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Hatred in the Hallways: Violence and Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students in U.S. Schools
Abstract
This report contains evidence of the substantial failure of the government at the local, state, and federal level to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students from human rights violations, including harassment, violence, and deprivation of the right to education. In this report, Human Rights Watch calls on state authorities to end legal and de facto discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, to compel school officials to protect all students from harassment and violence, to create models for intervention to stop harassment and its devastating impact on students, and to monitor school systems throughout the country to ensure compliance with the principle of nondiscrimination.
... Since their inception, public washrooms were designed with the purposes of segregating toilet users by gender, class, and racial difference (Cavanagh 2010;Faktor 2011;Transgender Law Center 2005). While washrooms in Canada no longer segregate users based on race and class, gender-segregated public washrooms remain widespread and deeply entrenched in the social imaginary (Cavanagh 2010;Faktor 2011;Halberstam 1998;Ingrey 2012;Transgender Law Center 2005). According to Allison Burgess, the Sexual and Gender Diversity Officer at the University of Toronto, 'Washrooms reflect a way of thinking that is dominant in North American cultureone that reflects a gender binary' (personal communication, 2015). ...
... While gender norms and roles change over time and across cultures, they remain rigidly binary and continue to be naturalized and attributed to biological sex. 5 Public washroomsparticularly men's washrooms, which house urinalsare generally the most exposed public spaces that are used daily (Edleman 1996;cited in Ingrey 2013b, 179). Gender-segregated washrooms act as a means of gendering individuals and constituting gendered bodies (Faktor 2011;Halberstam 1998;Ingrey 2012;Molotch and Norén 2010;Woolley 2017). For most cisgender 6 or gender conforming students, the use of gender binary washrooms is a normative, gender-affirming experience. ...
... Mock (2014) explains, 'Most cis people rarely question their gender identity because the gender binary system validates them, enabling them to operate without conflict or correction' (23). For transgender and gender non-conforming students, however, entering school washrooms can produce feelings of anxiety and shame and may result in accusations of being in the 'wrong' washroom (Bowers and Lopez 2012;Cavanagh 2010;Gattis and McKinnon 2015;Halberstam 1998;Ingrey 2012Ingrey , 2013aIngrey , 2013bOmercajic 2015;Porta et al. 2017;Youth-Gender-Action Project 2013). This accusation de-legitimizes transgender and gender non-conforming students' gender identities and limits their 'ability to move around in the public sphere' safely and comfortably (Halberstam 1998, 22). ...
Schools are often sites of surveillance for students as behaviors are governed and regulated by gendered norms and sexed expectations. For transgender and gender non-conforming students, school environments can produce anxiety as students are categorized into gender binaries. This article draws from Canadian policy in public schools and higher education, interview data, as well as transgender teen narratives, to analyze gender policing in schools through gender binary washrooms. Building upon prior research and writing on gender binary washrooms [Cavanagh, S. L. 2010. Queering Bathrooms: Gender, Sexuality, and the Hygienic Imagination. Toronto: University of Toronto Press; Ingrey, J. C. 2012. “The Public School Washroom as Analytic Space for Troubling Gender: Investigating the Spatiality of Gender Through Students’ Self-Knowledge.” Gender and Education 24 (7): 799-817; Ingrey, J. C. 2013a. “Shadows and Light: Pursuing Gender Justice Through Students’ Photovoice Projects of the Washroom Space.” Journal of Curriculum Theorizing 29 (2): 174-190; Ingrey, J. C. 2013b. “The Public School Washroom as Heterotopia: Gendered Spatiality and Subjectification.” PhD diss., University of Western Ontario. http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3175&context=etd], we argue that through advocacy, policy implementation, and the creation of gender-neutral washrooms, safe(r) and more positive school environments can be created for transgender and gender non-conforming students.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540253.2017.1354124
... A permeating theme of transsexual women's functioning is the stigma of belonging to a gender minority. It could be the result of transphobia, if transwomen are stigmatized by others because of their gender identity and expression, of internalized transphobia, if transwomen possess maladaptative beliefs concerning their transsexuality, or of both homophobia and internalized homophobia, if transwomen are of non-heterosexual orientation [26]. The extent of transphobia in Poland, and in Eastern Europe in general, may be far greater than the extent of the phenomenon reported in the research conducted in Western Europe and North America [22,26]. ...
... It could be the result of transphobia, if transwomen are stigmatized by others because of their gender identity and expression, of internalized transphobia, if transwomen possess maladaptative beliefs concerning their transsexuality, or of both homophobia and internalized homophobia, if transwomen are of non-heterosexual orientation [26]. The extent of transphobia in Poland, and in Eastern Europe in general, may be far greater than the extent of the phenomenon reported in the research conducted in Western Europe and North America [22,26]. ...
