I Want to Know What It's Like

Because sometimes a dramatic performance of poetry is what it takes to make a difference in the world.

Andrej Pejic and His Impact in the Fashion Industry

          A gorgeous model named Andrej Pejic is making moves socially due to both his beauty and for his androgynous modeling style. He has modeled clothes intended for both men and women, and is extremely successful at both. At the young age of twenty, Pejic has been on the “covers of 14 magazines last year” as well as walking in fashion shows by top designers such as Marc Jacobs and Jean Paul Gaultier.  He is one of the most strikingly beautiful people I have ever seen, and his ability to model without remaining strictly within the realm of masculine or feminine is something that provides a representation of gender queer people in the fashion industry.

By pushing the boundaries surrounding gender roles, Pejic allows for the modeling industry to start becoming more accepting of non-gender conforming people.  Many people in the fashion industry would consider him transgender, however, Pejic is not trying to transition into a woman, he simply just does not comply with typical views of gender. Bonnie Gosh says “He is seen as a bit of a maverick, someone who has embraced his sexuality without any need for explanation or justification.” I think what makes me look up to him the most is that he is not doing this to increase his popularity, or to get extra work, but because he just wants to represent who he is, without the pressures of remaining in a singularly female or male representation.  His success in the industry has caused a sudden rise in the number of models who are considered androgynous, which also makes it more difficult for him to remain at the top of the industry in his field. However, by pushing the envelope to the point where more transgender and gender queer individuals can enter the modeling field, he has started “to challenge.. negative attitudes about what it means to be [different.]” (101) In her article addressing homophobia, Barbara Smith declares that publicity and courage are the necessary tools to make “pervasive taken-for-granted homophobia” (101) cease to exist in our society.

Pejic talks about how he grew up as a refugee from Bosnia, and his family’s flight to Australia where he was able to grow up in a better environment. He talks about how he has always had more of a traditionally female mindset, “for instance, preferring Barbie dolls over toy cars” and being caught shoplifting makeup during one point in his teenage years. Although Pejic is accepted in the fashion industry, which is seen as a more open minded realm, when reading about this I wondered about how it was for him growing up in Australia. Children are often the harshest people around, and I can imagine that growing up and leaning towards feminine things exposed Pejic to a lot of bullying.  Pejic did however say that his family and friends were all extremely supportive, and that helped him to know that it was okay to be himself. Cherrie Moraga discusses how “men and women who transgress their gender roles... are territories to be liberated.”(150) Feminism, and the activism involved with it, is essential to the acceptance of people who are not within societies created gender boundaries. Andrej Pejic has been able to become successful due to his persistence, the open mindedness of the fashion industry, and by feminism working to combat the ideas of a homophobic society.

Heres the link to the article for anyone who is interested

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46332627/ns/today-style/t/gender-bending-model-pushes-limits-runway/#.T0W-gPUcBoE

Gosh, Bonnie. “Gender-bending model pushes limits of the runway” Associated Press, 2012.

Moraga, Cherrie. “Queer Aztlan: the Reformation of Chicano Tribe” from The Last Generation South End Press, 1993.

Smith, Barbara. “Homophobia: Why Bring it Up?” from The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed Henry Abelove et al New York& London: Routledge, 1993.

Lack of Media Coverage is the Homeless Queer Youth's Greatest Enemy

To make a change upon the lives of homeless queer youth in our nation, we need to raise awareness amongst the public. However, we must ask ourselves this question- what is the level of awareness that we need to raise in order to create an impact? A report from CBS Eyewitness News covered the topic of LGBTQ youth out on the streets, as well as a few people who try to provide support for them. This report attempted to cover this topic in approximately five minutes. I do not believe that a mere five minutes could even come close to saying anything about the broken life of a boy who was thrown out of his house at the age of seventeen. Through the analysis of the “Homosexuality and American Society” article, as well as the “Monster, Terrorist, Fag” article, I argue that the media does not provide enough coverage for homeless queer youth, due to the anti-gay sentiments that have pervaded our society for so long.

