Homophobic Bullying: Article in The Guardian

[Flannen]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/10/homophobia-pupil-behaviour

This is quite a long article but it is really interesting.

I was outraged and deeply saddened when I read it, especially as I am going in to the field of teaching.

What do you guys think?

I'll be back later to highlight some of the bits that really angered me!

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

"The homophobic expression, 'that's so gay' and others of that type are so commonplace that there is not enough time to challenge every utterance," said one secondary teacher in the south-west, who responded to the survey.

"Thats so gay" is tolerated here, even defended.
I should know, a fair few months ago, when I tackled someones use of it, a MOD defended its use and then started an argument with me on my VM wall.

Doesn't matter if they meant it as something else, it is born from a homophobic attack, it is taking "you're gay" and making it VERY negative - thus perpetuating the idea that being gay is negative, it is wrong.

On the article itself, I did used to use that word myself and had it used against me. I used it because everyone used it. Had someone in my early teens told me that it was actually alot more hurtful then I realised, I PROBABLY would have stopped (because I was also a teenager trying to fit in, I MIGHT have continued using it - who can say?).
It wasn't until I really fell into the gay community that I began to understand how it was just as oppressive to say that, and 'queer', in that context as words such as racially aggressive ones.

The Conservative Party, incidentally the Party I vote for, were the creators of one of the most oppressive pieces of legislation this country has faced in the last 30 years, they pushed (with the help of the other parties, I must point out also) Section 28 through.

I do feel that I should point out that it was a cross party vote that got section 28 into our 'schools' - bigots were, and indeed sadly are, everywhere, and while the Conservative Party championed it and will forever be the party that passed this piece of legislation (and its quite right that they are seen as that party) it was a joint effort that as a whole SHOULD have no place in our society now, in 2009.

I volunteer for a Party affiliated group called 'LGBTory' which was born out of an idea from members, not from the politicians, and it represents the people in the party that want to show the change in our mindset. I have been to many events on behalf of this and must say, while we're still a long way from the equality, we're closer than ever before - we do need people standing up and saying "you can't say that" or "you can't do that", especially in schools (and workplaces) because its on those impressionable minds that you will HELP eradicate things like this.

Bullying will ALWAYS continue, anyone who thinks otherwise is sadly naive, but if you can educate a few from the masses that something is wrong, that will inevitably decrease the pool in which people can use to find offensive words to attack.

Homophobia, like racism, is bred not born.

 

[Flannen]

Doesn't matter if they meant it as something else, it is born from a homophobic attack, it is taking "you're gay" and making it VERY negative - thus perpetuating the idea that being gay is negative, it is wrong.

I completely agree with you on this. You never see 'gay' being used to describe something good, which is funny considering the original use of the term in the English language, it is always used in order to say that something is bad/wrong/annoying etc.

I volunteer for a Party affiliated group called 'LGBTory' which was born out of an idea from members, not from the politicians, and it represents the people in the party that want to show the change in our mindset. I have been to many events on behalf of this and must say, while we're still a long way from the equality, we're closer than ever before - we do need people standing up and saying "you can't say that" or "you can't do that", especially in schools (and workplaces) because its on those impressionable minds that you will HELP eradicate things like this.

This sounds really encouraging.

Bullying will ALWAYS continue, anyone who thinks otherwise is sadly naive, but if you can educate a few from the masses that something is wrong, that will inevitably decrease the pool in which people can use to find offensive words to attack.

Homophobia, like racism, is bred not born.

I do, sadly, completely agree with you that bullying will always go on; even though I absolutely hate it!

But what annoys me the most, is that because of people's own personal prejudices, most schools are not willing to try and deal with homophobic bullying in the way they do with other types of bullying. The same could also be said for the media I guess. Happy-slapping, cyber-bullying and more recently bullying of a more sexual nature, has been quite apparent within the media in recent years, homophobic bullying however, is not.

Which puts me in a worrying position, because when I am a teacher, I simply WILL NOT tolerate this, or any type of bullying in my classroom, which the article seems to suggest, could actually put me in quite a difficult position.

I just think its really sad, that people aren't prepared to try and make kids lives in schools better for than them, or help them with bullying it is involves homophobia because of their own narrow minds.

