A study that I read about online that was conducted in Britain, followed 4,000 gay and lesbian teens from 2003-2010 found that bullying does decline dramatically over time just as the video, "It Gets Better" stated. Throughout the seven year study the cultural acceptance of gays and the intolerance for bullying by no doubt has affected the results of the study. The researchers also stated that bullying is more of an issue for young gay men. By the time a gay man is 19 and 20 years old they are more than four times as likely to be bullied than a straight peer. In this Britain study Robinson stated the fact that masculine tendencies in girls and women are more culturally acceptable than femininity in boys and men. This obviously is reflected in the study. I am glad to read that gay and lesbians have less issues as they get older but that still does not make what they live through acceptable, especially through adolescence. But, I feel as a person grows older, they become more accepting of themselves which helps in so many ways and with so many issues.
Elze, D. E. (2003). Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths' perceptions of their high school environments and comfort in school. Children & Schools. 25(4), 225-226.
Tanner, l. (2013). It really does get better for gay teens: bullying declines with age, new long-term study finds. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com
I have seen in my high school that this was true, but I am glad to hear that it really is getting better. Even young men who are not gay, but are seen as "too feminine" are often times made to be the object of jokes: "oh he must be gay, he just doesn't know it yet" etc. Why is it so hard for society to accept that some people are more feminine and others more masculine, since we know from our text that these are social constructs anyway? I have even caught myself making the same types of assumptions, though I am trying very hard to be more open-minded.
ReplyDeleteI was at a dodgeball tournament at my son's school recently, and a 6th grade girl whom I recognized as being a former classmate's of my son's was participating. She was really looking like a boy and it took me awhile to figure out what gender she was. She was developing but looked like she might have had a couple of sports bras on to hide her breasts; also using a slouching posture to sort of hide any female form. She had short hair and it was standing up in and had dark purple tips, very masculine style. She strutted like a boy and all of her gestures were masculine. I was fascinated watching her interact with her all female team and could not take my eyes off of her. I was wondering so many things, is this a gender issues, is she stuck in the wrong body? Was it a sexuality issue, is she a lesbian? I also felt for her, as I know it is so hard to be different. It also made me wonder if our local high school has a LBGT club to support these kids.
ReplyDelete