I believe that our society and culture have always privileged heterosexuals over homosexuals, and for this reason, the media is generally reluctant and ambivalent towards broadcasting about the LGBTQ community. In the article “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview,” John D'Emilio takes us on a journey through the annals of our nation's history, focusing on the way that society has treated homosexuals. During the World War II era, we feared anyone who was foreign, deviant, and of course, gay. The author states that “...most Americans at that time [would not] have considered the treatment accorded homosexuals and lesbians a form of social persecution” (D'Emilio 10). People were getting beaten, evicted from their homes, and forced into mental institutions against their will, yet somehow, society managed to turn a blind eye to all of this. D'Emilio also talks about the “medical model,” a pathetic attempt by the public to understand the homosexual identity. The medical model labeled homosexuality as a disease or a flaw that can be cured, “...[reinforcing] the cultural matrix that condemned and punished persons who engaged in homosexual activity”(D'Emilio 17). Society also made it difficult for homosexuals to “come out,” doing everything in its power to eliminate an entire identity. This social persecution, to me, is in itself almost a form of identity genocide. Homosexuals in the contemporary world are much more liberated; however, society still refuses to fully accept the LGBTQ community. The “Monster, Terrorist, Fag” article supports the idea that American society still fosters anti-gay sentiments, especially after September 11^th. After the 9/11 attacks, a surge of patriotism swept over the nation. However, this so-called sense of patriotism was also intertwined with the upholding “...of heteronormativity, [and] white supremacy...” (Puar and Rai 117). In a world that was not too different from the one that D'Emilio described in his article, post-9/11 America became hostile towards anybody who wore a turban, or was simply different from the “ideal,” Aryan, heterosexual person. It seemed as if this country embarked on a crusade to fight against anything was different from the norm, lumping Sikhs, homosexuals, and other deviants into one single category. Such deeply-entrenched aggression within our society, therefore, makes it difficult for the media to take a stronger stance towards helping the members of the LGBTQ community such as homeless queer youth.

The news report mentions a few people who provide support for the denomination of homeless queer youth, such as Barbara Poppe (Executive Director of the U.S. Council on Homelessness). However, there is no mentioning of the CBS news network itself donating money or doing anything else to support the cause. The report states that a “shocking” 20 to 40% of the approximately two million homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Apparently, people are startled by this statistic because a link between teen homosexuality and homelessness is usually unheard of, thanks to the lack of media representation.

D'Emilio, John. Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1983. Print.

Heffernan, Danny. "CBS Affiliate in Miami Reports on Homeless LGBT Youth." GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). GLAAD Blog, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.glaad.org/blog/cbs-affiliate-miami-reports-homeless-lgbt-youth>.

Puar, Jasbir K., and Amit S. Rai. "Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism and the Production of Docile Patriots." Social Text 20.3 72 (2002): 117-48. Print.

Gays and Lesbians on Television

Recently the LA Times published an article called “A gay-friendly ‘Sesame Street’?” Jarrett Barrios, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation says, “As more and more loving and committed gay and lesbian couples begin families, it is important that their children see representations… Sesame Street has a long history of teaching children about diversity and acceptance, and I don’t expect that our community will be left out of that education (Maerz).” The exposure of gays and lesbians on mainstream television has created a sense of belonging for queer individuals, but not all denominations of the LGTBQ community are being represented.

Although Sesame Street’s vice president of corporate communications says that they are not consciously trying to appeal to gay viewers, the LGBTQ community is feeling support. Sesame Street along with other television shows have recently began to expose gay and lesbian celebrities as well as gay and lesbian characters (Maerz). The effect that this phenomenon has on the LGBTQ community is significant. For heterosexual individuals, this is an opportunity to become aware of sexual diversity, but for the LGBTQ community, this exposure is an opportunity to find community and a sense of belonging. Seeing your identity being represented makes you feel a part of a larger community. In the case of queer youth, a sense of normality is experienced when they are exposed to others who are just like them. Youth watching these television shows become more aware and accepting of the differences there are in respect to sexual orientation. Youth can learn to accept themselves and accept others. This mixture of queer and heterosexual individuals on television create a community in which both groups can get along. It is essential for queer individuals to find a community. Martin Manalansan writes about the way in which Filipino gay men attempt to “negotiate and represent their collectivity to themselves and others (Manalansan, p.280).” Manalansan also discusses the effects that racial and social class identities have on the formation of community. These different identities are not always seen in the representation of queer individuals on television. For example, Modern Family and Glee portray the gay community as dominantly white middle class males. While most queer youth benefit from the subtle and not so subtle representations of LGBTQ individuals, not everyone is being represented. On another note, to be tolerated is not the same as to be accepted. The media may play a role in the process raising awareness, but it does not necessarily fully embrace the gay and lesbian community. The LA Times article also raises another issue on whether cartoons and children television shows should portray openly gay and lesbian characters. In 2005, when Sesame Street was a part of PBS, it came under attack after featuring young people with lesbian parents (Maerz). Since 2005, people may have become more tolerant, but in my opinion trying to push for Bert and Ernie to come out of the closet and for a gay or lesbian Disney couple, is too much to ask for at the time. Small steps are being taken to get to an environment in which all sexual identities are accepted with love. In her article, Mary Gray writes bout the struggle for gay and queer individuals to find space in which to express themselves. Queer youth struggle with the same problem, except that in Gray’s article she is specifically referring to youth in rural areas. The only place that these individuals feel safe to express themselves is in a consumer setting (Gray, p.55). They are protected because they are consumers not because they are queer. That is also the case with the media. The reason that many television shows try to appeal to gay community is to make money. It is uncertain whether these big companies have sincere intentions of supporting the LGTBQ community or are simply doing whatever it takes to bring in more viewers.

