BEYOND

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BEYOND

• thats so gay

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You little fag!

• Sick of hearing comments like this in the
  classroom?
• In the corridors?
• Out in the play ground?

This work is so gay
You are not alone
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Homophobia

• Yes Thats what its called.

Homophobia An irrational fear and/or hatred
(i.e. prejudice) of homosexuality and gay,
lesbian, and bisexuals.
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Everyday

• Students are increasingly using the words gay
  or poof to describe a negative action or
  feeling.
• Often, they dont realise that what they are
  saying is offensive.
• This is where we, as educators, need to inform
  students (and colleagues) that by using these
  throw away phrases they are actually
  attributing negative connotations towards the
  GLBTI community and are therefore perpetuating
  the myth that same sex attracted people are dirty
  or less worthy
• this is wrong.

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They dont mean it. They dont know what they
are saying.

• There is a common belief amongst teachers that
  Thats So Gay is harmless.
• This is clearly and unambiguously not the case.
• Young people in gay and lesbian youth groups
  across the country can readily attest to the
  damage caused by these seemingly harmless
  throwaway lines.

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• This is backed by research into the levels of
  abuse and harassment of same sex attracted young
  people (SSAYP) across Australia (e.g. Hillier et
  al, 1998).
• Such unmarked homophobia maintains the homophobic
  status quo in our educational settings that tells
  all students (gay, straight or anywhere in
  between) that being anything other than 100
  heterosexual is undesirable, abhorrent and/or
  dangerous.

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Some things to think about

• A variety of studies indicate that 9-11 of the
  population identify as exclusively Same Sex
  Attracted. Recent research states that in
  addition to this figure, another 10 of the
  population identify as Bi-Sexual (note these
  figures do not include Transgender
  identification). Thus, at any one stage 20 of
  the population would not identify with a
  heterosexual lifestyle.
• To make this figure seem more real, lets assume
  that there are around 10,000 people working for
  the Tasmanian Education Department. This would
  mean that over 2000 people would not exclusively
  identify with a heterosexual lifestyle.

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• Many of these people are a part of your school
  community!

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In our school?

• Students and staff in our schools have enough to
  worry about without having their sexuality, or
  the sexuality of their family and friends, put
  down and discriminated against.

Families come in all shapes and sizes!
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• A recent study in the U.K discovered that 80 of
  schools acknowledged that they knew about
  homophobic bullying, but only 6 had in place a
  policy to deal with it.
• Would the figure be any more or less in Tasmania?
  
• Does a policy alone safeguard the rights of
  individuals?

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• The La Trobe University, Australian Research
  Centre, Health and Society on Same Sex Attracted
  Youth study went on to point out that two key
  determinants of Mental Wellbeing and Health are
• A Freedom from discrimination and
• B Social Connectedness, a Sense of
  Belonging.
• They stated that .. Same Sex/Transgender people
  who are subjected to abuse, violence and
  discrimination or experience homophobia (Fear of)
  in their everyday lives are at greater risk of
  mental health problems.
• As one of the most significant sites of
  homophobia is the school, then schools are an
  important target for strategies/ programs and
  policies that can help people explore their
  attitudes towards Same Sex and Transgender people
  and develop a tolerance and acceptance for
  difference. (La Trobe University, Australian
  Research Centre, Health and Society).

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So how can teachers help combat homophobia?

• There are many reasons that make it difficult for
  teachers to support same sex attracted people and
  challenge homophobia in our schools.
• Some of the most prominent of these are

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• The fear of how youll be perceived yourself
• That people have inadequate language to discuss
  such issues
• Discussion is seen as pushing, promoting or
  recruiting to homosexuality
• Workers own homophobia, bias or fear

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• Remind yourself that part of education is about
  teaching diversity.
• Homophobia is a fear and no one wants someone
  growing up living in fear.
• Dont be afraid to question/ correct
  inappropriate statements We do it everyday about
  race, gender, religion etc.
• People will soon get the message.
• Silence is deadly!

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• SEVEN Ways to deal with
• Thats so gay

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• There is absolutely no point in reprimanding
  students without actually explaining why you are
  doing so.
• Consistency and immediacy is vital.
• Immediately not after class, not after school
  but immediately after a homophobic remark or joke
  has been heard
• Consistently that all staff members
  consistently respond for example, not just the
  health teachers whilst other staff join in on the
  joke.

