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Gay and Lesbian Youth

The authors summarized how gay and lesbian youth become victims of hate and discrimination at school and in their communities, victims of rejection and violence from their families, and victims of self-destructive behaviors from learned self-hatred. They challenged educators to develop the capacity to build an equitable climate for all students, regardless of their affectional orientation or their family composition.

 
Guidelines for Health Education include:
  1. Don't "medicalize" homosexuality by limiting the mention of gay/lesbian issues to health and HIV prevention curricula.
  2. Avoid "sexualizing" or defining homosexuality only by sexual activity; heterosexuals do not define themselves by their sex lives.
  3. In HIV and AIDS education, all students need to recognize risk-taking behaviors; worldwide, heterosexual transmission is significant.
  4. Reduce "them" versus "us" thinking and behavior. In-service can help educators reflect on their own biases, deal with their feelings, and recognize actions that covertly reinforce stereotypical ideas about homosexuality.
Characteristics of successful school programs include:
  1. Keep disclosure in confidence; students have been injured when school counselors told parents.
  2. Use inclusive language, e.g., "parent" (not mother, father), "seeing anyone" or "date" (not boy or girlfriend), that conveys acceptance.
  3. Include gay and lesbian issues in discussing multicultural issues.
  4. Establish and enforce policies that protect students from harassment, violence and discriminatory jokes or slurs by adults or students.
  5. Support students whose families include people who are gay or lesbian.

    An extensive listing of resources for educators and books for adolescents is included. For example, the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development's Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues in Education Network (510-642-7329) helps school administrators, and helpful websites include glstn.org and glsen.org.

    (Giorgis C et al. J Health Educ 2000;31(1):28-36)

    COMMENT: The painful facts that gay and lesbian youth are more likely to attempt suicide or leave school to avoid ill treatment by adults, not just peers, call for educational leadership to teach that hatred and intolerance are unacceptable. --J.O.

     

     

     

     

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