Overall, the media’s portrayal of gays and lesbians is having a positive effect by raising awareness, acceptance, and a sense of belonging for the youth audience. But there are issues when it comes to who exactly is being represented and for what reasons.

References
Gray, Mary L. “From Websites to Wal-Mart: Youth, Identity Work, and Queering of Boundary Publics in Small Town, USA.” American Studies, Vol.48, No.2.
Maerz, Melissa. “A gay-friendly ‘Sesame Street’?” Los Angeles Times. 2012.
Manalasan IV,Martin. “Searching for Community: Filipino Gay Men from New York City.” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. Routledge Chapman Hall, 1993. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-gay-friendly-sesame-street,0,3387719.story

There’s No LGBTQ in La Familia

On the television show Glee, Santana Lopez is a confident young Chicana who struggles as a lesbian high school student while gradually coming out to her family and friends. In the episode, “I Kissed A Girl,” Santana faces the challenge of coming out to her abuelita, meaning grandmother in spanish. In the beginning of the scene, Santana and her grandmother’s relationship appears to be loving as they talk and laugh over lunch. Santana shows her love for her grandma as she begins the conversation with, “I’ve watched you my whole life, and you have always been so strong, done exactly what you believe, and never cared what anyone else thought of you.” She then tells her grandmother that she “loves girls the way she is supposed to love boys.” After disclosing her secret to the one person she thought would love her under any circumstance, her grandmother tells her to “leave this house, I don’t ever want to see you again...it’s selfish of you to make me uncomfortable. Go! Now!” Santana’s experience with her abuelita, although heartbreaking, is not uncommon in Chicano culture. In chicano culture, the tradition of “la familia” and the concept of “machismo” dominate, and openly gay men and lesbian women have never been accepted. Santana’s story is a good example of the rejection of homosexuality in the chicano culture, and highlights the deeply rooted values centered around the traditional familia.

The Chicano people have a long history of oppression as they began to immigrate in large numbers into the United States during the twentieth century. Their frustration came to a head during the Chicano Movement in the 1960’s, which is when the idea of Chicano Nationalism was formed. Chicano Nationalism was a “commitment to preserving the integrity of the Chicano people,” but it was centered around the idea of “machismo” and it was blatantly heterosexist (Moraga 147-148). The heterosexism in Chicano culture stems from machismo, which is strong masculine pride. Openly gay men, especially openly femme gay men, are seen as threats to machismo culture so they are rejected by Chicano culture. Chicano youth are growing up in a culture so against their identity that it instills fear into expressing who they are even to their own family and friends. As seen in Santana’s case, these values are so deeply instilled in members of the Chicano population that people, such as Santana’s abuelita, reject their own family because they do not fit the cultural norm.

Another important aspect of Chicano culture is the idea of “la familia.” Tomas Almaguer explains that “Chicano family life remains rigidly structured along patriarchal lines that privilege men over women and children...At all costs, la familia must be preserved” (Almaguer 546). The traditional idea of family consists of a dominate male father and a passive mother. This type of family is the only acceptable form of family in Chicano culture, and “lesbianism, in any form, and male homosexuality which openly avows both the sexual and the emotional elements of the bond, challenge the very foundation of la familia” (Almaguer 546). Homosexuality is seen as betrayal of the sacred Chicano culture, which is another reason fear is instilled in queer youth growing up in this culture.

Machismo and the concept of the traditional family are two large forces in Chicano culture that makes life difficult for the queer youth population. From a young age they are taught that homosexuality goes against everything that is most important, and that is unnatural, not normal, and completely unacceptable. These values are so deeply rooted in their community that queer youth are rejected from their own families and are forced to chose between expressing their true identity or hiding it in order to be accepted by their own family and friends. These adamant values are represented well in the character of Santana’s grandmother when she banishes her own granddaughter just for coming out as a lesbian. Santana may have been rejected by her family, but she finds comfort and support from her more accepting peers at McKinley High.

References

Alamaguer, Tomas. “Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual; Identity and Behavior.”

Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider, 1998.

Moraga, Cherrie. “Queer Aztlan: the Reformation of Chicano Tribe.” The Last Generation. South

End Press, 1993.

