Providing Support for Transgender and GayLesbian Students

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Providing Support for Transgender and Gay/Lesbian
Students
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Introductory Activity

• In small groups of 3 or 4, address the following
  questions. Allow each person to speak
• for two minutes
• 1) In what ways are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
  transgender (LGBT) people/issues included or
  excluded at your school?
• 2) What is one concern that you have with
  regard to inclusion of LGBT issues in school?
• 3) What do you hope to get out of todays
  session?

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• 20 AAC 10.020. CODE OF ETHICS AND TEACHING
  STANDARDS. (a) The following code of ethical and
  professional standards governs all members of the
  teaching profession. A violation of this section
  is grounds for discipline as provided in AS
  14.20.030.
• (b) In fulfilling obligations to students, an
  educator
• (1) repealed 10/25/2000
• (2) may not deliberately distort suppress, or
  deny access to curricular materials or
  educational information in order to promote the
  personal view, interest, or goal of the educator
• (3) shall make reasonable effort to protect
  students from conditions harmful to learning or
  to health and safety
• (4) may not engage in physical abuse of a student
  or sexual conduct with a student and shall report
  to the commission knowledge of such an act by an
  educator
• (5) may not expose a student to unnecessary
  embarrassment or disparagement
• (6) may not harass, discriminate against, or
  grant a discriminatory advantage to a student on
  the grounds of race, color, creed, sex, national
  origin, marital status, political or religious
  beliefs, physical or mental conditions, family,
  social, or cultural background, or sexual
  orientation shall make reasonable effort to
  assure that a student is protected from
  harassment or discrimination on these grounds
  and may not engage in a course of conduct that
  would encourage a reasonable student to develop a
  prejudice on these grounds
• (7) may not use professional relationships with
  students for private advantage or gain
• (8) shall keep in confidence information that has
  been obtained in the course of providing
  professional service, unless disclosure serves a
  compelling professional purpose or is required by
  law
• (9) shall accord just and equitable treatment to
  all students as they exercise their educational
  rights and responsibilities.

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• SCHOOL BOARD POLICY 1011
• (Fairbanks North Star Borough School District)
• 1011 Nondiscrimination
• The Board is committed to a policy of
  nondiscrimination in relation to race, color,
  religion, sex, age, national origin, disability,
  marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation,
  gender identity, or any other basis of
  discrimination prohibited by local, state, or
  federal law, except where a bona fide requirement
  may lawfully disqualify an individual. This
  policy will prevail in all matters concerning
  staff, students, the public, educational
  facilities, programs, services and activities,
  and individuals with whom the district does
  business.
• Legal References Civil Rights Act of 1964,
  Title VI and Title VII Education Amendments of
  1972, Title IX Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
  Section 504 Individuals with Disabilities
  Education Act Age Discrimination Act of 1975
  Vocational Educational Act, Title II Americans
  With Disabilities Act, Title II AS 18.80.220-225
  14.18.060 47.80.010
• Policy Adopted October 7, 1980 Policy Revised
  April 19, 1994 Policy Revised October 16,
  2001 Policy Revised February 17, 2009 (Also see
  policy 130)
• See Also AR 1011 1011.1

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A few definitions

• GLBT Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender
• Sexual Orientation a pattern of emotional,
  romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men,
  women, both genders, or neither gender
• Transgender Students students whose gender
  identity is different from their sex at birth,
  and whose gender expression is different from the
  way males or females are expected to look or
  behave
• Gender Identity ones understanding, interests,
  outlook, and feelings about whether one is female
  or male, or both, or neither, regardless of ones
  biological sex
• Gender Expression the way a person expresses
  her or his gender through gestures, movement,
  dress, and grooming
• Gender-Nonconforming Students students who have
  a gender expression that does not conform with
  stereotypical expectations e.g. feminine boys,
  masculine girls, and students who are
  androgynous.

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A few statistics. . . .

• The mean age for first awareness of same-sex
  attraction is 11 years. (Journal of Applied
  Developmental Psychology, 2002)
• Two-thirds of teens (age 13-18) report that they
  have been verbally or physically harassed or
  assaulted during the past year because of
  perceived or actual appearance, gender, sexual
  orientation, gender expression, race/ethnicity,
  disability, or religion. The reason most commonly
  cited for being harassed frequently is the
  students appearance (I.e, the way they look or
  their body size). The second most common reason
  (33) for frequent harassment is sexual
  orientation or perceived sexual orientation.
  (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network,
  2005)
• LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender) students
  are three times as likely as non-GLBT students to
  say that they do not feel safe at school (Gay,
  Lesbian, Straight Education Network, 2005)
• 33 of middle-school and high-school LGBT
  students missed a day of school in the past month
  because of feeling unsafe, compared to only 4.5
  of non-LGBT students (Gay, Lesbian, Straight
  Education Network, 2008)
• The majority of student who experience harassment
  never report these incidents!

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A Few Statistics on Transgender Students

• 90 of transgender students heard derogatory
  remarks such as dyke or faggot sometimes,
  often, or frequently in school in the past year.
• 90 of transgender students heard negative
  remarks about someones gender expression
  sometimes, often, or frequently in school in the
  past year.
• Less than one-fifth of transgender students said
  that school staff intervened most of the time or
  always when hearing homophobic remarks (16) or
  negative remarks about someones gender
  experession (11).
• School staff also contribute to the harassment.
  A third of transgender students heard school
  staff make homophobic remarks (32), sexist
  remarks (39), and negative comments about
  someones gender expression (39) sometimes,
  often, or frequently in the past year.
• Two-thirds of transgender students felt unsafe in
  school because of their sexual orientation (69)
  and how they expressed their gender (65).
• Almost half of all transgender students reported
  skipping a class at least once in the past month
  (47) and missing at least one day of school in
  the past month (46) because they felt unsafe or
  uncomfortable.
• Source Responses of 295 transgender students
  who took the National School Climate Survey, 2007
  (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network)

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News This Week

• Anchorage Vigil Against Hate Crimes 11/22/09,
  3-4 p.m.
• At least two U.S. GLBT young men have lost their
  lives because of anti gay and anti-trans hate
  this week Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, age 19, of
  Puerto Rico, was beheaded and dismembered, and a
  nationwide memorial will be held this Sunday
  lthttp//www.facebook.com/event.php?eid17925621969
  5refmfgt. Also, James Mattison, age 15, of
  Baltimore was raped, stabbed to death and shoved
  into a closet.
• Candlelight vigil on Sunday, 3-4 p.m. along the
  Park strip at 9th and L St, in front of the
  American Flag. Share it. Bring a candle. LIGHT
  SOME LOVE!

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What Students Hear

• A sampling of students at West Valley High School
  were asked about harassing comments they have
  heard at school. Here are some of their
  responses
• Thats so gay!
• Youre so gay!
• Freaking fag!
• Stop being queer!
• (One student stated, When I was in middle
  school, I heard kids say stuff like people who
  are gay should die.)

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Scenario 1

• You are hurrying to get to class with an armful
  of materials. You hear someone behind you say,
  Thats so gay. You turn to see who said it,
  but you have no idea which student made the
  statement. (It sounds like it was just said
  casually, with no intent to hurt anybodys
  feelings.) Do you intervene? If so, how?

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School Violence Continuum
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Notes on GLBT Suicide from the Regional Suicide
Prevention Team Meeting (Fairbanks Counseling
Adoption) November, 2009

• In the Report on the Secretarys Task Force on
  Youth Suicide, gay youth were found to be 2-3
  times more likely to attempt suicide than other
  young people.
• The report further posited that gay youth may
  comprise up to 30 of completed youth suicides
  annually and stated that youths who are at the
  greatest risk for suicide are the ones who are
  least likely to reveal their sexual orientation
  to anyone. In essence, they use suicide as a
  way to guard their secret.
• Gary Remafedi work confirmed a 30 suicide rate
  among gay and bisexual youth.
• Michael Pollak found that nearly all gay and
  lesbian suicides occur between the ages of 16 and
  21.
• AFSP states that research from several sources
  revealed that lesbian/gay/ bisexual (LGB) youth
  are nearly 1½ to 7 times more likely than non-LGB
  youth to have reported attempting suicide.
• Exact numbers of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender
  (GLBT) adults and/or youth in the Fairbanks North
  Star Borough (much less the State of Alaska) are
  unknown. According to The Williams Institute at
  the UCLA School of Law, there are approximately
  8.8 million gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons in
  the United States based on the 2005/2006 American
  Community Survey, an extension of the U.S. Census.

