Recently, my friends and I heard about the project by Dan Savage called "It Gets Better." I'm sure a lot of you are familar with Dan Savage, but for those of you who aren't, Dan Savage does a column in the City Pages and has indivduals write in for advice on love and sex.
Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller have launched a project and a national message for LGBT students and teenagers called "It Gets Better."
People from all over the nation are posting videos on youtube with the title "It Gets Better" and they share their experiences about being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Savage and Miller are doing this in reply to the spike in teen suicide that's been occuring around the nation regarding LGBT students. They are seeking to send a clear message of hope, and whatever you are experiencing now, whether it's rejection from your family, discrimination and bullying at school, or even thoughts of suicide, it will end.
Here is Dan and Terry's video:
At the end of class on Friday, Michelle asked us in more or less words, what happens when science does not appreciate individuals who do not fit into specific categories? Well, I think there's a chain reaction.
I think that because science doesn't appreciate unique individuals or individuals who do not fit into certain categories, it makes it hard for society as a whole to appreciate them, which then, in return, makes it hard for individuals to appreciate themselves. I think that's one of the reason why we've seen a spike in suicide amongst LGBT students recently. A big part of society has a complete misunderstanding of this group of people, and because of that, they are often treated with discrimination and LGBT youth face bullying and harrassment at school. This has been an issue for a long time, but because of recent news headlines, it's sparked debate about whether or not schools are trained properly to handle these situations or if they are even obligated to.
So my question is; Where do we start? How do we begin to fix this gap we've let grow? How do we reach out to students/youth facing issues with being LGBT and also facing harrassment or discrimination?
Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller have launched a project and a national message for LGBT students and teenagers called "It Gets Better."
People from all over the nation are posting videos on youtube with the title "It Gets Better" and they share their experiences about being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Savage and Miller are doing this in reply to the spike in teen suicide that's been occuring around the nation regarding LGBT students. They are seeking to send a clear message of hope, and whatever you are experiencing now, whether it's rejection from your family, discrimination and bullying at school, or even thoughts of suicide, it will end.
Here is Dan and Terry's video:
At the end of class on Friday, Michelle asked us in more or less words, what happens when science does not appreciate individuals who do not fit into specific categories? Well, I think there's a chain reaction.
I think that because science doesn't appreciate unique individuals or individuals who do not fit into certain categories, it makes it hard for society as a whole to appreciate them, which then, in return, makes it hard for individuals to appreciate themselves. I think that's one of the reason why we've seen a spike in suicide amongst LGBT students recently. A big part of society has a complete misunderstanding of this group of people, and because of that, they are often treated with discrimination and LGBT youth face bullying and harrassment at school. This has been an issue for a long time, but because of recent news headlines, it's sparked debate about whether or not schools are trained properly to handle these situations or if they are even obligated to.
So my question is; Where do we start? How do we begin to fix this gap we've let grow? How do we reach out to students/youth facing issues with being LGBT and also facing harrassment or discrimination?
I think an answer to this problem could be sitting right in front of us: the media, the educational system, and the behavior of the rest of the world seem to be slowly moving opinions towards a more free point of view. I was speaking with a friend of mine last night who had just spent a year or so in Germany, and to my surprise, many European countries have no problem with gay marriage. Maybe I’m out of the loop, but this just made me realize how far removed the U.S.’s system of conduct is. I even heard about some prominent male political figure who just got legally partnered, or married, to another man, and from my friend’s description of the newspaper article he read, the headline read as if he had wed a woman; it’s not even an issue over there.
However, as I get older and older, the media seems to be gradually increasing its tolerance for homosexual themes. 40 years ago, the amount of sexually deviant people featured in television programming, etc. was quite a bit less than today. It seems the U.S. needs to ease into it; education is another example. In fact, this class is a great example. Years ago, this class wouldn’t have had a part in many curriculum, but I don’t doubt that its subjects are studied nation-wide. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re pretty bad now, in terms of acceptance, but we’re slowly getting used to the fact that oppression doesn’t really make everyone happy.