It Really Does Get Better

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Anna Reese

FemSt 80

2-22-12

It Gets Better

            While it’s relatively new, the It Get Better campaign has momentum.  It was started in 2010 by sex columnist Dan Savage, in response to the spike in LGBQT teen suicides and rampant bullying.  The website describes its mission, “The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.”  It is a campaign with a beautiful message.  Anyone can make an It Gets Better videos, in fact there are thousands of uploads on YouTube with many celebrities making videos as well.  This project shows the strength and diversity of the LGBQT community.

            In her article “Homophobia: Why Bring it Up?” Barbara Smith writes about the need for different ethnic groups and genders to come together.  She describes an incident at a gay bar with a primarily African American attendance.  The police came and harassed the patrons.  Smith writes about the “isms’ of this situation, “As a Black woman, a lesbian, a feminist, and an activist, I have little difficulty seeing how the systems of oppression interconnect, if for no other reason than that their meanings so frequently affect my life” (Pg. 78).  There needs to be solidarity within the gay community.  This is what the It Gets Better campaign attempts to do.  In a New York times article titled, “Campaign Offers Help to Gay Youths, Brian Stelter explains, “Some say the videos also represent an important moment for the gay rights movement. The sharing of coming-out stories has long been a tool of solidarity among gays as ‘a way to say that we understand each other because we had to come out under fire or because we struggled with it,’ Mr. Sprinkle said.”  This campaign goes even beyond the scope of the gay community. Many youths find the message inspiring. 

            In her article “Queer Aztlan: The Re-formation of Chicano Tribe,” Cherrie Moraga discusses the way intersectionality ruled her existence.  Moraga writes, “Although I could not express how at the time, I knew I had a place in that Movement that was spilling out of barrio high schools and onto police-barricaded streets just ten minutes from my tree-lined working class neighborhood in San Gabriel. What I didn’t know then was that it would take me another ten years to fully traverse that ten-minute drive and to bring all the parts of me – Chicana, lesbian, half-breed, and poeta- to the revolution, wherever it was” (Pg. 146).  What Moraga could not have then, teenagers everywhere have access to the It Gets Better campaign.  There is a community for everyone. 

            The project can also be attributed to saving lives.  On the It Get Better YouTube page it provides them information for the “Trevor Project.”  The Trevor Project is an organization that has a toll-free telephone line and online chats for gay youth who feel lonely, depressed, or suicidal. 

            This project is really quite beautiful.  It has become mainstream so many youth watch the videos and understand the message, but most importantly is provides solidarity to a very diverse community. 

Works Cited

1.) Moraga, Cherrie. "Queer Aztlan: The Reformation of the Chicano Tribe." The Last Generation (1993). Print.

2.) Smith, Barbara. "Homophobia: Why Bring It Up?" The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader (1993). Print.

3.) STELTER, BRIAN. "Campaign Offers Help to Gay Youths." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/us/19video.html>.

4.) "What Is the It Gets Better Project?" It Gets Better Project. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.itgetsbetter.org/pages/about-it-gets-better-project/>.

Young, Gay, and Homeless: Fighting for Resources

Prejudice and homophobia in the form of kicking LGBT youth out of their homes is often ignored by society. An article from The Advocate (a news sources related to the LGBTQ community), focuses on the overwhelming statistics that lay behind this issue and further evidence of society's disregard for homeless LGBT youth. Delving into the effects that exiling queer youth from their homes have upon their sense of well-being and security, as well as Clare's and Van der Meer's ideas on how culture tolerates discrimination and violence towards homosexuals as a whole, I argue that society needs to stop overlooking the injustices suffered by homeless queer youth.

Society's lack of awareness towards LGBT homeless youth is the greatest obstacle for the improvement of their circumstances. First of all, many people are not even aware of the strong correlation between homelessness and gay youth. According to the news article, "a number of studies of homeless youth in big cities put forth a startling statistic, somewhere between thirty and forty percent of homeless youths identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender" (Adler 2011). Gay youth, apparently, are more susceptible to being exiled from the safety and comfort of their homes, as opposed to heterosexual youth. Suffocating in silence, gay, homeless youth have nowhere to turn to- their friends, family members, and even the very people who created them...have ostracized them. Society also plays a role in contributing towards their suffering- day after day, mostly everybody just walks right past these kids; the combination of being "smelly, homeless, and gay" is more than enough to drive most people away. I believe that this kind of mentality needs to change, in order to make an impact on that status quo. The first step we can take towards increasing awareness is to heavily publicize the stories of individuals such as Tiffany Cocco and Jeremiah Beaverly. Tiffany Cocco, now 23, has been homeless ever since she was a teenager. In an attempt to cope with the bullying from her peers in school due to her LGBT status, Tiffany "...did some drugs, and was kicked out by her parents" (Adler 2011). Life on the streets forced her to see shelter in every little pocket of Harlem- "...the train was [her] best ride...[she also] slept on stoops, benches- then finally, shelters" (Adler 2011). Jeremiah Beaverly was exiled from his home on the day after his 18th birthday. After living with his friends for a while, Jeremiah was able to find emergency housing, which is available for only 90 days. In order to help raise awareness from the ignorant public, I believe that accounts such as these, which are nothing short of compelling, must be widely publicized.

