Alcoholism

Proms, Plays, & Yearbooks: Erasing queer lives from school

When schools block involvement of BGLQT students – what’s at stake?

Posted November 13, 2009

Recent school controversies around the country demonstrate how parents, administrators, and other school officials are harming students and teaching homophobia and intolerance.

In Mississippi the issue is a female student who wore a tuxedo instead of the "drape" designated for female students for her yearbook photo. Now the school is refusing to publish her senior photo in the yearbook. In Alabama, the conflict was around a lesbian student on the prom committee who asked to bring her girlfriend as her date. The school threatened to cancel the prom. In Nevada, controversy emerged over student productions of The Laramie Project and Rent: School edition. A judge had to rule against the parents to allow the productions to continue. Why do these youth frighten adults into these harmful responses? What's at stake when adults let their "values" actively exclude and harm young people?

What I really want to know is why are bisexual, gay, lesbian, queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming people so offensive to parents and school leaders that they are willing to completely silence, exclude, and erase students from these important rites of passage? These are students who are involved in school life. Cynthia Stewart, the student in Alabama, is on the prom committee and helped raise $200 for the event. Ceara Sturgis, in Mississippi, is a goalie on the soccer team, plays in the band, and is a member of the Students Against Destructive Decisions club at school. The students in Henderson, Nevada participate in the school plays on their own time of their own choosing - its not a mandatory part of the curriculum. These are good kids. Involved kids. Kids who want to create positive lasting memories with their peers. At school! Yet the adults in their community are telling them that who they are isn't good enough to be included, commemorated, or celebrated in school.

Perhaps the naysayers would rather that these youth were getting fake ID's and sneaking into bars? Or getting high in the back of a friend's car? Or meeting strangers online? What is at stake here is young people's need to belong and be recognized; for their identities to be supported and valued so they can develop a stronger sense of self and mature into healthy, successful adults. Teens are learning what we expect of citizens in our democratic society, and if that lesson is that they don't matter or certain identities are shameful, then we are perpetuating inequality in our society rather than teaching against it. If public schools that are meant to teach ALL young people the knowledge and skills they need to be effective adults are systematically excluding and marginalizing certain students then these institutions, and the society that depends on them, are failing. This alienation and exclusion can lead kids to question their self-worth which can lead to harmful and self-destructive behaviours such as drug and alcohol abuse, high-risk sexual behaviours, and skipping or dropping out of school.

Officially silencing and erasing the lives and stories of BGLQT and gender non-conforming people is unacceptable and we all lose out when our local schools try to quash the voices and experiences of their students.

Fortunately, there are some leading schools and school districts that are working hard to make sure students feel welcome, supported and included. I recently presented at a conference in Ottawa, Ontario called "Lead with Pride" that was designed to help BGLTQ youth develop leadership skills. It also had a stream targeted at teachers and counsellors in order to help them better understand the issues at stake and learn what they can do to support youth in their schools. The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, a national advocacy organization based in NYC, also has an amazing network of educators, youth leaders, and allies working across the U.S. to support efforts to make schools more inclusive of gender and sexual diversity issues. If you are experiencing similar issues in your community, chances are there are others who are already involved in working against sexism, homophobia, and transphobia and can help take action. For more information about local efforts, here are some websites you may want to explore:

www.glsen.org (USA) The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
www.egale.ca (Canada) Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere
www.stonewall.org.uk (UK)
www.pflag.org (USA & Canada) Parents, Friends, and Family of Lesbians and Gays

Thanks to the following bloggers for their posts on these topics: