Bullying of Gay and Lesbian Students - Essay Example

Bullying of gay and lesbian (school) Bullying of Gay and Lesbian Bullying is one of the most common occurrences in schools.It is often carried out against students who do not fit the conventional molds of society. Hence, most people who are bullied are those who are different or who appear different. Since gays and lesbians do not fit the conventional gender categories of society, they too are the main targets of bullying. These students are often subjected to name calling, including derogatory labels like, “homo” and “faggot.

” These students often feel threatened, and as a result, their fears cause them to carry guns or other weapons to school (Safe Schools Coalition, p. 1). It is also unfortunate that these students are also physically injured and threatened by other students because of their sexual orientation. The distress of these bullied students is not exactly attributed to their sexual orientation, but to the hatred and prejudice against their sexual orientation (Norton and Vare, p. 327). As a result of this bullying, these students are two to three times more likely to attempt and eventually commit suicide (Chase).

The education of these students is significantly affected by bullying. For the most part, these students are unable to receive adequate education due to intense bullying from other students (Chase). This bullying may sometimes escalate because the students are often embarrassed to report the cruelties they are experiencing. Due to bullying, they are often likely to skip school. Surveys indicate that gay and lesbian students often skip school for fear of being physically injured by other students and for fear of being targeted by bullies through taunts and name-calling.

According to 2001 statistics, about 28% of these students would likely drop out of school, this is more than three times the average for heterosexual students (Chase). These students often feel like they have nowhere to turn; and that there are no supportive adults in their school or community who can assist them, who can stop the bullying, or who can lend emotional support. When the 18 year old gay Rutgers student Tyler Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge, he caused a national uproar and a stark focus on gay bullying.

Because of this incident, media focus on the issue of lesbian and gay bullying has been brought to the forefront of other controversial issues (Rogers). For a while, these issues have not been discussed openly, and now, Clementi’s death gave much needed attention to the issue, with interest groups, as well as schools setting forth major policy changes to prevent bullying among lesbian and gay students (Rogers). However, these policies are still not extensive enough, and they have not found an application deep enough to cut through the culture of homophobia in many members of the society.

In effect, even as policies are in place to penalize or punish bullies, these policies do not adequately prevent bullying acts against gay and lesbian students. It is also important to note how the culture of the school is tied in with the bullying of gay and lesbian students. In some ways, it has a lot to do on whether or not the school is known to be a sports school. Sports are beneficial activities for students; however, studies indicate that the largest percentage of homophobia is seen in the sports department of schools (Rogers).

The school leadership also plays an important role addressing the bullying issue with issues of respect and non-tolerance for gay slurs. In effect, school administrators need to provide strong leadership and a culture of respect and tolerance in order to prevent bullying of gay and lesbian students. School teachers need to lead by example, by not resorting to name-calling and bullying of these lesbian and gay students themselves (Cole, p. 104). Moreover, school teachers need to be properly trained in the various methods which help identify the bullied students and the bullies themselves (Cole, p. 105). These teachers also need to undergo training in the proper handling these bullies, as well as the bullied students.

By applying these methods, it is possible to limit the bullying activities to a more manageable level. Works Cited Chase, A. “Violent Reaction; What do Teen Killers have in Common?” In These Times. 2001. 19 July 2011 from http://surge.ods.org/idle_other/violent_reactions.htm Cole, M. “Education, equality and human rights: issues of gender, 'race', sexuality, special needs and social class”. New York: Routledge Norton, T. & Vare, J. "Understanding Gay and Lesbian Youth: Sticks, Stones, and Silence.

” Lexis Nexis. 2002. The Clearing House, volume 71, number 6, pp. 327-331 Rogers, T. “Explaining American schools' gay bullying epidemic”. Salon.com. 2010. 19 July 2011 from http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2010/12/12/lgbt_bullying_interview Safe Schools Coalition. “Anti-Gay Bullying: What’s the Big Deal?”. (n.d). 18 July 2011 from http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/Anti-GayBullying_whats-theBigDeal.pdf