Society takes an indifferent stance when faced with issues such as queer youth being homeless, because society is partial to heterosexuals. According to Eli Clare, a queer woman who also has a disability, "...it's not our bodies that need curing. Rather, it is ableism- disability oppression, as reflected in high unemployment rates, lack of access, [and] substandard education [for kids]- that needs changing" (Clare 2001). As Clare emphasizes, there is nothing wrong with being disabled or gay. I could not agree more- how can one possibly change his or her identity; something that defines the very existence of an individual? The fact that this world is built for the able-bodied and the heterosexual...in my opinion, that's what needs to be altered. In connection to the news article, homeless queer youth are entangled in a war for resources, which are not as easily accessible to them because of their status as a sexual minority. Carl Siciliano, founder of the Ali Forney Center, "the nation's largest organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth," says that for these kids, it's "...a different kind of struggle"(Adler 2011). As opposed to fighting for gay rights, this time, the fight is for meeting the bare, minimal necessities of life. It is difficult to motivate our society to help win this struggle because anti-gay sentiments have been entrenched in our culture for so long. Theo Van der Meer wrote an article regarding gay-bashing as a rite of passage in Western societies. While gay-bashing as a rite of passage may not be as popular of a phenomenon in America, the struggle for power (dominance versus submission) between individuals is ever omnipresent. Throughout history, gays have been viewed by most people to be weak and inferior...perhaps this is another reason why people today remain apathetic towards the sight of queer homeless youth.

We need to stop ignoring queer homeless youth and accommodate them within our society. All they need is a bit of food, shelter, and funding to help them get back on their feet again, and obtain an equal opportunity for achieving success and self-worth. Lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, queer, hetero...no kid should ever have to live on the streets, beg for food, and suffer under the cold night sky.

Bibliography:

Adler, Margo. Young, Gay, and Homeless: Fighting for Resources. National Public Radio. 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.npr.org/2011/11/20/142364493/young-gay-and-homeless-fighting-for-resources>.

Clare, Eli. Stolen Bodies, Reclaimed Bodies: Disability and Queerness. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. Print.

Van Der Meer, Theo. "Gay Bashing- A Rite of Passage?" Culture, Health, and Sexuality 5.2 (2003): 153-165. Print.

Yes We Can

Yes We Can

            Adolescent bullying is certainly nothing new and neither is homosexuality, which is why the recent trend of queer youths committing suicide is so troubling.  It’s become such a problem many are pushing for anti-bullying laws.  It’s not just the bullying that hurts queer youth, it’s also religious rejection.  Many queer teens are brought up in household where it is not acceptable to be gay.  Queer youth need to know that they are accepted and loved and have adults who support them.                                                            I wish I could say evangelical Christians were becoming more accepting of homosexuality, but that’s simply not true.  Former presidential candidate Michelle Bauchmann’s husband runs a “pray away the gay” clinic, and former presidential candidate Rick Perry ran an extremely homophobic ad, luckily however its one of the most disliked videos on YouTube. 

            Huffington Post article “Religion, Family, and Gay Teen Suicide” author Aaron Anson tries to understand the current situations.  Anson begins by talking about a teen who killed himself.  The teen, Anson notes, was brought up in a very religious and prejudicial family.  Anson goes further, “This appears to be a common thread among every gay suicide I've had to ponder. Deep in the fabric of the pain that pushes them to take their own lives is hate, more than likely 
"justified" by the misguided religious beliefs of others. Most media attention tends to focus on peer bullying as a major factor, and I agree with that to an extent. But often overlooked is the impact of the hateful bullying that takes place right in our own homes.”  If a teen is bullied at school and then rejected at home, where can they turn to be loved and supported? Anson firmly believes that “Healing has to begin in our homes.” 

