Homophobia Literature Review

Sara’s arms ached from the heavy bag, full of manuscripts she must finish, as she stepped out from the office building and made her way to the company parking lot. Her earlobes tingled from the brisk evening air and buzzed from the loud noises of cars, as they spewed exhaust fumes and rushed down Seventh Avenue. She wondered where the hell were all of these people going at this time of the night.

The Bullying Policy has been introduced around the world which, according to the 2014 observations , rates of bullying vary across studies from 9% to 98%. An observation of 80 studies analyzing bullying involvement rates for both bullying others and being bullied for 12-18 year old students reported an estimate rate of 35% for traditional bullying involvement and 15% for cyberbullying involvement (Modecki, Minchin, Harbaugh, Guerra, & Runions, 2014). This means the Bullying Prevention Policy affects million of students nationwide due to the programs created. More specifically, females face a higher indication of bullying victimization than males do. To explain, high percentages of each gender are faced with the aggressive acts of violence, making it extremely hard to perform well in the school environment. Furthermore, as many as 93 percent of students hear derogatory words about sexual orientation at least once every day at school or in their community (violencepreventionworks). Negative name calling and harassment about sexual orientation can be disrespectful to all students. For an example, 3 out of 4 students who are bullied/harassed with such remarks are not identified as lesbian, gay,

Various interventions implemented within the school setting have shown to improve the social environment for the LGBTQ population. A report by the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University traced the effects of LGBTQ bullying in a school setting included unintentional statements like “that’s so gay,” or more direct verbal harassment, and physical violence in school hallways (Russell, Ryan, Toomey, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2011, p. 225). The data from the project’s survey of 245 LGBTQ adolescents links bullying to long-term health and developmental problems. It was discovered that LGBTQ targeted bullying related to gender expression or sexual orientation during school years led to increased adolescent depression, suicidal thoughts, social adjustment issues and risky sexual behavior (Russell, Ryan, Toomey, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2011, p. 225). LGBTQ adolescents that reported high levels of anti-LGBTQ victimization as teens were 5.6 times more likely to report suicide attempts than those victimized less frequently. Those who reported suicide attempts were more than double as likely to be diagnosed clinically depressed, and they were more than twice as likely to report having been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease by young adulthood. In the paragraphs to come we will examine how bullying impacts

Homophobia is the concept in which people are hateful or fearful towards lesbians and gays (Dictionary.com, 2014). Fear and revulsion of the LGBT population commonly emanate from religious concepts or traditional ideas of society. In 2011, 18% of hate crimes based upon sexual orientation were reported, however, the number proved to be higher than expected due to the fact that many more individuals are reporting these crimes to the authorities (Northhumberland View, 2013). This further demonstrates the progression of LGBT rights in Canadian society due to the fact that lesbian, gay and transgender individuals alike feel comfortable enough to report these matters to the police and receive justice rather than allowing the issue to go unnoticed out of fear of being judged. Also, though many laws have been implemented to prevent discrimination, it is a reality in which many members of the LGBT community still face today. In terms of bullying, 25% of homosexual adolescents reported being physically harassed by heterosexual peers in 2009 (CBC, 2010). However, in 2002 approximately one third of homosexual students were harassed based upon their sexuality (Riese, 2014). Although discrimination and bullying based upon sexual orientation is prevalent in today's society, Canadians have become more accustomed to the idea of homosexuality which is reflected through the decrease in the amount of harassment that occurs. However, with adequate education and continuous learning about the matter, discrimination based upon sexuality can be virtually eliminated in the

Along with verbal abuse, LGBTQ youth also experience physical violence in schools across the country everyday. Back in the 1980’s and 1990’s sociologists such as Joyce Hunter thought that much of the physical abuse happening towards the LGBTQ population stemmed from the stigma and fear that came from the AIDS epidemic that was spreading rapidly among the gay community in that time. In a study as recent as 2003, 60% of LGBTQ youth had reported being assaulted physically due to their sexual orientation (Chesir-Taran, 2003) These physical actions towards the gay and lesbian youth has caused many to fear going to school. In fact, many LGBTQ students avoid school in order to escape the physical harassment. This drop in attendance has detrimental effects on the student’s academics (American Educational Research Association).

In my paper I will be discussing homophobia in schools and how it affects students and even teachers. Homophobia in schools is the leading cause of suicide and depression among teenagers and young adults. I believe that this is a crucial situation and needs to be addressed both at home and in school. School officials must be permitted and comfortable with addressing issues of homosexuality and homophobia that students may have. This is crucial in not only enabling a LGBT teenager to get an education that is in a non-hostile environment, but also in enabling the student to become a strong confident adult.