... Styles of interpersonal functioning, which contain components of dominance and the need for autonomy, and might suggest high self-esteem, are employed to a lesser degree by transwomen than by cissexual women. This may result from transphobia and internalized transphobia experienced by transwomen [25,26]. Where transphobia and internalized transphobia are experienced, mental healthcare professionals should focus on gen-der-affirmative therapy [32], ensuring transsexual women feel comfort and a sense of safety. ...
Aim of the study
The aim of the study was to explore potential differences in gender identity and styles of interpersonal functioning between transsexual and non-transsexual women.
Subject or material and methods
The studied group consisted of 32 adult transwomen, and the control group consisted 32 adult biological women. The following tests were used: the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Polish version, Kuczyńska, 1992) , Scale of Self Appeal (Mandal, Zalewska, 2010), the Interpersonal Styles Scale (Stanik, 1998), and the Strategies of Self-Presentation Questionnaire (Mandal, Zalewska, 2010).
Results
The transsexual women scored higher on the femininity scale than the non-transsexual women. The same situation occurred in the case of the use of the maintaining-overprotective style, submissive-dependent style and conformism scales.
While the non-transsexual women scored higher in the directive-autocratic style, aggressive-sadistic style, competitive-narcissistic style, partner attractiveness and self-promotion scales.
However, statistically significant differences between the groups did not occur in masculinity, adonization, interpersonal attractiveness, appreciation of the partner, self-depreciation, the withdrawing-masochistic style, the rebellious-suspicious style, self-acceptance/complacency, pessimism/helplessness/cry for help, lie, the friendly-cooperative style and the resourcefulness/realism/autonomy scales.
Discussion
The study revealed that transsexual women experience themselves and the surrounding world more in accord to the stereotype of what is feminine than non-transsexual women. Such was the case with the way they function interpersonally. Styles that they employ to a higher degree usually do not contain components of dominance and the need for autonomy but rather the need for affiliation and considerateness.
Conclusions
Transwomen function more in accordance with the stereotype of femininity than biological women.
... In spite of global efforts demanding respect for sexual affective diversity and educational legislation on the subject, LGBT+ youth continue to be attacked by their peers and teachers in the school setting (Bochenek & Brown, 2001;Guasp, 2012;Harris Interactive & GLSEN, 2005;Jones, 2015;O'Higgins-Norman, 2009). In Europe, research has shown that LGBTI+ youth experience significantly higher levels of verbal, physical and sexual discrimination and violence than their heterosexual peers during their school years (Magić & Maljevac, 2016). ...
... One of our main conclusions is that LGBT+ youth continue to be attacked by their peers and teachers in the school setting (Bochenek & Brown, 2001;Guasp, 2012;Harris Interactive & GLSEN, 2005;Jones, 2015;O'Higgins-Norman, 2009). A large percentage of the teachers surveyed in this research have witnessed incidents in which students from vulnerable groups are insulted and ridiculed. ...
This article analyzes the perceptions of sexual affective diversity among teachers in Spanish high schools. Specifically, we address LGBTphobia, and teacher intervention and training through a survey study of 119 teachers. We administered a questionnaire to investigate these issues based on other studies. The data were analyzed on the basis of descriptive statistics. We attempted to answer three research questions: How do teachers analyze LGBTphobia in high schools? What is their experience and teaching intervention with regard to affective and sexual diversity? What perception exists in high schools about the need for training and education on affective and sexual diversity? The study concludes that high schools and their communities remain hostile places for LGBT students. Therefore, incorporating training into teaching practice and rethinking pedagogy from a queer perspective is fundamental to building an inclusive educational culture.
... He was referred to as an "effeminate" boy by his classmates and various school personnel when they were interviewed by the media after the shooting (Setoodeh, 2008). King's murder is not an isolated case, and the association between gender nonconformity and victimization is at the forefront of the public awareness and discussions about school safety (Hoffman, 2009). King's murder is an extreme example of school victimization motivated by a student's gender nonconformity. ...
Past research documents that both adolescent gender nonconformity and the experience of school victimization are associated with high rates of negative psychosocial adjustment. Using data from the Family Acceptance Project’s young adult survey, we examined associations among retrospective reports of adolescent gender nonconformity and adolescent school victimization due to perceived or actual lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) status, along with current reports of life satisfaction and depression. The participants included 245 LGBT young adults ranging in age from 21 to 25 years. Using structural equation modeling, we found that victimization due to perceived or actual LGBT status fully mediates the association between adolescent gender nonconformity and young adult psychosocial adjustment (i.e., life satisfaction and depression). Implications are addressed, including specific strategies that schools can implement to provide safer environments for gender-nonconforming LGBT students.
... Un élève non conforme à son genre est susceptible de s'exposer à une même victimation homophobe qu'un élève ouvertement gai ou lesbienne et ce, même s'il ou elle s'identifie comme hétérosexuel(le). Quant aux jeunes trans ou présentant une expression de genre atypique (gendernonconforming youth), ils seraient particulièrement visés par les violences scolaires (McGuire et al., 2010 ; Toomey et al., 2010 ; Wyss, 2004 ; Human Rights Watch, 2001) et distinctement touchés par leurs impacts (D'Augelli, Grossman et Starks, 2006). ...
