JJIE.org Covering LGBT Youth + Bullying

Tennessee Student Discouraged From Forming LGBT Group

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:02:05 -0500

Openly gay Wilson Central High School senior Chris Bauman says that his application to form a gay support group at his school has met with a mixture of silence and opposition since he submitted the application over a month ago, despite federal law being clear that if the school allows other groups it must also allow students to form a Gay Straight Alliance or equivalent forum.

Bauman wants to create the club due to a number of bullying related suicides in the state of Tennessee.

Bill Would Make Illinois Hate Crime Laws Trans-Inclusive

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:00:06 -0500

In a move hailed by supporters, a bill to add gender identity to Illinois’ hate crimes statute was introduced into the state’s General Assembly last week.

The legislation, introduced into the state House by Rep. Kelly Cassidy of Chicago’s 14th District, would amend the state’s Criminal Code of 1961 to include “gender identity, military status and immigration status” as recognized classes.

Protecting Transgender People in Chicago

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:02:14 -0500

Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno has said that he plans to introduce an ordinance that will create a commission to handle and ensure the protection of transgender people while in police custody.

The proposed ordinance comes after a number of complaints from the trans community over how they have been treated.

[…]

This is not to misstate that Chicago has a particular problem with regards to police treatment of trans people beyond that of most other police departments. As the National Transgender Discrimination Survey showed, a lack of protections has left the community vulnerable throughout the USA.

Trans teens share, find support on YouTube

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:04:06 -0500

A new generation turns to the video-sharing site to talk about treatments and experiences, and build a community

Jazmine says her goal is to “to help the next generation of gender binary nonconforming people be themselves and be free.” Her monthly videos of her Lupron shots prep other trans girls for what’s in store with the treatment — the size of the needle, the burning sensation. She posts videos that detail the progress (like less facial hair) and side effects (acne, weight gain, testicles “shrivel[ing] up”) that she’s experiencing throughout the process.

The same is true of many videos posted by trans guys.

whoevershewas: whoevershewas Some of the people in my...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:02:06 -0500

whoevershewas:

whoevershewas Some of the people in my University’s LGBT society made a video for LGBT awareness week. It’s powerful, brilliant, and Ben at the end is hilarious.

Please watch and share.

STUDY: Bullying a Strong Factor for Suicide in Gay Youth

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:54:49 -0500

Previous research has suggested that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) children are more likely to be suicidal and hurt themselves. A study released in the journal Developmental Psychology last year found that these people who were bullied as children were about 2.5 times more likely as others to be clinically depressed as young adults.

In the new study, reported in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers surveyed 246 LGBT youth aged 16 to 20 and followed them over several years to see what happened to them. Fifty-seven percent of the participants were black; about half were female.

Being bullied (over the time period of the study) and a low level of support from others boosted the risk that the teens would become suicidal. Bullying also boosted the risk that they would try to harm themselves. Over the 2.5-year study, slightly more than 15 percent of the people in the survey reported trying to harm themselves.

Youth Pride Band in South Florida Raises Awareness of LGBT Bullying

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:03:05 -0500

Music lovers packed the small Amaturo Theater on Sunday night to hear the inaugural concert of the Youth Pride Band of South Florida, a wind ensemble with two aims: Putting on a good show and raising awareness of LGBT bullying.

Twenty-seven local high school students from Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties joined the South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble, an adult band of about 50, to play for an appreciative crowd that ranged in age from kids to seniors.

Minnesota school district drops anti-LGBT policy that spawned national controversy

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:03:06 -0500

Minnesota’s embattled Anoka-Hennepin School Board voted on Monday to repeal a long-held policy that prohibits discussion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the classroom and replaced it with a policy that directs district staff to “affirm the dignity and self-worth of all students,” including those who are LGBT. Anti-discrimination groups hailed the move, while conservative Christian parents warned that the district would be overrun with “homosexual indoctrination.”

A War on Gay Teens in Minneapolis

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:03:05 -0500

In Michele Bachmann’s home district, evangelicals have created an extreme anti-gay climate. After a rash of suicides, the kids are fighting back.

Read this article from Rolling Stone.

The L Project single “It Does Get Better” aims to...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:05:36 -0500

The L Project single “It Does Get Better” aims to help raise awareness and money for charities which work to prevent LGBT bullying among young people.

Following in the footsteps of the San Francisco Giants, the...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:02:05 -0500

Following in the footsteps of the San Francisco Giants, the SFPD became the first police department across the nation to release its own “It Gets Better” video, in hopes to help put an end to LGBT bullying.

"Being subjected to bullying and violence as children and teenagers makes gay people unusually..."