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Reflections from young adults about gay

You never know who youre hurting when you throw
words like, Thats so gay! around. Think about
the student whose parents, siblings, or other
relatives are gay or lesbian. If the school
policy is that hatred of anything is not
tolerated and that using words such as retard,
gay, fag, nigger, etc, are all equally
hurtful and disrespectful, then these words will
be used less. Teaching about language is a first
step. Ask students to define gay when they use
the word. Explain the origin of the word
faggot. Ask them where they learned those
words and what they mean to them. If a student
hits another student and also says something
homophobic, address the homophobia not just the
sucker punch! The hardest thing is when teachers
turn a blind eye. (For example, the student
knows the teacher heard an offensive word but
instead of addressing it, the teacher just said,
Quiet down! or something similar but they never
addressed it directly. They never said, What
youre saying is bigotry.) I remember thinking.
. . . These adults have the power. Why are they
letting these things happen? Why arent they
speaking about it? The taunters and the teasers
were then allowed to have so much power and that
was awful.
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Scenario 2

• Mary, a seventh grade student, lives with her
  two moms. Her counselor overhears a group of
  students laughing and discussing how Simon,
  another seventh grader, is gay. Mary is within
  earshot of the conversation and appears
  uncomfortable. How could Marys counselor
  intervene?

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Scenario 3

• A freshman boy at your school has a high-pitched
  voice, is usually dressed with more flair than
  the other boys, does not like P.E., and usually
  hangs out with other girls in the high school.
  Lately you notice that he seems quiet and
  withdrawn. He missed school twice in the last
  three days, which is unusual. As a counselor,
  should you say something? If so, what?

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How can I be supportive of transgender family
members, friends, or significant others?

• Educate yourself about transgender issues.
• Be aware of your attitudes concerning people with
  gender-atypical appearance or behavior.
• Use names and pronouns that are appropriate to
  the persons gender presentation and identity if
  in doubt, ask their preference.
• Dont make assumptions about transgender peoples
  sexual orientation, desire for surgical or
  hormonal treatment, or other aspects of their
  identity or transition plans. If you have a
  reason to need to know, ask.
• Dont confuse gender dysphoria with gender
  expression Gender-dysphoric males may not always
  appear stereotypically feminine, and not all
  gender-variant men are gender-dysphoric
  gender-dysphoric females may not always appear
  stereotypically masculine, and not all
  gender-variant women are gender-dysphoric.
• Keep the lines of communication open with the
  transgender person in your life.
• Get support in processing your own reactions. It
  can take some time to adjust to seeing someone
  who is transitioning in a new way. Having someone
  close to you transition will be an adjustment and
  can be challenging, especially for partners,
  parents, and children.
• Seek support in dealing with your feelings. You
  are not alone. Mental health professionals and
  support groups for family, friends, and
  significant others of transgender people can be
  useful resources.
• Source American Psychological Association, 2009

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Suggested Ways to Address Name-Calling
Be ready. You know another moment like this will
happen, so prepare yourself for it. Think of
yourself as the one who will speak up. Promise
yourself not to remain silent. Identify the
behavior. Sometimes, pointing out the behavior
candidly helps someone hear what theyre really
saying. When identifying behavior, however, avoid
labeling, name-calling, or the use of loaded
terms. Describe the behavior, dont label the
person Appeal to principles. If the speaker is
someone you have a relationship with - a sister,
friend, or co-worker, for example - call on their
higher principles Set limits. You cannot control
another person, but you can say, Dont tell
racist jokes in my presence anymore. Then follow
through. The point is to draw the line. Find an
ally/Be an ally. When frustrated in your own
campaign against everyday bigotry, seek out
like-minded people and ask them to support you in
whatever ways they can. And dont forget to
return the favor. Be vigilant. Remember Change
happens slowly. People make small steps,
typically, not large ones. Stay prepared, and
keep speaking up. Dont risk silence. Source
YesMagazine online, 2008
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Thank you for your attention and participation!