77 Violences homophobes, violences transphobes : le double jeu du genre dans les violences en milieu scolaire Gabrielle Richard 105 et Line Chamberland 106 Résumé À partir de résultats tirés d'une enquête par questionnaire auprès de 2747 élèves de l'école secondaire québécoise et d'entrevues auprès de jeunes s'identifiant comme lesbiennes, gais, bisexuel(le)s ou en questionnement (LGBQ) ou comme trans, cet article propose une réflexion sur les violences prenant pour cible l'expression de genre à l'école. Plus du tiers des élèves s'identifiant comme hétérosexuels rapportent avoir été victimes de violences parce qu'on pense qu'ils sont, ou parce qu'ils sont gais. C'est également le cas de plus des deux tiers des élèves LGBQ. En entrevue, plusieurs élèves, trans comme LGBQ, rapportent que c'est davantage leur inadéquation aux normes de la féminité et de la masculinité qui en font l'objet de réprobation par leurs pairs, plutôt que leurs véritables préférences en matière d'orientation sexuelle. En explorant les parallèles étroits entre l'homophobie et la transphobie, nous suggérons que le « genre » est central pour comprendre les violences sur la base de l'orientation sexuelle et de la non-conformité de genre à l'école.
... Ainsi, alors que l'homosexualité constituait jusqu'à récemment un objet d'étude pour la médecine et la psychiatrie, qui abordaient les manifestations et les motifs de ce « détournement de la finalité de l'acte sexuel, à l'instar de l'onanisme » (Tin, 2003, p. 279), voire qui en traitaient les présumées victimes, ces disciplines se sont peu à peu délestées de cet objet d'étude et sujet de traitement au profit des sciences sociales. La sociologie, le travail social et la sexologie se sont ainsi intéressés aux individus s'identifiant comme non hétérosexuels, à leurs pratiques sexuelles (Hirschfeld, 1920;Bell et Weinberg, 1978;Kinsey, Pomeroy et Martin, 1948), à leurs relations de couple (Hammersmith et Weinberg, 1973), à leur parcours identitaire (Cass, 1979;Lee, 1977;Dank, 1971), à leurs adversités et facteurs de risque (Weinberg et Williams, 1974) ainsi que, plus largement, aux déterminants sociaux de leurs conditions de vie. Il n'est dès lors plus question de conceptualiser l'homosexualité et la bisexualité en soi, mais bien d'analyser les manifestations d'hostilité soulevées par les personnes non hétérosexuelles et les impacts de leur stigmatisation sociale sur leurs conditions de vie. ...
Cet article s’appuie sur les résultats d’uneenquête menée auprès 22 enseignantes et enseignantsde l’école secondaire québécoise. Ils ontété interrogés sur les modalitésd’intervention qu’ils préconisaient en lien avecl’orientation sexuelle, que ce soit dans un contexted’homophobie ou lors d’une intervention de proximitéauprès d’élèves lesbiennes, gais, bisexuelsou en questionnement (LGBQ). Cinq angles d’intervention contrel’homophobie ressortent de leurs témoignages : lacorrection du vocabulaire, les explications étymologiques, lasensibilisation aux impacts de l’homophobie, l’analogieentre homophobie et racisme et l’intervention par confrontation.Nos résultats suggèrent qu’en n’intervenantque pour mettre un terme aux épisodes qu’ilsinterprètent comme de l’homophobie, plusieurs enseignanteset enseignants passent à côté d’une situationd’infériorisation des élèves LGBQ dont lesmécanismes sont autrement plus complexes.
... The Millennial generation shows increasing support for lesbian and gay marriage (57.0 percent of 2001 freshmen believe " same-sex couples should have right to legal marital status, " up almost 10 percent from when the question was first asked, in 1997) and decreasing support for criminalization of homosexual relationships, now at a record low level since the question was first asked, in 1976 (Sax and others, 2001). Reports of harassment and violence at the junior and senior high school levels indicate that these remain exceedingly hostile environments for most lesbian, bisexual, and gay students (Human Rights Watch, 2001), but there also is increasing support for these students and their straight allies. The number of gay-straight alliances in U.S. high schools exceed nine hundred in 2003, spread across forty-six states (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, 2003). ...
The Millennial generation of college students has demographics and attitudes toward diversity issues different from their predecessors; this chapter explores those differences and their implications for student affairs work.
LGBTQ youth frequently experience bullying and harassment in the school setting. Teachers are in an ideal position to prevent student harassment, yet most don’t have adequate training. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Step In, Speak Up! an interactive online simulation. In a randomized controlled trial, 1390 participants received Step In, Speak Up! or no intervention. Participants were assessed pre- and post-intervention on the Gatekeeper Behavior Scale and attitudes toward the simulation. Results demonstrated significant differences (p < .001, multivariate η²partial = .17) between the training and control groups on learners’ preparedness, likelihood, and self-confidence in managing bullying behavior.