Homophobia and transphobia, especially amongst youths, can lead to higher rates of depression and suicide. It is estimated that 30-40% of all LGBT+ youth have attempted to take their lives, the average age for suicide attempts is much lower amongst LGBT+ people (37.5) than those who do not suffer from non-gender/binary identity-related hate (55.7). Active homophobia is often prominent in religious groups, the most homophobic being sub-genres/cultures/divisions of Christianity. A friend of mine attends Korowa Anglican Girl's School, a school which heavily bases its values upon Anglican beliefs. He is transgender and has been victim of homophobia and transphobia from both school officials and from female peers who have had religious upbringings since joining the school in 2012. Due to this abuse, he has been made to feel unsafe both at school and at home for his identity, and has consequently turned to self-deprecating behaviour to alleviate his suffering for a short time. Is this how we, as a nation, want our children and young adults to feel? Do we want them to hate themselves for something they have no control or choice over, especially in retrospect to political agenda, where laws are in place that allow such acts to unfurl? 42% of LGBT+ youth live in an

School psychologists must help create and foster an environment that educates administrators, teachers, and non LGBT students. Many lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender youth do not feel safe in school. Sexual minority students may suffer harassment (verbal and/or physical) from teachers and peers. As a result, they may experience more absences than heterosexual students. In addition, LGBT youth may turn to drugs and alcohol as a means of coping with the stressful school environment (Patterson 2013, p.192). Many will contemplate or even commit suicide.

Slurs and derogatory terms have influenced America’s adolescents, and weak parental figures have also acted as a cause in the nonexistent correction concerning this issue. In addition, if America does not begin to recognize that 9 out 10 LGBT students are being publicly harassed, both mental and physical, then the already high suicide rate will witness another increase. Parents need to start caring for their children's well-being. The emergence of communities built around

Gay bulling is a tragic epidemic that often occurs on school campuses. Every 9 out of 10 gay students experience harassment at school. Due to these catastrophic situations, gay youths are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than any other youths. Though incidents of school bullying are very common, celebrities and nationally known figures have instituted an Internet campaign that attempts to encourage gay youths by reminding them that it does get better. They encourage gay youths that they are not alone by telling them that they futures after school hold something better. ABC’s “What would you do” segment featured teen actors bullying a gay classmate in a public area.

After, the authors explain how peer victimization has various mental health outcomes in LGB youth. They found that when controlling for previously reported levels of each psychosocial outcome variable that homophobia victimization anticipated concern, misery and a lower sense of school belonging to the boys and extraction in girls. After this finding, it indicates that homophobic victimization had a great mental health impact on sexual minority youth more than heterosexual peers. In addition, the authors discuss that in the Netherlands, 13-15-year-olds found that who have same-sex most likely to get destructive treatment by other students than those without same-sex. In the Netherlands in which the social expectations for women and men are very similar than different. Therefore, where homosexuality is less denounced and gender roles are less harshly observed. An article is trying to prove different consequences of homophobic name-calling and the effects of mental health on teenagers where the authors also discuss about different risk factors such as negative treatment by peers, same-sex attractions, gender non-conformity, and psychological distress.

Marginalization may also be the explanation for the high risk of self-harm in gay, bisexual, transsexual teenagers who are 2 to 3 times more likely to self-harm than heterosexual young people, this groups results in regular absenteeism at school due to homophobic harassment. 50% of those reported bullied at school had contemplated self-harm, 40% of those had self-harmed at least once. A survey in 2000 to 2002 interviewed 2,430 lesbian women, gay men and bisexual men and women in England and Wales and concluded that there is a greater link between discrimination and mental health issues. (Truth Hurts, Mental Health Foundation 2006).

According to the 2015 GLSEN National School Climate Survey by Kosciw, Greytak, Giga, Villenas, and Danischewski (2016), 57.6% of LGBT high school students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and 43.3% because of their gender expression. Students frequently heard other students use anti-gay phrases and homophobic slurs, and over two thirds had been verbally harassed about their sexuality, yet the majority never reported the discrimination they faced (Kosciw et al. 2016). Students were embarrassed by their experiences, feared that telling someone would make their situation worse, and in many cases, didn’t

Transphobia is fear, discrimination or hatred against transgender people specifically or people of non-binary gender more generally. Transphobia is often closely connected with homophobia and is justified for the same reasons that homophobes use to justify their hatred of gays. (religion, prescriptive gender norms, etc.). Indeed, many clueless homophobes conflate homosexual people with transgender people and cross-dressers. Transphobia also manifests itself in some schools of radical feminist thought, as some feminists resent the idea that people who aren't "really" women might make claims as women. On a societal scale, it can manifest itself in any number of ways, from systemic discrimination against transgender people in housing, healthcare,

Most LGBT youth become happy with who they are which gives them room to thrive during their adolescent years. Attending a school that has a safe and comfortable environment for every student is especially important. Positive environments can help all youth achieve good grades and maintain good mental and physical health. However, some youths are more likely than their straight peers to experience bad health and life outcomes. Experiences with violence, compared to other students, come easy to LGBT individuals that can cause increased risks for unfortunate circumstances.‘Violence’ includes behaviors such as teasing, harassment, and physical assault. It is important that students at risk have access to resources and support to deal with any questions or challenges they may have or face as they mature. Surveyed LGBT students reported 10% were threatened or injured, 34% were bullied, and 28% were bullied electronically.