Real Life Issues Curriculum Infusion for
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Students

Shannon Sullivan, MPH
Jennifer Valles
Coalition for Education on Sexual Orientation

Strengths and challenges of LGBTQ students

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth, are an important growing segment of the school population. Unfortunately, they face many obstacles in their development that their heterosexual peers do not. These obstacles are both internal and external. LGBTQ youth must deal with internalized homophobia and interpersonal oppression from their gay peers. Externally, LGBTQ youth face resistance from their heterosexual peers, school administration and staff, parents, and the state and federal governments. They frequently have no family members available, no school environment to support them, and transient or insufficient peer networks (Cochran et al, 2002). According to the 1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, at least six percent of youth ages 13 to 18 report same-sex attraction. Below, you will see how this segment of the youth population is left largely unguided, unprotected and unsupported.

Institutional Oppression

Currently, five states prevent the discussion of homosexuality in schools, or mandate that any references to homosexuality be exclusively negative (Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas). Only seven states and the District of Columbia have passed laws prohibiting discrimination of students based on their sexual orientation (California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, and Wisconsin) (Youth, 2006). According to the Human Rights Campaign, only three states and the District of Columbia have passed laws prohibiting discrimination of students based on their gender identity (California, Minnesota, and New Jersey). And private schools are generally exempt from anti-discrimination laws altogether.

In addition to most states allowing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, many schools are adopting abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula. These programs teach that sex outside the context of marriage, including sex between people of the same gender, is inherently dangerous, both physically and psychologically. As stated by the Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services in their grant proposal "throughout the entire curriculum, the term 'marriage' must be defined 'only as a legal union between one man and one woman as a husband and wife and the word 'spouse' refers to only a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife" (ACF, 2006). This curriculum completely ignores the existence of gay people and is overtly heterosexist. For example, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) reports that the new curricula teach that the expected standard for sexual activity is within the context of a mutually monogamous relationship between a man and a woman. The guidelines themselves mandate that "healthy human sexuality involves enduring fidelity, love, and commitment; human happiness and well-being, associated with a stable, loving marriage" (SIECUS, 2006) be taught. Abstinence-only curricula do not recognize, and therefore invalidate, LGBTQ relationships.

Many LGBTQ students are, as a result, left to carve out their own safe niche within the school setting. Most often, this takes the form of Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Clubs. GSAs are extracurricular clubs that, as noted above, serve as a safe and accepting space that provides support to LGBTQ youth and their heterosexual allies. These groups often launch school-wide educational initiatives and help to develop anti-harassment and anti-discrimination school policies.

Legally, if a school allows any other extracurricular club within the school setting, they must allow all extracurricular clubs - this includes GSAs. Many schools, however, do have ways of shutting down GSAs or not allowing them to start in the first place. LGBTQA students may face barriers such as not being able to locate a teacher to moderate the club, being required to get parental permission slips signed for students to participate in the club and having to be approved through a student vote process.

Peer, Parental and Internalized Oppression

Because of this lack of support and education, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth not only have no models to follow at this time, but they also experience very high levels of distress because of the negative feelings towards them that exist among their straight peers (GLADD, 2006). Parents are often unwilling to accept gay children and as many as 26% of our youth are kicked out of their homes for being gay (Connoley, 2006). The National Network of Runaway and Youth Services has estimated that 20-40% of youths who become homeless each year are lesbian, gay, or bisexual (Lambda, 2001), many teachers are prohibited from "coming out" in our schools, and as noted above, many states actively work against LGBTQ people and their rights.

Aside from factors external to the LGBTQ youth community, there also internal factors this group must face. LGBTQ youth are exposed to the same messages as the heterosexual population. This can and does result in internalized and interpersonal oppression. The results of these oppressions can be severe. For example, internalized oppression can lead to feelings of alienation, despair, low self-esteem, self-destructive behavior, and substance abuse (Nicoloff & Stiglitz, 1987). A 2003 study by the Addiction Research Institute showed that 44% of GLB youth reported substance use within the past 30 days, with the highest proportion among bisexual youth, 50%. Additionally, the 2003 Chicago Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data shows that LGB youth were almost two times more likely to suffer from depression (52% vs. 31%) and almost three times more likely to report attempting suicide in the past year (32% vs. 11%) compared to heterosexual peers.