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:11:26 -0500

“Being subjected to bullying and violence as children and teenagers makes gay people unusually vulnerable to depression and despair. The homophobes then use that depression and despair to claim that homosexuality is inherently a miserable state – and we shouldn’t do anything that might “encourage” it.”

- Johann Hari, a writer with UK-based The Independent

I believe in Gay Rights

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:00:05 -0500

I believe in Gay Rights:

bipolarkitty:

Day 14:

Write about something you believe in, anything at all.

Something I believe in is Gay Rights. Since my late teens I’ve done any and everything to protect the gay community. I’ve lost friends, came close to some serious physical fights, been singled out, made fun of and suspended from school… didn’t matter to me though!

When I was a teen there was a boy named Matthew Shepard, he was gay and in college. There were these two boys that lacked commonsense and decency… long story short, they beat, tortured and left him tied to a fence overnight. After a few days Matthew passed away and from that day on, I vowed to do whatever I could to respect and protect the gay community. I no longer used gay hate words and no longer let people recite them around me… I stood up to kids in school, random people on the streets and especially my closed minded family. After all these years I haven’t changed at all when it comes to this topic; if anything, I’m even more rigorous and vicious in my quest of equality and protection for them.

I am not putting up with this anymore.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:31:29 -0500

write-with-light:

I am not putting up with this anymore. I am not going to be harassed by them every single day. I deserve the same amount of respect and consideration as every other person in the world. These kids need to realize how much their words can hurt. And they need to be educated. So if I have to stand up in front of that classroom full of 9th graders and say “Yes, I’m a lesbian.” then I will. Because they only bully out of ignorance.

Becky Collins and her gay son Zach describe a pattern of LGBT...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:14:08 -0500

Becky Collins and her gay son Zach describe a pattern of LGBT bullying that lead to a brutal attack.

UW-Madison senior Colton Boettcher unveiled a music video on...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:04:06 -0500

UW-Madison senior Colton Boettcher unveiled a music video on Thursday, Jan. 26, that promotes the message of the “It Gets Better” Project, an Internet-based support group for LGBT teens that arose after a series of gay teen suicides in 2010.

Bullied gay teen's suicide note

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:02:05 -0500

Raised in an extremist Christian household, assaulted in classroom with a teacher present, Eric James Borges, 19, of Visalia, Calif., was repeatedly bullied, tormented and terrorized for the duration of his childhood and teen years.

Exorcisms, beatings and extreme Christianity pervaded his young life and did not “cure” him. “Disgusting, perverted, unnatural and going to hell” is what his parents told him as he was kicked out of his home.

Just last month, EricJames made a video for the “It Gets Better” project, a campaign that features personal hope-filled videos to LGBT teens to get them through difficult times. Although he said “it gets better” and asked other teens to “ never give up,” he could not live through the extensive damage to his psyche and the pain that life had brought to him.

On Jan., 14, 2012, EricJames committed suicide, shocking his friends and his co-workers at The Trevor Project. SDGLN Contributor Melanie Nathan attended one of his funerals, and obtained a copy of one of his suicide notes that gives insight on what he was thinking. This is her exclusive story.

Anti-Gay Bullying Campaign Produced By GLSEN, To Air At Super Bowl

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:51:55 -0500

The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) will share its new PSA campaign targeting anti-LGBT language among teens with Super Bowl attendees at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. The award-winning “Think Before You Speak” campaign features stars Hilary Duff, Wanda Sykes and the NBA’s Grant Hill.

Being a lesbian...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:44:54 -0500

Me: I'm a lesbian

Everyone: Omg how do two girls have sex?! Is it good? Is that even sex? How many girls have you slept with? Are you sure it's not just a stage? Have you ever TRIED having sex with a guy? How do you know that you don't like it? Do you want to be a boy? Are you sure? You don't look like a lesbian. Who's the guy in the relationship? You're going to Hell. God doesn't like gay people.

Advice to Help End LGBT Bullying of Youth

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:13:24 -0500

If you are the victim of bullying, it can be hard to speak up due to the fear of repercussions—it takes a lot of courage, but speak up you must. Try to de-escalate the confrontation by verbally expressing to the bully that you won’t stand to be treated in such a way—never resort to violence. Make an adult or someone in authority aware of the situation so that proper punishment and apologies can be made.

If you witness someone else being bullied, looking the other way will do nothing but hamper efforts to make anti-LGBT bullying a thing of the past. Take charge for someone who might not be able to take charge for themselves—you could be saving someone’s life.

- Mark Weikel, who writes about issues in the LGBT community.