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

I would suggest you don't believe everything that Labours Progaganda Paper writes (just like I would say the same for the Conservatives Telegraph).

I went to a school recently in West London, invited by the head teacher due to my role in LGBTory.

This was a very tough school and the teachers seemed open and willing to deal with homophobic bullying - and trust me, this was a BAD school.

These articles, while having some shocking information, are trying to get you to vote in favour of a party.
Its a sad fact that this is happening, but certain media outlets are just extended arms of a political agenda.

The merest mention of something like section 28 along with homophobic bullying and such is designed to say 'under a Conservative Govt, this is what you can expect more of'.

Stonewall, whom I've had alot of dealings with myself, do a great job alot of the time, but they too still have their prejudices.

My suggestion is this.

If you're gonna be a teacher, be the best that you can, don't ignore the injustices and if EVER you are in a position where you find something you don't agree with, contact someone in authority who will back you.

 

[Flannen]

That is pretty damn good advice, thank you. I don't want to find myself in a position where I jump straight in and end up with the whole staff, governors and parents disagreeing with me, now do I!

I didn't actually think about the Labour thing with the Guardian, I don't know why, feel a bit daft now 🙂

The article did say that some schools were actively trying to do something, so maybe there is hope yet. If other schools see how successful these ones have been then they will hopefully be more inclined to do the same.

I do understand where some of the teachers are coming from; that they want a strict policy on how to deal with it. As you said, homophobia is bred, more than likely from the home and I can understand they fear that a homophobic parent isn't going to take too kindly to their child being punished.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

Much of that article wasn't particularly surprising to me. It is interesting to see it from the view of the teachers, however. I'd never really considered how precarious their position could really be.

There was one statistic that shocked me, however:

This reflects Stonewall's findings in its previous research into pupils' attitudes to homosexuality, The School Report, which showed that half of gay pupils had heard homophobic remarks from school staff.

From primary age kids, it's all about the reaction. From teenagers, it's usually about fitting in. But from the staff? Well, if half of all black children had heard racist remarks from them...

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

I have my moments, particularly when its something I know a little bit about!

The simple answer is this, you WILL face prejudice from everywhere over anything (my own father tried to force me and my school to not take religious studies dealing with other religions in school - though I didn't comply with his wishes).
As a teacher you shouldn't take your bias into a class, be it political, racial, sexual preference or favourite member of Take That - you are there to educate people to allow them to form their own opinions.

If you see someone oppressing someone else, you have a duty to step in - if you don't find the support you require immediately at your disposal, you will find it further afield and trust me, when THAT support has to be called in, all the head teachers, govenors and parents can say what they like, if they oppose it (taking the wrong stance) they will be dealt with - be it fired, asked to step down or children requested to go somewhere else, and NO ONE will want that.


As for the Labour Propaganda thing - well the only reason it occurred to me was because on a daily basis I have to read articles from a political point of view.


You SEEM to have good instincts and a postive values system - trust in them and yourself and you'll be fine.

---------- Post added at 05:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 PM ----------

From primary age kids, it's all about the reaction. From teenagers, it's usually about fitting in. But from the staff? Well, if half of all black children had heard racist remarks from them...

Pinch of salt - I have never once in my life heard a teacher make a comment like that.

HOWEVER, when I was at school, if someone came to me and said:
"Hey, have you ever heard Miss Burkinshaw say something bad about someone else"
I can assure you I would have said 'Yes' just because I thought it was funny.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

Pinch of salt - I have never once in my life heard a teacher make a comment like that.

HOWEVER, when I was at school, if someone came to me and said:
"Hey, have you ever heard Miss Burkinshaw say something bad about someone else"
I can assure you I would have said 'Yes' just because I thought it was funny.

Well of course. And neither have I. But I acknowledge that I came from a very good school when it comes to things like bullying and prejudice. I'm going to give Stonewall at least a little of the benefit of the doubt though, and even with exaggeration, that statistic should be nowhere near that high.

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

Well of course. And neither have I. But I acknowledge that I came from a very good school when it comes to things like bullying and prejudice. I'm going to give Stonewall at least a little of the benefit of the doubt though, and even with exaggeration, that statistic should be nowhere near that high.

