Gay Friendly or Gay Phobic:

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Gay Friendly or Gay Phobic

• What Are You Creating?

Douglas Williamson International School Bangkok
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Video clip courtesy of 60 Minutes Gay or
Straight? (March 2006)
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Definition of Terms

• Lesbian A woman who is sexually attracted to
  other women.
• Gay a man who is sexually attracted to other
  men.
• Bisexual a person who is sexually attracted to
  both men and women.
• Transgender an individual who does not identify
  with their birth-assigned sex.

dictionary.cambridge.org and www.glsen.org
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And . . .

• Sexual orientation the structure of our
  romantic, sexual, emotional attraction, i.e.,
  gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
• Gender identity an individuals inner sense of
  self as masculine or feminine.
• Gender role socially determined sets of behavior
  (i.e., masculine or feminine) assigned to
  people based on their biological sex (i.e., male
  or female).

www.glsen.org
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Who Are We Talking About?

• Gay males report becoming aware of being
  different between ages 5-7, but do not connect
  this feeling to sexuality.
• The median age at which gay and lesbian youth
  become aware the feelings of difference are
  linked to same-sex sexual orientation is age 13.
• 9 of high school students identify as gay,
  lesbian, bisexual, or questioning.

www.lambda.org
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Why Are We Talking?

• 2005 National School Climate Survey polled over
  3,400 US students aged 13-18 and over 1,000
  secondary students.
• Results found
• 62 of teens have been verbally or physically
  harassed or assaulted in the past year.
• 90 of LGBT teens have been harassed or assaulted
  in the past year.
• The most common reason cited is a students
  appearance (40).
• The second most common reported reason is
  perceived or actual sexual orientation (33).

2005 National School Climate Survey
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Further Results

• 75 of students have heard derogatory remarks
  such as faggot or dyke frequently or often at
  school.
• 89 have heard Thats so gay or Youre so gay
  frequently or often.
• LGBT students are five times more likely to have
  skipped school in the past month.
• LGBT students who are frequently harassed are
  twice as likely not to go to college.
• 7 of non-LGBT students do not feel safe at
  school.
• 22 of LGBT students do not feel safe at school.

2005 National School Climate Survey
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Further Results

• 57 of students never report to a teacher or
  school personnel.
• 10 say it is because they feel teachers or staff
  do not do anything or are powerless to improve
  the situation.
• 67 of LGBT students do not report.
• 23 of the LGBT students do not report because
  they feel teachers/staff will do nothing or are
  powerless.

2005 National School Climate Survey
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Table Activity 1

• Introduce yourself and discuss in round table
  format
• What are your thoughts and reactions in regard to
  these statistics? To the video?
• Would these US statistics be the same in an
  international setting?
• What would the statistics be at your school?

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(No Transcript)
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Where Do Teachers Stand?

• 53 of students hear homophobic remarks from
  school staff.
• 97 of teachers fail to intervene when they hear
  anti-gay slurs.
• Less than 20 of counselors have received any
  training on serving LGBT students.
• 78 of administrators say they know of no LGBT
  students in their schools, yet 94 of them say
  their schools are safe places for these students.

Sears, James. Educators, Homosexuality, and
Homosexual Students. 1992
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Table Activity 2

• Use the paper and markers at your table to list
  what policies and practices you have in place to
  safeguard LGBT students/faculty or to raise
  awareness of such issues.
• Consider bullying policies, discrimination
  policies, curriculum, classroom literature,
  library resources, Gay and Lesbian Student
  Alliances, etc.

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(No Transcript)
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What Are International Schools Doing?

• In an email survey of 22 international school
  counselors, results found
• 15 schools had a bullying policy but only 5
  specifically mentioned sexual orientation.
• 9 schools had gay/lesbian issues as part of their
  curriculum.
• 1 school had a Gay-Straight Alliance.
• 8 schools had a clearly stated antidiscrimination
  policy in their faculty handbooks and/or
  contracts but it did not always include sexual
  orientation.
• 6 schools offered benefits for same-sex partners
  of teachers.

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What Can Teachers Do?

• Challenge homophobic remarks and address
  misconceptions.
• Treat such persistent remarks as bullying.
• Make no assumptions about sexuality let students
  label themselves.
• Examine posters, materials, and resources in your
  classroom.

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What Can Teachers Do?

• If you cannot be supportive, refer to someone who
  can be.
• Respect confidentiality.
• Use inclusive language (parent vs. mother/father,
  date vs. boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse vs.
  husband/wife.)
• Role model acceptance.

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What Can Schools Do?

• Create bullying policies that include sexual
  orientation.
• 85 of US secondary school teachers agree they
  have an obligation to provide a safe learning
  environment for LGBT students.
• 73 strongly endorse this view.
• 71 believe anti-harassment and
  antidiscrimination policies would help.
• Schools with a comprehensive policy specifically
  mentioning sexual orientation had more students
  feeling safe (95), fewer students reporting
  harassment, and more faculty intervening.

2005 National School Climate Survey
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Schools Can Also . . .

• Draft antidiscrimination policy that includes
  sexual orientation and promote such acceptance at
  job hiring fairs.
• Conduct staff and parent training on awareness of
  LGBT student issues.
• Become aware of community resources/agencies.
• Incorporate gay/lesbian issues into your
  curriculum.
• Review library circulation to ensure materials
  are available to students.
• Support students and faculty who come out.
• Be inclusive in regard to same-sex spouses.
• Participate in No Name-Calling Week.

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Do You Hire Teachers From . . .

• Gay Marriage
• The Netherlands
• Belgium
• Canada
• Spain
• Massachusetts, USA

• Civil Union or Registered Partnership
• Denmark
• Norway
• Sweden
• Iceland
• France
• Germany
• Finland
• Luxembourg
• New Zealand
• Britain
• Vermont, Connecticut, Oregon, New Hampshire (USA)

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Want to Know More?

• www.pflag.org
• www.lambda.org
• www.glsen.org
• www.nasponline.org
• www.nmha.org

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Video clip courtesy of 60 Minutes Gay or
Straight? (March 2006)
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Closing Thought
Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow
yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no one's
definition of your life define yourself. 
Harvey Fierstein, actor