El acoso escolar es una problemática del sistema educativo que ha sido poco abordada, en especial el impacto en la salud mental de niños, niñas y adolescentes de grupos históricamente discriminados. En Colombia los estudios permiten identificar que existe una problemática que está afectando a jóvenes de la población LGTB, se sienten inseguros en sus colegios (67.0%), reciben comentarios homofóbicos por parte de la mayoría de los estudiantes (25.4%), perciben agresión por parte de los adultos en la institución educativa (37.2%) y falta de apoyo del personal escolar (39.9%). Esta situación de discriminación, violencia y falta de red de apoyo genera depresión, insomnio, sentimientos de homofobia interiorizada, estrés, bajo rendimiento escolar, trastorno de estrés postraumático, ideación suicida, intento de suicidio y suicidio, baja autoestima y comportamientos de riesgo. La respuesta que del sector salud es necesaria para generar un cambio y romper con el circulo de exclusión y discriminación.
Over the past two decades, sexual citizenship has emerged as a new form of citizenship coupled with increased interest in the challenges to citizenship and social justice faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and, in particular, by sexual minority youth within education systems. In South Africa, the rights of LGBTI people have been institutionalised in legislation, and research has begun to consider how educators may facilitate a more inclusive school environment for LGBTI youth. Given the focus of the Department of Education on social justice, the present study examines how selected Life Orientation (LO) textbooks for Grades 7 to 12 in South African schools represent and construct LGBTI identities. The study generally finds inconsistency in the representation of these identities. Gay male identities are represented in some instances, lesbian and bisexual identities rarely so, and transgender and intersex identities not at all. Two of the four series examined are almost entirely silent about LGBTI identities. This invisibility negates the different 'ways of knowing' of LGBTI learners; tends not to facilitate students in critiquing the discrimination, prejudice and social injustices faced by many LGBTI people, and lessens the importance of social justice and citizenship education in this field in South Africa.
It is commonly agreed that education has been intimately connected to capabilities. However, several questions remain unanswered about the way in which knowledge promotes the real freedoms that people enjoy. The aim of this paper is thus to situate education in the human capabilities approach. This argument unfolds in three stages. The first will discuss how, historically, education has been regarded as a force capable of enriching the lives of individuals. The second will explain how both Amartya Sen’s and Martha Nussbaum’s approaches complement each other, allowing a deeper understanding of the links between knowledge and capabilities. Despite this, a more comprehensive approach is needed. Therefore, in the third stage, in order to examine to what extent education contributes to the expansion of capabilities, it is necessary to look at four dimensions: (1) philosophical (how education modifies human agency or “personal autonomy”); (2) pedagogical (how knowledge is constructed/transmitted); (3) institutional (how schools in particular and education system in general function in order to enable the expansion of freedoms); and (4) policy issues (how the educational problem is formulated and how policy outcomes can be evaluated).
This study sought to assess current and future school psychologists’ attitudes toward and preparedness to address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in schools. Two-hundred seventy-nine school psychologists (n = 162, 58%) and school psychology graduate students (n = 117, 42%) were included in the study. Participants completed measures of attitudes toward LGBT students, preparedness to address the needs of LGBT youth, and social desirability. For both school psychologists and graduate students, increased education was associated with improved attitudes and increased preparedness to treat LGBT youth. For school psychologists, presence of a gay-straight alliance was associated with increased knowledge about LGBT youth, as well as higher ratings of preparedness to treat LGBT youth; the same associations did not hold true for the graduate students. These findings have implications for the training and practice of school psychologists in addressing the needs of LGBT youth in schools.
This study focused on attitudes and sexual prejudice as part of a larger project on inclusive practice in sport and physical activity settings. Questionnaires were administered to a large sample of undergraduate students and to selected samples of upper-level preprofessional students and a campus pride group to investigate attitudes toward gays and lesbians, and other minority groups. Attitude scores were in the middle range, with females more positive than males toward gay men. Evaluation Thermometer scores were generally positive, but markedly lower for gay men and lesbians than for other minority groups. Upper-level preprofessional students were more positive than other undergraduates, but still expressed negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. These results confirm persistent sexual prejudice, suggest that attention to sexual minorities is particularly important for effective diversity management, and underscore the need for continuing research and educational programs to enhance cultural competence among sport management professionals and future professionals.
Social studies education plays an important role in preparing students for a diverse, pluralistic democratic citizenry (NCSS 2010). While the field has made some gains in addressing the needs of various marginalized communities within the curriculum, there has been very little progress in incorporating LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) people and their experiences in the social studies (Jennings 2006). As such, this article gives a rationale for the inclusion of LGBTQ figures and their allies within the social studies and provides an overview of ways in which teachers can successfully incorporate LGBTQ topics into the social studies. The authors present one such project, entitled The Difference Maker Project, which aims to get students to research, listen, and advocate in the exploration of a constitutional LGBTQ issue. In closing, the authors contend that by adding LGBTQ topics into the curriculum teachers can begin to eradicate the erasure and misinformation surrounding a group of people and their history within the social studies. This not only gives a more truthful account of history but also provides a more hospitable educational environment for LGBTQ students.
