Today is the Day of Silence, when many students from middle school to college choose not to speak, in order to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBTQ bullying and harassment. LGBTQ youth and those with LGBTQ parents still face challenges—but there are slow changes for the better.
The latest National School Climate Survey from GLSEN finds that “Schools nationwide are hostile environments for a distressing number of LGBT students. Seventy-four percent were verbally harassed in the past year because of their sexual orientation and 55 percent because of their gender expression.” This hostile climate can affect students’ academic success and mental health, but “students with LGBT-related resources and supports” not surprisingly report better experiences and success at school.
The good news is that things may be slowly changing. The number of LGBT students who reported having heard homophobic remarks regularly has dropped from over 80 percent in 2001 to about 60 percent in 2013 (the date of the GLSEN study).
Let’s not forget, though, that bullying because of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity is only one facet of an intersecting range of reasons a child might be bullied. Race-based bullying, for example, is still unfortunately alive and well, as we see from a recent incident in Michigan. And a set of reports from the GSA Network and Crossroads Collaborative shows that “LGBTQ youth, gender nonconforming youth, and youth of color not only face bullying and harassment from peers, but also harsh and disparate discipline from school staff, relatively higher levels of policing and surveillance, and blame for their own victimization.” The offer a number of suggestions for how teachers, administrators, and other students can better support LGBTQ and gender nonconforming youth of color.
As these student stories collected by middle school teacher Chad Donohue in Washington show, bullying for any reason hurts—but by valuing the voices of students, he says, teachers can show them they matter, and that can make a difference. Some students are showing others that they matter in turn. As one of his students said, “Be aware of those who are hurting. Reach out to them with compassion. Be brave, and don’t be afraid to stand up for others.”
Many students will be silent today, but we can help them all find their voices tomorrow. My deepest respect to those who are speaking out through their silence today.