            As bleak as the religious front may seem, there is hope.  A survey conducted by Pew Forum asked many denominations whether homosexuality should be accepted by society, and the majority of denominations overwhelmingly agreed.  Mainline churches agreed at 56 percent, Catholics with 58 percent, other Christians at 69 percent, Jews with 79 percent, Buddhists at 82 percent, other faiths with 84 percent, and unaffiliated at 71.  Not only that but the Episcopalian Church was the first to appoint openly gay priest Gene Robinson as a Bishop.  Also in a seminar “American Catholics in the Twenty-First Century” professor and practicing Catholic Michele Dillon stated that while the older generation in the church is not accepting of homosexuality, the majority of young members are very accepting of homosexuality and this will soon change the Catholic perception of homosexuality as a sin. 

            Many queer youth struggle with their home lives and often find themselves targets of bullying for being gay or even appearing gay.  In her article “Bullying, Harassment, and Violence Among Students” Nan Stein points out that while there is “zero tolerance” in schools this does not include gender based bullying.  She writes, “Sexual or gender harassment rarely show up in any of the standard analyses of school violence. Gender is missing.”  Gender and sexuality are absolutely missing from protecting teens against bullying.  Instead of zero tolerance Stein suggests “zero indifference.” While her ideas are great some would be hard to implement, but schools should absolutely train staff on the issues of gender bullying, provide compassionate responses and counseling to the harasser and victim, and treat gender bullying in the same way as bullying.

            John D’emilio discusses the hardships of coming out and even just being gay in a heterosexist society in his article “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview.”

He writes, “’Coming out’ – recognizing one’s homosexual desires, subsequently attempting to act upon them… was a lonely, difficult, and sometimes excruciatingly painful experience… Lesbians and homosexuals grew up with the male/female couple as their only model of intimate erotic relationships.”  While it’s true our society is heterosexist for the most part, many celebrities are coming out and several very popular shows feature loving and erotic homosexual relationships.

            While its nearly impossible to change society overnight.  We can create a society that is more accepting and understanding through better sex education, more comprehensive anti-bullying measure, churches becoming more accepting, and mainstream media as more gay friendly.  We can stop this queer teen suicide epidemic. 

Works Citied

1.) Anson, Aaron. "Religion, Family, and Gay Teen Suicide." The Huffington Post. 17 Jan. 2012. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-anson/gay-teen-suicide_b_1204852.html>.

2.) "Comparative Religions - U.S. Religious Landscape Study - Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life." Religion in American Culture -- Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. <http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons>.

3.) D'emilio, John. "Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview." Sexual Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940-1970 (1983). Print.

4.) Dilion, Michele. "American Catholics in the Twenty-First Century." American Catholics in the Twenty-First Century. First Presbyterian Church, Santa Barbara. 19 Jan. 2012. Lecture.

5.) Stein, Nan. "Bullying, Harassment and Violence among Students." Radical Teacher 80 (2007). Print.

The Effects of School Bullying and Community Mentality on Queer Youth

          The death of Jamie Hubley shines light on the negative effect that bullying and hatred has on queer youth. In this blog post, I will analyze the CBC News article on Jamie’s death along with Nan Stein’s Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students and John D’Emilio’s Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview in order to show that the relationship between bullying and suicide among queer youth is at times overshadowed by the mentality of the community in which queer youth live.
Jamie Hubley killed himself on October 15, 2011. He was the only openly gay boy at his high school and constantly taunted for his sexual identity. His father states that his son, Jamie, suffered from depression because of the bullying he experienced. In one occasion, a group of teenagers tried to stuff batteries down Jamie’s throat. Jamie desperately sought to be accepted. He did not understand why kids could be so cruel. Jamie took his life on a Saturday night. He posted a suicide note on his blog:
"I'm tired of life, really. It's so hard, I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore… It's just too hard. I don’t want to wait three more years, this hurts too much."
The response that the Ottawa community had to Jamie’s death seems shocking to me. Jamie’s father was a city councilor, a man of power, who after losing his son could make a difference for the LGTBQ community. The city of Ottawa and the media covering Jamie’s story dismissed his suicide as a result of depression, giving little credit to the role that hatred and bullying played in Jamie‘s death. CBC News states that, “Awareness of teen depression and mental health has grown” and that, “a series of teen suicides in the Ottawa Valley have forced communities to design better strategies to… [identify] signs of depression earlier and [remove] the stigma surrounding mental health issues.” There is not mention of the effect bullying and hate incidents had on Jamie. No attempts to stop bullying or raise awareness for queer students is made. Depression is an important issue but that was not the initial trigger that led to Jamie taking his own life. It seems that this community refuses to accept that violence and hatred toward queer youth exists and should not be tolerated.
In her article, Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students, Nan Stein argues that a difference should be made between violence and bullying. Sexual and gender harassment are put under the umbrella term, bullying, when one should be treated with more seriousness. She states that, “Sometimes egregious behaviors are framed as bullying when in fact they may constitute illegal sexual or gender harassment, or even hazing or assault.” What Stein is saying comes into play in the case of Jamie. The article states that Jamie was “picked on” but one can argue that he was a victim of hate incidents. Stuffing batteries down somebody’s throat goes beyond being “picked on.” It is a form of assault and should not be tolerated. However, the schools are not the only ones who need to differentiate between bullying and harassment. The community as a whole needs to change the way in which bullying and hatred toward the LGTBQ youth is viewed. They also need to realize that Jamie’s suicide was not just a case of “mental illness.” In his article, Homosexuality and American Society, John D’Emilio describes a time in which homosexuality and mental disease were believed to be interlinked. To regard Jamie’s suicide as a case of “metal illness” in a way affirms this erroneous belief. Jamie did not have depression because he was gay. Jamie was a young boy who was tormented to the point that he developed depression. Jamie killed himself because he was a victim of hate. Awareness of LGTBQ issues, such as hatred in the school environment, need to be raised so that no queer youth have to suffer.

