it. So as long as she's married to a man, it's assumed that the main 'breadwinner' is the man.

Anyway, that IS going a little off topic, but the talk of school and gender-related things did remind me of that.

[Noah]

Originally Posted by pirateninja

Although my school is not necessarily pro-LGBT, I have been on at them for the past year to try and start some more LGBT Friendly Support. On many occaisions they have said no, mainly because the headmistress is Christian, and because they're afraid of complaints from parents.

Also, I have never seen a teacher challenge a student who say's "that's so gay", "dyke" or "fag" comment, which annoys me greatly. They just pretend they haven't heard it.

HOWEVER, I have been told I can do an assembaly on homophobia, so it's a start. Just a teensy bit worried aboot coming out to 600 students and faculty.

Umm...yeah I'd be worried too. Good for you though!

[Endlessnight500]

There were alot of teachers at my highschool who would snap on anyone who made a homophobic remark of anykind. And to my knowledge there was only 1 fight at my highschool the entire time i was there that had to do with gay people. And it was one guy who "went down" on another guy in the bathroom, and people found out, and the guy who got head picked a fight to defend his masculinity, He was exspelled.

I went to a pretty small highschool, in Rural Ga, so I was shocked to see the ammount of openly out people there were. I think we had between 900 and 1100 students threw the 4 years i was there. In my 9th grade year, I ate lunch with the gay croud, no one ever came by our table and talked crap or anything. I knew about 12 completely open Gay people, wearing rainbow, and even Pins on there bags and shirts. I had a metal ball necklace that I colored each ball with a diferent color so that it was rainbow, and i wore it around.

ON top of the Gay people, I can think of alot of Bi people, people who were not out, but have "messed around" with the same sex. probly about 35 to 40 people. I had an amazing highschool experiance, sure there was still drama, but it wasnt about anyone being Gay. Shoot, I almost hooked up with a guy out back of the school in the wood shed in 6th peroid Construction lol.