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The Disciplinary approach
If someone is calling someone else gay or
lesbian, send the student to senior staff or the
sexual harassment officer to talk about the
schools, and societies, rules and laws
surrounding sexual harassment.
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The personal approach

• Involves reflecting on your own experience and
  relationships and communicating the impact of
  language on those around them.
• This might look likeI find that
  offensive/unacceptable in this classroom. My
  brother (or sister, mother, friend, etc) is gay
  and comments like that hurt/offend him. Other
  people in this room could also have someone they
  care about who is gay/lesbian/etc

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Using Humour

• Involves making light of the use of the word
  gay in that context, and puts into question its
  appropriateness. This assumes some rapport with
  students and a history of good-natured
  interactions.
• This might look like
• Gee, you said your ruler was gay. I wonder if
  there are any other gay rulers in the room. I
  would hate for your gay ruler to feel isolated
  from other rulers. Does anyone else have a ruler
  that is gay too? Maybe we could get all the gay
  rulers together, all the straight ones over here,
  and

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The Correct Language Stance

• Involves alerting the student to their incorrect
  choice of language in conveying an idea, concept
  or opinion. Some English teachers love this
  approach.
• This might look like Last time I checked, I
  was sure that gay meant something other than
  negative. What do you really mean?

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Minority approach

• Involves investigating why gays and lesbians
  and not other minorities - are use to communicate
  that something is not good, popular or otherwise.
  This questions why we dont allow some forms of
  discrimination, yet dont speak out against
  others.
• This might look like Why is it that you say
  Thats gay? Why not thats so aboriginal,
  woman, disabled, Muslim, etc? Would you be
  allowed to say these other words and not get
  pulled up? There was one worker in rural
  Victoria who asked students why they didnt say
  Thats so straight and sparked a new putdown
  without realising until much later!

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Students as experts

• Acknowledges that the teacher does not
  necessarily know what a student means. Students
  are asked what they actually mean, and a broader
  discussion potentially ensues.
• This might look like When you say thats so
  gay it seems like you mean its not a good
  thing. Is that right? OK then, why is it that
  you choose gay and not another word? Do others
  use gay in the same way? When I think of gay
  I dont think it means something negative. Do
  you think that being gay is a negative thing?
  Tell me more

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NAC approach

• This approach is useful if you are particularly
  worried about talking about the issue
• Name the behaviour Its not appropriate to call
  things gay because
• Refer to the agreement Our school policy states
  that we dont discriminate or put down
• Consequence If the behaviour happens again, your
  consequence will be

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Some Simple Steps

• Become informed Read, research, ask, discuss
  the issue use the fact sheet to help
• Dont be satisfied with tolerance. GLBTI people
  dont want to be tolerated, they want to be
  accepted.
• Inclusive language Dont assume everyone
  identifies with a heterosexual lifestyle.
  Replace him/her with partner Mum/ Dad with
  Parents
• Dont be afraid to question/ correct
  inappropriate statements
• Keep in the back of your mind that you may have
  students in your class who do not identify as
  heterosexual. People around you might have two
  mums or dads. You may have work colleagues and
  students that grew up with two mums, whose
  father, best mate, or sister is gay.

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A stronger stance Upping the anti

• Start to address issues of diversity in the
  classroom.
• Look at your novels. Are they representative of
  the whole society
• Look at the way you deliver messages about
  relationships.
• Remember discrimination is a learned behaviour.
  Discuss issues brought up in the media and get
  students to question human rights.

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Out and Proud Stage

• Educate Bring the issue up in different forums
• Staff meetings,
• Hold issue forums,
• Get in guest speakers with their real life
  stories.
• Address the issue at Parents and Friends.
• Attend professional development sessions
• Create awards at assemblies that acknowledge and
  celebrate diversity.
• Talk to organisations such as
• Working It Out
• Tascard
• Family Planning
• The Womens Health Centre

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• This list is not exhaustive. A word, a thought,
  a deed, can make all the difference to changing
  the world for someone

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Just because you dont see them, doesnt mean
theyre not out there