(I’ve been meaning to write about these books for a while, and back-to-school time is giving me the motivation I need.)
Ongoing incidents of students (and teachers!) harassing LGBTQ students, students perceived to be LGBTQ, and children of LGBTQ parents are one of the scariest and most frustrating things for me as a parent. I take hope, however, not only in the fact that more parents are organizing to prevent this, but that these students are sharing the stories of their experiences.
Two recent books have compiled many of these stories, and are highly recommended resources for parents, schools, libraries, religious congregations, and anyone involved with youth today.
Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America
, edited by Mitchell Gold (of furniture fame), tells tales of discrimination and rejection by religious communities, families, schools, and the workplace, and the unfathomable pain of losing a child to hate. Writers include well known names like out politicians Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, and James McGreevey, LGBT leaders like HRC’s Joe Solmonese and Candace Gingrich, GLAAD’s Neil Giuliano, and PFLAG’s Jody Huckabee. There are bloggers and journalists like Lane Hudson and Matt Comer, business leaders like Bruce Bastian and Bob Witeck, and actors like Richard Chamberlain and Alec Mapa. The stories are all moving and well told. If the authors lean towards the famous, they nevertheless give youth the hope that they can overcome their obstacles and succeed in almost any endeavor.
For those wanting a less celebrity-strewn look at LGBTQ youth today, Out With It: Gay and Straight Teens Write About Homosexuality
, ed. Al Desetta, is a great choice. The slim volume is a publication of Youth Communication, a nonprofit journalism training program that publishes magazines and books by teens. The authors are mostly gay and lesbian teens, but also include several straight allies and family members, including the straight sister of a lesbian, a straight boy adopted by a gay man, and a teen discovering that his Catholic priest was leaving the Church to live with his partner. There is a nice mix of racial diversity in the book as well. The only celebrity of note is Gina Trapani, founding editor of über-blog Lifehacker (now blogging at Smarterware), who submitted a story she wrote when she was 17.
Crisis, with its range of authors looking back on their youth, offers the benefit of hindsight and experience. Out With It has the immediacy of teens writing about their lives not so long ago. The books complement each other well, and should both be part of any diversity collection.
Related
