Students at schools and colleges across America observed National Coming Out Day yesterday, in a variety of ways all aimed at raising LGBT visibility. National Coming Out Day is celebrated every 11 October to mark the anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Equality. Over the past 20 years there have been several advances in LGBT civil rights, but perhaps the most noticeable change has been the number of people publicly identifying as gay. In the 1980s the average gay came out in college. Today it is in high school, and gay-straight alliances are springing up in high schools across the country. In 1997 there were 100 high school gay and lesbian groups. Now, there are more than 3,000 across the country in communities large and small. But young people in a several states still have problems organising LGBT student groups. This week the Okeechobee County, Florida, School Board tightened its rules governing clubs in a bid to block a GSA, despite anongoing federal lawsuit. Also, bullying and harassment of LGBT students continues to be a problem for many students across the country. A study released earlier this year by researchers at the Children's Hospital Boston Division of Adolescent Medicine found that lesbian and gay adolescents were three to four times more likely to report having been bullied than heterosexual teens. A 2005 study commissioned by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network found that three-quarters of students surveyed across America said that over the previous year they heard derogatory remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of tenreported hearing "that's so gay" or "you're so gay" - meaning stupid or worthless - frequently or often. Over a third of students said they experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of sexual orientation and more than a quarter on the basis of their gender expression. Nearly one-in-five students reported they had been physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation and over a tenth because of their gender expression. The study also showed that bullying has had a negative impact on learning. LGBT students were five times more likely to report having skipped school in the last month because of safety concerns than the general population of students. Ref: 365gay.com (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 12th October 2007 - 11:34am