References:
Burke, Ashley. “Gay Ottawa Teen Who Killed Himself was Bullied.” CBC News. October 18, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/10/18/ottawa-teen-suicide-father.html
D’Emilio, John. “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview.” Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940-1970, Chicago Press, 1983.
Stein, Nan. “Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students.” Radical Teacher, No. 80. Teaching Beyond Tolerance. Winter 2007, 30-35.

The Collin Higgens Scholorship and the Stories Behind the Winners

          One of the more overlooked aspects of LGBTQ culture is the amount of advocacy and courage that many young LGBTQ leaders exhibit on an everyday basis. Queer youth take up a daily struggle for their rights, along with the everyday difficulty of becoming a young adult. The lack of press on the positive aspects of growing up LGBTQ can be disturbing, as the majority of Queer youth are not the given stereotypes shown in popular media. Suicide rates and bullying among Queer youth should be taken extremely seriously, yes, but it should not bet the only aspect of the lives of Queer youth that most people hear about.  Many young people who do not identify as heterosexual are leaders, intelligent people who are set on making a difference in the world, and should not be represented purely by the negative things that happen to their peers. 

         The Colin Higgins Foundation recognizes youth leaders in the LGBTQ community and rewards them for going that extra mile. They provide scholarships for young people who are outstanding in their community, allowing those people to pursue college and a brighter future. The three winners of the Colin Higgins award in 2011 are Phuong Tseng, Daunasia Yancey and Cyrus Sinai.

            Phuong Tseng, a biracial woman who moved to San Francisco, struggled with her sexual identity growing up. It appears as if she went through a good amount of harassment, until she became involved in, and eventually president of, her school’s Gay Straight Alliance. To overcome the emotional struggle that Tseng went through as a child, only to become confident in herself and able to lead an organization shows a lot of determination, strength, and empowerment.

           Daunasia Yancey, who grew up in Massachusetts, overcame some of the most difficult circumstances to become someone who helped start the first GSA in Massachusetts,  gives advice to Queer youth about safe sex, sits on a few different committees, and heads the Youth Leadership Committee for BAGLY. Having her dad incarcerated, her mother die at age four, and experienced sexual abuse at age fifteen,Yancey has managed to rise above her circumstances and better the community around her.  I feel as if her story in particular relates to Nan Stein’s article, in where she did not have the support of people around her, but managed to create a better environment for the other Queer youth in her school by raising awareness. She has worked to educate the people around her in order to try to end some of the bigotry and harassment.

            Cyrus Sinai was raised as a part of a Mormon family, and struggled with his sexuality growing up. He was pushed to the point of considering suicide, which is an altogether too common theme among LGBTQ youth. The passage written by John D’Emilio discusses how youth struggle with their sexuality due to how heterosexuality is seen as the “normal” path. Sinai overcame this bias, and was successful in becoming GSA President and pushing for education on the common issues LGBTQ identified people deal with every day.

This brings into question why there is even the problem of compulsory heterosexuality. These youth are receiving awards for standing up for LGBTQ people in their communities, something, which in reality, should be done by everyone in every city. These LGBTQ leaders that have received The Collin Higgins Scholarship are doing their best to educate people and provide resources to youth in need. The fact that there are uneducated people out there that view LGBTQ youth as different and something that are against the norm is a testament to how little our society knows.

To qualify one group of human beings as lesser than another, to make their lifestyle something you have to admit to, to subject them to daily harassment and oppression just due to who they love- that is exactly what our culture does to people who do not identify with being heterosexual- and it needs to end.  

