This was a study carried out last year in Britain's schools by Stonewall, to find out the experiences of young gay people in Britain's schools: There's a download to the full report in the link: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/education_for_all/research/1790.asp
*nodnod* That would be me! Im out of my High School thankfully, but there has not been ONE openly gay person at my school ever, and it started in 1940's. That shows you how scared everyone is.
Let's see. When I was in high school... [*]Homophobic bullying is almost endemic in Britain's schools. Almost two thirds (65 per cent) of young lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils have experienced direct bullying. Seventy five per cent of young gay people attending faith schools have experienced homophobic bullying. Yes, I experienced it. [*]Even if gay pupils are not directly experiencing bullying, they are learning in an environment where homophobic language and comments are commonplace. Ninety eight per cent of young gay people hear the phrases “that’s so gay” or “you’re so gay” in school, and over four fifths hear such comments often or frequently. That isn't too common because there isn't an equivalent phrase in Spanish. The equivalent of "that's so gay" implies that something is stereotypically gay, not that it's intrinsically bad (although when said by straight people it usually comes with a strong negative feeling) [*]Ninety seven per cent of pupils hear other insulting homophobic remarks, such as “poof”, “dyke”, “rug-muncher”, “queer” and “bender”. Over seven in ten gay pupils hear those phrases used often or frequently. Most definitely. I used to hear the word "puto" (usually meaning "faggot", literally "man whore") at least once a day. After I came out it was usually directed at me. [*]Less than a quarter (23 per cent) of young gay people have been told that homophobic bullying is wrong in their school. In schools that have said homophobic bullying is wrong, gay young people are 60 per cent more likely not to have been bullied. I didn't even hear that (non-homophobic) bullying was wrong. In fact I was bullied by teachers as well. [*]Over half of lesbian and gay pupils don’t feel able to be themselves at school. Thirty five per cent of gay pupils do not feel safe or accepted at school. It was very, very daring to be too openly gay. I was just a little bit open about it and it was enough for people not to want to talk to me.
