A few months ago, I caught an article about a survey on San Francisco LGBT students. This survey basically asked students about their sexual orientation and gender identity, along with a number of questions concerning their social interactions.
The report is quite eye-opening, and I'm surprised that it didn't receive more national recognition. It reports, based on student surveys, that approximately 12% of students have seriously considered suicide while more than twice (27%) of the lesbian, gay, or bi students have. Double that percentage again (54%), and you get the number of transgender students that have seriously considered suicide. That number is just astounding, and shows just how hard transgender students can have it...and we're talking just San Francisco schools...not somewhere out in the middle of a red state. This is about San Francisco students!
When I talk on LGBT panels, I usually quote the fact that queer youth have basically double the suicide rate of non-queer youth, and that trans-youth have a higher percentage than the queer youth. This number is amazing, though, that basically half of transgender youth have seriously considered suicide. Now, while no one can confirm suicide rates for trans and queer youth simply because often times we don't know why people kill themselves, this report gives solid numbers to something many have been saying for a long time. It's not easy being queer or trans, and most of time the pressure comes from their peers or family.
Another section talks about how safe the students feel at school. Seven percent of hetero-students have skipped school because they felt unsafe. The number jumps up to 11 percent for LGB students and an amazing 56 percent for transgender students that say they have stayed away from school because of fears for their safety.
One of the biggest things I have seen recently is the push for people not to use "That's so gay", which can and does affect queer and trans-youth. I've seen all types of people use that phrase, and in many situations, it is harmful to queer and trans-youth because it encourages verbal bullying. The hardest part is that people say this without even realizing the harm they are creating...and it's basically spread as a socially accepted phrase in our society.
When I talk on the panels (and if there is time), I like to discuss how best to be a queer or trans ally. One of the best ways, I tell them, is to just create conversation and dialogue about the panel discussion.
I would say, "Go home and tell your parents, family, or friends about the interesting people and topics that we discussed tonight. And be there with open arms should anyone ever need to talk about anything. Tell them you'll be there to listen and not judge."
One at a time, we can make a huge difference in this world.
The full San Francisco Unified School District report
2 comments:
Another issue that no one seems to want to talk about is the reasons underlying the usage of "gay" as an pejorative or expletive. People, particularly males, have been taught to use the word as a way to belittle or put down other males (and sometimes females) who don't live up to their (the judgmental males) idea of what is masculine or proper. The issue almost always revolves around appropriate masculine male behavior. Look through almost any instance of the usage of "that's so gay" and you will find that the author of the comment is invariably male. Men are the problem, men are the ones who use these words, often backed up by physical violence, to differentiate themselves from their less masculine brethren by threats, beatings, killings, etc. Men are the problem. Aren't you glad you are no longer male?
It's not that I'm glad to no longer be male, I'm happy to finally be me.
There are always some who give the majority a bad rap, so I won't generalize and say all men are bad.
In fact, I've had to respond to my cousin's female daughter who continues to use "That's so gay" on her Facebook page more so than her brother...so, it's not just a male thing.
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