Peer, parental and internalized oppression, independently or in any combination can, for some youth, lead to reparative therapy (also known as reorientation or conversion therapy). Reparative therapy is a formal attempt to change a person's sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. This is largely a religious-based movement, led in most cases by self-defined "ex-gays," and the therapy is focused on developing intimate, non-sexual relationships with people of the same gender. In addition, prayer and religious conversion are often used as parts of the therapy as well. For youth, therapy can include being sent off to a reparative therapy camp, usually for a few weeks, sometimes for a summer, where their interaction with the outside world is cut off. During camp, youth are also generally not allowed any physical interaction with people of the same sex that could be perceived as sexual (i.e. hugs) nor are they allowed to dress outside of traditional gender norms, regardless of what feels good or natural to them.

In reparative therapy homosexuality is often referred to as "Same Sex Attraction" (SSA) and gender identity "confusion" or gender identity disorder (GID) is frequently noted to be the beginning of developing SSA. Due to assumptions like the above heterosexual students who choose to express themselves in non-gender conforming ways are often perceived as homosexual and bullied along with LGBTQ youth. They may also be targeted for reparative therapy.

In rural Illinois the majority of public school students interviewed in a study by the Coalition for Education on Sexual Orientation reported that they would never come out if they realized they were gay, due to safety concerns. LGBTQ youth are often denied the chance to experience the same coming-of-age activities, such as first kisses, dating and school dances, that non-LGBTQ youth experience without struggle, fear and/or retaliation from their peers and the school community at large. Education, networking and support are often left up to the youth themselves who generally face resistance in their efforts.

Vulnerability to Real Life Issues

Substance Abuse

Tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs are commonly used, among all populations, as a coping mechanism for dealing with life stressors. According to the Chicago Public School Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, however, LGB youth experience a significantly higher rate of substance abuse. Tobacco use, both due to the intense targeting of the LGBT community by the tobacco industry and to its easy accessibility, is particularly high. Organizations such as the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals (NALGAP) attribute this to intensified personal and cultural stressors resulting from homophobia (Alcohol, 2006).

Ostracism, Bullying and Violence

Harassment and attacks on youth because of perceived or actual differences in sexual orientation and gender identity are rampant problems nationwide. GLSEN Chicago, which provides support and structure to more than 40 high school Gay Straight Alliances in the Chicago metropolitan area, has found that 100% of the students they work with report verbal harassment; about 70% report name-calling; about 20% report physical harassment, especially things like getting tripped or shoved into lockers in the halls. The slurs "fag" and "that's so gay", and "faggot" go uninterrupted by adults in the schools. It has been reported by the National Mental Health Association that youth hear these slurs about 26 times a day or once every 14 minutes (NMHA, 2006)

According to the 2003 Chicago YRBS, LGB youth were three times more likely to skip school in the past month because of feeling unsafe (33% vs. 11%), almost two times more likely to report being in a fight at school (32% vs. 17%), and three times more likely to report being the victim of a sexual assault (26% vs. 8%).

Mental Health

Data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), collected in high schools nationwide by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicates that students who identify as LGBTQ, or engage in same-sex sexual behavior, are four times more likely to experience violence at school, and have higher rates of depression and school failure. A study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health found that approximately 40 percent of gay, lesbian and bisexual students attempted suicide compared to approximately 7 percent of their heterosexual peers (Massachusetts, 2003).

HIV/AIDS Risk

Unfortunately, there is no official data that indicates the risk of HIV infection for LGBTQ youth. Much of the relevant data is focused on young men who sleep with men (MSM). MSM often do not identify as homosexual. MSM who do not identify as homosexual or do not publicly disclose their sexual orientation are less likely to seek out HIV testing and are more likely to have one or more female sexual partners and, as a result, infect both men and women.

In regards to youth, the majority of the data collected has focused on male youth of color. According to the CDC, African American youth are the largest youth group (ages 13-24) affected by HIV, accounting for 56% of all HIV infections. African American youth also represent the largest group of youth living in poverty (Diaz, et al, 1994). Studies have found a direct relationship between higher AIDS incidence and lower income, poverty and/or homelessness. There is also a direct correlation between the risk of HIV infection and the lack of access to high-quality health care people living in poverty face (Dittus, 2004).

Principles for design and implementation of real life issues curriculum infusion

Teachers

• Protect LGBTQ students from harassment and abuse in the same way other students are protected.
  
  
• Encourage gay-straight alliances in the schools and make schools safer for LGBT and questioning students and the children of LGBT parents, through safe school initiatives.
  
  
• Do not teach abstinence-only sex education or promote heterosexuality as the only moral and viable norm in schools. Instead, promote abstinence in the context of age-appropriate sex education, which also provides information on how to use contraception to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.
  
  
• Utilize social justice theory in classrooms in order to teach understanding, acceptance and respect for all people, including the LGBTQ community.
  
  
• Help to implement safe-spaces for students. Educate yourself on issues LGBTQ students face in schools, such as harassment in the locker rooms and bathrooms
  
  
• Recognize that there is no literature and virtually no positive images of the LGBTQ community. Incorporate positive messages about the LGBTQ community when appropriate and do not be afraid to mention when popular figures you are studying are LGBTQ.
  
  
• Recognize that LGBTQ students are facing a host of stressors, including threats to their personal safety, in addition to the stressors that come with just being a youth. Do not immediately write them off for fighting, missing class or skipping school altogether.
  
  
• Youth are "coming out" younger and younger every year. Currently the average "coming out" age is 16. Do not assume because a student is young (under 16) they cannot be LGBT or Q.
  
  

Administrators


• Protect LGBTQ students from harassment and abuse in the same way other students are protected.
  
  
• Treat students equally and handle all abuse complaints in the same way.
  
  
• Make sure that school employees do not ignore harassment or discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.
  
  
• Train all staff on how to create safe schools for LGBTQ youth.
  
  
• Work with upper-level school administration to design and implement a system to field and handle complaints based on the protection of sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy.
  
  
• Encourage gay-straight alliances in the schools and make schools safer for LGBT and questioning students and the children of LGBT parents, through safe school initiatives.
  
  
• Do not teach abstinence-only sex education and do not promote heterosexuality as the only moral and viable norm in schools. Instead, promote abstinence in the context of age-appropriate sex education, which also provides information on how to use contraception to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.
  
  
• Help to implement safe-spaces for students. Educate yourself on issues LGBTQ students face in schools, such as harassment in the locker rooms and bathrooms.
  
  
• Recognize that LGBTQ students are facing a host of stressors, including threats to their personal safety, in addition to the stressors that come with just being a youth. Do not immediately write them off for fighting, missing class or skipping school altogether.
  
  
• Youth are "coming out" younger and younger every year. Currently the average "coming out" age is 16. Do not assume because a student is young (under 16) they cannot be LGBT or Q.
  
  
  Allies
  
  
• Do not discriminate against LGBTQ students based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
  
  
• Encourage gay-straight alliances in the schools and make schools safer for LGBT and questioning students and the children of LGBT parents, through safe school initiatives.
  
  
• Help to implement safe-spaces for students. Educate yourself on issues LGBTQ students face in schools, such as harassment in the locker rooms and bathrooms.
  
  
• Recognize that LGBTQ students are facing a host of stressors, including threats to their personal safety, in addition to the stressors that come with just being a youth. Do not immediately write them off for fighting, missing class or skipping school altogether.
  
  
• Youth are "coming out" younger and younger every year. Currently the average "coming out" age is 16. Do not assume because a student is young (under 16) they cannot be LGBT or Q.
  
  

Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Problems and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
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Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. Youth In the Margins: A Report on Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adolescents in Foster Care. 2001. (Pamphlet.)

Massachusetts High School Students and Sexual Orientation Results of the 2003 Youth
Risk Behavior Survey. Massachusetts Department of Public Heath 2003. Online.
05 April 2006. < http://www.mass.gov/gcgly/yrbs03.pdf>

Nicoloff, LK; Stiglitz, E. 1987. Lesbian alcoholism: Etiology, treatment, and recovery. 
Boston Lesbian Psychologies Collective, eds. Lesbian Psychologies. Chicago:
University of Illinois Press. Pp. 283-293.

Padilla, Yolanda C., et al. “Social Risk Factors Associated with Substance Abuse Among
Gay and Lesbian Youth”. Addiction Research Institute 2003. Online. 6 Apr 2006.
<www.utexas.edu/research/cswr/nida/Padillapage.html>

Revamped Federal Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs Go Extreme. Sexuality
Information and Education Council of the United States 16 Feb 2006. Online. 29
Feb 2006.  <http://www.siecus.org/media/press/press0124.html>

Summary of States, Cities, and Counties Which Prohibit Discrimination Based on Sexual
Orientation. Lambda Legal 2006. Online. 28 Feb 2006.
<http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/resources.html?record=217>

Youth. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 2005-2006. Online. 5 March 2006.
http://www.thetaskforce.org/theissues/issue.cfm?issueID=13

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