Research has suggested that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people are “at-risk” of victimization and/or legally “risky.” Relatively few studies have examined the social construction of risk in “risk factor” research and whether risk as a concept influences the everyday lives of LGBT young people. This article reports how 35 LGBT young people and seven service provider staff in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia perceived LGBT youth–police interactions as reflecting discourses about LGBT riskiness and danger. The participants specifically note how they thought looking at-risk and/or looking risky informed their policing experiences. The article concludes with recommendations for improving future policing practice.
In the vein of action research, the author examines his practice of matching lesbian and gay student teachers with a lesbian or gay cooperating teacher for field placement. This article addresses several questions. In what ways, if any, do lesbian and gay teachers help new teachers cope with and interrupt homophobia? How do they help student teachers to negotiate teacher and sexual identities? What role, if any, do they play as new teachers make decisions about sharing their sexual orientation to others in school, particularly students? Although student teachers appreciate their cooperating teachers as role models, they find a lack of conversation with them about negotiating identities as both teachers and as lesbian or gay leads to missed opportunities or unintended learning. Student teachers struggled to translate their cooperating teachers' methods of coming out to their circumstances.
In this chapter, gender psychology meets sport and exercise psychology. For many readers, this is a first meeting, and an
introduction is in order. Sport and exercise psychology is located in a much different context than most of the other psychology
areas covered in this handbook. Although academic and clinical psychologists have engaged in sport and exercise psychology
research or consulted with athletes and exercisers, for the most part, sport and exercise psychology faculty, courses, graduate
programs, and research activities are found in departments of kinesiology or exercise and sport science.
Prejudice and hate crimes against lesbians and gay men are prevalent throughout the United States. Prejudice in public school settings is particularly problematic for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) students and LGB parents. Efforts to reduce prejudice for LGB groups have met with limited success. Creating safer and more inclusive school environments is essential. An experimental mixed methods field design tested outcomes of an intergroup dialogue intervention on public school teacher attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward LGB students and parents. Quantitative results indicate dialogue participation resulted in statistically significant positive changes in attitudes, feelings, and behaviors. Qualitative data analysis confirmed positive changes as a result of dialogue participation.
A growing body of research indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students are often unsafe at school. Little research has examined school safety for students with LGBT parents. We examined adolescents' perceptions of school safety for students with LGBT parents using data from a survey of 2,302 California sixth through twelfth grade students. We examined the influence of adolescents' personal characteristics and school environments on perceptions of school safety for students with LGBT parents. Compared to heterosexual students, adolescents who identified as LGBT were less likely to perceive their schools as safe for students with LGBT parents. Students who received education on LGBT issues knew where to get information about LGBT issues and had teachers that step in to prevent harassment were more likely to say that their schools were safe for students with LGBT parents. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.
This article reviews scholarship that represents urban students who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. It draws on empirical examples to illustrate prominent themes across this scholarship, including the homophobia they experience, the impact it has on their academic performance, and the activism it sparks. Finally, it considers implications for urban educators working with queer youth, specifically, the need to understand and be prepared to address multiple social and cultural issues that intersect with sexual and gender identities.
This study examined relationships between ethnocentrism, homophobia, and human temperament, and the impact these variables have on human communication. The first phase of the study examined the relationship between homophobia and ethnocentrism, and indicated a substantial relationship. Previous research in psychobiology has noticed that many factors related to ethnocentrism are genetically based; therefore, the next phase of this study examined the relationship of both ethnocentrism and homophobia with Eysenck's temperamental framework (based on the super traits of extra‐version, neuroticism, and psychoticism). There were no significant relationships between individuals' temperament and their level of either ethnocentrism or homophobia. The essay concludes by examining some implications of the findings for the study of human communication.
A convenience sample of 91 self-identified transsexuals of majority age completed questionnaires that assessed the quality of their family relationships, indices of their well-being (life satisfaction and self-esteem), and demographics. The results indicate mostly favorable family relationships, general satisfaction with their lives, and some potential difficulties in areas related to self-esteem. There were significant relationships between higher perceptions of the quality of one's family relationships and healthier levels of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Implications for practice, education, and research are discussed.
A Multicultural Sport Psychology FrameworkDiversity in Sport and Sport PsychologyMulticultural Scholarship in Sport PsychologyFrom Multicultural Scholarship to Professional PracticeConclusion
Sexual minority adolescents—those self-identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) or with same-sex desires or sexual experiences—report higher rates of victimization and suicidality than their heterosexual peers, yet little empirical research has examined school factors associated with these risks. This study used data from the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2000), matched with school-level data from state records and school principals, to compare the safety of 202 sexual minority adolescents in 52 schools with and without support groups for LGB students, to investigate the relationship between perceived staff support and safety, and to explore other school factors associated with victimization and suicidality among these youth. As hypothesized, sexual minority adolescents in schools with LGB support groups reported lower rates of victimization and suicide attempts than those in other schools. Victimization and perceived staff support predicted suicidality. Several additional school factors were associated with the safety of sexual minority students. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 573–589, 2006.