To read this article click

http://www.tides.org/nc/news-and-resources/single-news-item/article/three-lgbtq-youth-activists-honored-by-colin-higgins-foundation/?tx_ttnews[backPid]=1

References

Stein, Rubin. “Bullying, Harassment and Violence among Students.” Radical Teacher, No. 80 Teaching Beyond Tolerance. Winter 2007, 30-35.

D’Emilio, John. “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview” Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940-1970, Chicago Ill:University of Chicago Press, 1983.

Schwartz, Gary. “Three LGBTQ Youth Activists Honored by Colin Higgins Foundation” Tides Foundation. June 27, 2011

Creating a Positive Atmosphere Through Positive Media

Last August, Jonah Mowry, a 14 year old boy, uploaded a video of himself onto YouTube. In the video he doesn’t speak, rather, he holds up index cards telling a story of how he’s been bullied in school because he identifies as gay while tears run down his cheeks. Some of the cards read, “Im scared to go back,” “I don’t know why everyone hates me. Well I guess I do...cuz I hate me too.” But, the most heartbreaking card reads, “suicide has been an option many times.”

In the queer youth community, bullying, harassment, and suicide have always been major issues, and in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in stories revolving around harassment in the queer youth community. In Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students, Nan Stein states that, due to a study in the early 2000’s, gay, lesbian, and transgendered students “report daily harassment, sometimes rising to the magnitude of assault and/or grounds for federal civil rights lawsuits,” and that “one third of teens report that students are harassed due to perceived or actual sexual orientation” (Stein p. 32). Tey Meadow comments about the difficulty of being a member of the queer community today commenting that persistent bullying among LGBTQ youth leads to low levels of life satisfaction and higher rates of depression. Meadow goes on to explain that this harassment of the queer youth community does not only happen at the personal level, but it’s also present at an institutional level. He explains that members of the queer youth community are no more likely to engage in violent behavior than members of the heterosexual community, but they are more likely to get arrested, get convicted of crimes, and be expelled from school (Meadow). Institutionalized oppression is not a new phenomenon, as seen in Gayle Rubin’s Thinking Sex. In her essay she explains that throughout the 1950’s gays were being driven out of cities by police. Police would raid bars, conduct street sweeps, and patrolled “cruising areas,” intentionally looking for gay men and women to arrest (Rubin p. 6). Even though we have made progress in the right direction, Meadow’s comments show that prejudice among the queer youth community is still prevalent in both personal and institutional settings.

Tragic incidents like these have had a dominating presence in the media as we continually hear of suicides in the queer youth community. Meadow explains that when the queer youth community is featured on the news, it is usually a tragic story that ends in death. The media focuses too much on the negative stories about queer youth, and does not fully represent, if not at all, the positive instances that happen (Meadow). Meadow explains that research has shown that persistent news coverage of bullying and suicide can actually increase the likelihood of other vulnerable queer youth to attempt to commit suicide. Meadow calls this occurrence “suicide contagion,” and the constant reminder of suicides in the LGBTQ community makes it seem like death is “unavoidable” for children who are suffering from depression. It becomes clear that all of the negative stories in the media have a similarly negative effect on members of the queer youth community, and we need to realize that positive stories will have a positive effect on the community. Instead of messages of desperation in the news, we need to show kids who have overcame their bullying, and thrived into confident young children. Broadcasting positive stories of queer youth will create an atmosphere of support among kids struggling with these issues, and will help to instill them with pride in their identity and confidence in themselves (Meadow).

Jonah Mowry broke our hearts with his story, but at the end of his video he become a symbol of hope and inspiration. His final cards read, “ I’m not going anywhere, because I’m STRONGER than that...and...I have a million reasons to be here.” After posting the video on YouTube, hundreds of response videos were posted by kids who were going through the same issues and were showing their support for Jonah Mowry and what he stands for. Positive stories of overcoming oppression, like Jonah’s, create hope in the queer youth community, and should replace the stories of suicide in the news to create a better atmosphere of support in our society.

If you want to watch Jonah Mowry's video, just search his his name on YouTube and the video is called "Whats goin on"

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tey-meadow-jd-phd/gay-suicide_b_1218124.html

References

Meadow, Tey Ph.D. “Queer Children are Dying...But Many More Are Living.” Huffpost Gay Voices. 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tey-meadow-jd-phd/gay-suicide_b_1218124.html>

Rubin, Gayle S. “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality.” Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider.

Stein, Rubin. “Bullying, Harassment and Violence among Students.” Radical Teacher, No. 80 Teaching Beyond Tolerance. Winter 2007, 30-35.