Because of the persistence of bias and discrimination against transgender people generally, the societal lack of understanding
of gender and sexuality, and a distrust of difference, transgender youth are at high risk for involvement in the juvenile
justice system. For many of these youth, their gender identity is relevant both to why they were arrested and to their needs
once they are brought into the courtroom. This article discusses how law, policy, and legal representation are regularly failing
transgender youth in juvenile delinquency systems throughout the United States. The author concludes by posing policy and
system recommendations that will address these failures.
Two frequent types of violence by young men in groups are rapes of women and assaults on perceived gay men. This article draws
on scholarship from multiple disciplines to propose a theoretical linkage between these two seemingly disparate forms of violence.
It proposes that the two forms of violence serve near-identical functions for certain young men. These functions include social
bonding, the celebration of power, and the public display of heterosexual masculinity through the subordination of women and
men perceived as feminine. In other words, group rape of women and violence against homosexuals are parallel forms of cultural
theater, with the victims serving as interchangeable dramatic props. This argument is advanced through an examination of a
2003 case in which athletes from Mepham High School in Long Island, New York, sexually assaulted their younger teammates during
a week-long summer training camp.
It is clear that in school and on the way to school youth routinely encounter teasing, disrespectful remarks, or unwanted/uninvited touching that is sexual in nature (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 1993,2001; Stein, 1999). Often, the perpetrators are their classmates, other students, and less frequently school staff-instructional staff, janitors, bus drivers and other adults associated with school (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 2001; Stein, 1999). Surprisingly often, the events occur within as well as across gender, but most often include a male perpetrator and a female victim (Fineran, 2002; Rickert, Vaughan, & Wiemann, 2002). In multiple surveys, youth assert that much of this behavior occurs publicly and evokes little reaction from either other students or school staff (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 1993,2001; Fineran & Bennett, 1998). For the youthful victims, there is often confusion and embarrassment, a change in their relationship to school and the academic goals of school, as is true for their reactions to more general and milder forms of teasing, bullying and disrespect (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 2001). Absenteeism, poorer grades, depression, and anxiety often ensue; suicidality and other mental health problems (Ackard & Neumark-Sztainer, 2002) as well as a propensity for later re-victimization have been documented (Coker et al., 2000; Humphrey & White, 2000; Smith, White, & Holland, 2003). For vaginal/penile assault, unplanned pregnancy is a concern. The current concentration of HIV (Centers for Disease Control and Preventions, 1999a; Krauss et al., 2001; Rosenberg & Biggar, 1998) and other sexually transmitted infections among adolescents and youth (Martin, Clark, Lynch, Kupper, & Cilenti, 1999; Rickert et al., 2002; Steele, 2000) make potential health sequelae of sexual assault quite serious. The struggle of youth to understand what has happened to them and go on is mirrored in the adult world as the adults responsible for their guidance and safety begin to sort out their own terminology regarding source, severity, intent of physical or emotional harm, location, and even the sexual content of events (Fineran, 2002). On the basis of their definitions, adults also formulate policy and response. The adult language about sexually charged and harmful acts is evolving. It includes terms such as rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, date rape, dating violence, acquaintance rape, hate crimes and violence against sexual minorities, intimate partner violence, child abuse, peer abuse, peer violence, sexual violence in schools, sexual exploitation, and sexual violence (Ackard & Neumark- Sztainer, 2002; Fineran & Bennett, 1998; Stein, 1999). Some of these terms have legal connotations, e.g., sexual violence, sexual harassment, while others have developed from social science research in which either the type of sexual violence, its predictors or its after-effects seem to vary by relationship of victim to perpetrator, characteristics of the victim, by duration or by setting, e.g., late vs. early childhood abuse (e.g., Maker, Kemmelmeier, & Peterson, 2001). Some evolving terms, e.g., peer sexual violence, rely on a growing understanding of the social world of the young. Unlike sexual violence among adults where much violence occurs within intimate or formalized relationships, youth sexual violence may occur in relationships that are transitory; the "dating" of "dating violence" may refer to social forms that are pass6 to older students or irrelevant to younger students (Krauss et al., 2001); or students may be harmed by classmates who are relative strangers rather than intimates. Peer sexual violence may occur during childhood, but is distinct from child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse statutes are quite detailed, but often imply "contact or interaction between a child and an adult when the child is being used for the sexual stimulation of that adult or another person" (National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1981). Childhood sexual abuse may be committed by another minor when that person is either significantly older than the victim (often defined as more than five years) or when the abuser is in a position of power or control over the child (Ackard & Neumark-Sztainer, 2002; National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1981). Since in the majority of cases at school, the perpetrator of sexual violence is likely to be another student, one whose own experience or witness of harm may lie behind his or her hurtful and sexually-charged act (Clarke, Stein, Sobota, Marisi, & Hanna, 1999), adults struggle to achieve a balance between the "soft" responses-teaching, counseling, conflict-resolution-that would heal both victim and perpetrator, and the "hard" responses-discipline, zero-tolerance policies (pre-existing and mandatory prescribed punishments)-that would deter such events from occurring within the school environment (National Education Association, 2004). "Hard and "soft" responses are also involved in preventing the perpetuation of "hostile environments" where pervasive and persistent sexual harassment and sexual violence are likely to occur. Hard responses include sign-ins, weapons searches, metal detectors, hall patrols, police presence and other security techniques (National Education Association, 2004), while soft responses include training of all school staff and students to recognize and manage interactions that may be harmful, e.g., to understand "flirting vs. hurting," in the language of one training program (Stein & Sjostrom, 1996). And training programs must take account of what is required of youthful victims in school disciplinary, civil or criminal proceedings. The specific acts that define sexual violence-sexual assault, attempted rape or rape-originate in definitions handed down from criminal law. Their determination depends upon overt signs of intent, force, injury, or, in the case of rape, penetration and lack of consent. Consent is particularly complex, with standards varying by state and jurisdiction. Consent is dependent on mental states (e.g., someone who is drunk cannot consent), the age of the victim (e.g., in some jurisdictions someone 16 or under cannot consent), and age difference between victim and perpetrator (e.g., in some jurisdictions a youth five years or more younger than the perpetrator cannot consent). Many school-age youth within a state or jurisdiction are wholly ignorant of these definitions and standards (Yee, O'Day, O'Sullivan, & Krauss, 2000). Other terms (e.g., the "unwelcome, uninvited, and unwanted") that define acts of sexual harassment generally, depend on an understanding of youth's internal intentions and reactions. In law, proof of that intent may require that students come forward, document and complain about their treatment or document and complain about the failure of school authorities to address and rectify the incidents that are happening to them. To date, the Supreme Court has heard three cases regarding sexual harassment or violence where the plaintiffs intended to place responsibility on schools and collect damages for harassment or violence that occurred within schools. The Court decided for the plaintiff in two (Franklin v. Gzuinnett Counfy Public Schools, 1992; Davis v. Monroe Counfy Board of Educafion, 1999) and cited the victim's lack of complaint to school authorities in the third case (Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 1998). The current chapter will focus on sexual violence in the schools, which is understudied and is a difficult area to study. Sexual harassment in the schools has been comprehensively reviewed by Stein (1999). Stein considers all forms of harassment and hate crime directed toward sexual minorities as sexual violence, but concludes that current understanding labels sexual harassment as the general term, with sexual violence-assault, attempted rape or rape-representing more severe forms of harassment. Sexual violence, according to that understanding, is distinguished by the availability of criminal action remedies in which individuals, the perpetrators, are held liable. These criminal proceedings are available in addition to actions taken by the school, the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, civil proceedings that apply to all sexual harassment, and other criminal proceedings that apply to child abuse. The chapter will begin with a definition of sexual harassment and violence, indicate the prevalence of school violence and the difficulties in determining its prevalence, summarize recent research on effects of sexual violence in adolescence, briefly outline the landmark Supreme Court decisions that have changed the school liability and school response landscape, present a sampling of school policy and remedy responses, and end with a unique perspective on school violence from the viewpoint of school nurses and students who have participated in an in-depth study of adolescent sexual behavior and the social settings in which it occurs.
Neo-liberal society asserts that adults should be independent and responsible for themselves, and that children and adolescents
should be dependent on their parents. The earlier construction of the concept of adolescence makes this seem obviously true.
Yet if we remember that “adolescence” was part of a project of gender, race, and class construction, it becomes easier to
ask whether adolescence is a meaningful concept and a stage of life or whether it continues to be a component of an ideology
that relies on the construction of “others.” In this chapter, I suggest that adolescence plays the latter role, and that although
the naturalization of adolescence is particularly dangerous for groups like queer youth who are at the margins of society,
it is dangerous for all young people because it limits sexual agency. This is particularly important because increasingly
society requires that young people consider their futures not from the assumption that they will move into well-defined roles,
but with the assumption that they will need to define new ways of relating.
This article seeks to expand the discourse on sexuality education in the United States by examining ways in which youth are
mobilizing to educate their own schools and communities about gender identity. The author conducted a descriptive case study
within the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network, a youth-based community organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that provides
leadership and networking opportunities for youth involved in gay-straight alliance clubs throughout California. Youth in
this community are significantly expanding the categories of sexual and gender identification, which they situate directly
within an activist and educational outreach agenda in their schools. This article explores how gender activism and educational outreach focus on a right to be protected from discrimination and also a right to expand the possibilities
for gender identity and expression.
Lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs) vary in sociodemographic characteristics such as cultural, ethnic or racial identity,
age, education, income, and place of residence as well as in the degree to which their LGB identities are central to their
self-definition, their level of affiliation with other LGB people, and their rejection or acceptance of societal stereotypes
about and prejudice against homosexuality. In that diversity, it is difficult to describe many common themes. Despite the
many differences that separate them, LGB people share remarkably similar experiences related to prejudice, stigma, discrimination,
rejection, and violence directed toward them across cultures and locales (Espin, 1993; Fullilove & Fullilove, 1999; Herek, 2000; Diaz et al., 2001). Even after a historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the criminalization of homosexuality is unconstitutional, gay men
and lesbians continue to be subjected to legal discrimination in housing, employment, and basic civil rights—most prominent
in recent years are discrimination related to family law, including marriage and adoption.
Past research documents that both adolescent gender nonconformity and the experience of school victimization are associated with high rates of negative psychosocial adjustment. Using data from the Family Acceptance Project's young adult survey, we examined associations among retrospective reports of adolescent gender nonconformity and adolescent school victimization due to perceived or actual lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) status, along with current reports of life satisfaction and depression. The participants included 245 LGBT young adults ranging in age from 21 to 25 years. Using structural equation modeling, we found that victimization due to perceived or actual LGBT status fully mediates the association between adolescent gender nonconformity and young adult psychosocial adjustment (i.e., life satisfaction and depression). Implications are addressed, including specific strategies that schools can implement to provide safer environments for gender-nonconforming LGBT students.
This study focused on the perceived climate for LGBT youth and other minority groups in physical activity settings. A large sample of undergraduates and a selected sample including student teachers/interns and a campus Pride group completed a school climate survey and rated the climate in three physical activity settings (physical education, organized sport, exercise). Overall, school climate survey results paralleled the results with national samples revealing high levels of homophobic remarks and low levels of intervention. Physical activity climate ratings were mid-range, but multivariate analysis of variation test (MANOVA) revealed clear differences with all settings rated more inclusive for racial/ethnic minorities and most exclusive for gays/lesbians and people with disabilities. The results are in line with national surveys and research suggesting sexual orientation and physical characteristics are often the basis for harassment and exclusion in sport and physical activity. The current results also indicate that future physical activity professionals recognize exclusion, suggesting they could benefit from programs that move beyond awareness to skills and strategies for creating more inclusive programs.
Transgender youth experience negative school environments and may not benefit directly from interventions defined to support Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) youth. This study utilized a multi-method approach to consider the issues that transgender students encounter in school environments. Using data from two studies, survey data (total n = 2260, 68 transgender youth) from study 1 and focus groups (n = 35) from study 2, we examine transgender youth's experience of school harassment, school strategies implemented to reduce harassment, the protective role of supportive school personnel, and individual responses to harassment, including dropping out and changing schools. In both studies, we found that school harassment due to transgender identity was pervasive, and this harassment was negatively associated with feelings of safety. When schools took action to reduce harassment, students reported greater connections to school personnel. Those connections were associated with greater feelings of safety. The indirect effects of school strategies to reduce harassment on feelings of safety through connection to adults were also significant. Focus group data illuminate specific processes schools can engage in to benefit youth, and how the youth experience those interventions.
Schools create environments in which some sexual feelings, behaviors, and relationships are stigmatized, and this may have negative consequences for adolescents with nonheterosexual romantic attractions. This stigma can lead them to withdraw and disengage from school at a critical time of preparation for adulthood, which can compromise opportunities for future success. Previous research has demonstrated that sexual minority youth report greater levels of school-related problems, including a weaker sense of attachment to school and more trouble with teachers and peers. This lack of social integration is likely to affect their educational success. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the newly collected Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement study provide the first opportunity to fully explore whether and to what extent same-sex attracted youth enter adulthood with an educational disadvantage. In this study, we examine (1) whether same-sex attracted adolescents have lower levels of academic success, (2) if their lower academic success is explained by a lack of social integration at school, and (3) whether these relationships differ for boys and girls. Results suggest that same-sex attracted students, particularly boys, do suffer academically, and that this is in part a result of school-related problems and risk factors such as emotional distress and substance use; however, a great deal of the disadvantage fails to be explained by these factors. Additionally, while same-sex attracted boys show poorer academic performance, same-sex attracted girls do not, suggesting that gender may shape how sexual minority youth experience and respond to marginalizing school environments.
Educators have a responsibility to provide safe space, but gay and lesbian youth face particularly hostile environments. This initial study surveyed physical education teachers (n = 82) and young adults (n = 77) about their perceptions of homophobic and heterosexist behaviors within physical education and teachers' use of inclusive behaviors. Most teachers and both gay and straight students witnessed heterosexist and homophobic behavior, and most lesbian and gay students had personally experienced homophobic behavior. These data indicate that homophobic and heterosexist behaviors are common in secondary schools, that teachers intend to provide a safe space, and that techers fail to confront heterosexist or homophobic behaviors and take proactive steps to create an inclusive environment.
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