See, where as I grew up on a council estate in Leeds, in a school that was voted one of the worst in the country.

Sure I heard plenty of pupils making these comments, but never a teacher - and the one time I remember a student saying anything like that in class he was asked to stand outside for 10 minutes then the teacher (nicknamed the Dragon) shouted at him so violently that the usual smirks of students when someone is getting told off, were none existent and we felt his pain.

I'm not gonna say that Stonewall made this up because I don't live in a world of puppy dogs and ice cream (well I do live in a world where they exist but its not predominently them), but I am also not gonna say I trust their figures completely because they run on donations and government grants and as long as it seems to be a BIG problem, they get more money to do things (as with any NGO).

It is in their best interest to say the world isn't as pleasant as it actually is.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

See, where as I grew up on a council estate in Leeds, in a school that was voted one of the worst in the country.

Sure I heard plenty of pupils making these comments, but never a teacher - and the one time I remember a student saying anything like that in class he was asked to stand outside for 10 minutes then the teacher (nicknamed the Dragon) shouted at him so violently that the usual smirks of students when someone is getting told off, were none existent and we felt his pain.

I'm not gonna say that Stonewall made this up because I don't live in a world of puppy dogs and ice cream (well I do live in a world where they exist but its not predominently them), but I am also not gonna say I trust their figures completely because they run on donations and government grants and as long as it seems to be a BIG problem, they get more money to do things (as with any NGO).

It is in their best interest to say the world isn't as pleasant as it actually is.

Sooo....you're saying you didn't grow up in a school that was bad for it then. Sure, it might have been bad for other things, but it's not exactly representative of that kind of school if you can only remember one incident that was dealt with immediately.

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

Sooo....you're saying you didn't grow up in a school that was bad for it then. Sure, it might have been bad for other things, but it's not exactly representative of that kind of school if you can only remember one incident that was dealt with immediately.

I'm saying I went to a school which was one of the worst in the country, it had every kind of bullying and teachers who, for the most part, didn't give a damn.

I'm saying that from the experience I have had, not just in my schooling but in schools I have visited and worked with (and students I have talked to through my time as a LGBT counselor) I have not heard anything even remotely that would add credence to "half of gay pupils had heard homophobic remarks from school staff" and with the amount of people I have been involved with, if it WAS half, then I would have discovered it by now - the chances that I am hitting the 50% that don't get this abuse is very unlikely when you factor in how many connections I have made (and this is country wide, not city/school specific).

 

[Flannen]

I think 50% is a high statistic but I think it would naive to think that there hasn't been cases of teachers making comments, although I know neither of you are saying that!

There are always teachers that will abuse the power that they have, as there is with an position of authority. But, out of all the teachers in this country, even worldwide, the number of these power-mad teachers is very small. As EB says, there probably has been instances that have been blown way out of proportion.

One of my best mates at school was always called the 'gay' kid. He had quite a high voice, was quite dramatic and he always hung around with girls, and he used to get so much hassle at school and I just think how much better his high school life would have been if it could have been confronted by members of staff.

I also think the fact that its moving in to primary schools is quite a scary prospect. People always ask me if I'm crazy when I say I'm going into teaching secondary school age, but to be honest I think primary schools are pretty scary now too!

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

I also think the fact that its moving in to primary schools is quite a scary prospect. People always ask me if I'm crazy when I say I'm going into teaching secondary school age, but to be honest I think primary schools are pretty scary now too!

It absolutely happens, I have no doubt about that, I'm just not convinced with figures from an unbiased source.

The problem is, you can't actually argue the figures because everyone in the studies are kept 'anonymous' and the people who did it are the ones that benefit directly from this outcome.

As for 'moving' into primary school, well kids at that age simply repeat things.

I am sure what they are saying they don't know what it means, they are simply repeating what others have said, be it parents, older siblings or family friends.

This is why it is NOT appropriate for the term 'gay' to be used as a negative comment, even in places like this!

 

[Flannen]

I completely agree with you.

I think people underestimate what a difference can be made, if people tried to do a very small thing such as not using 'gay' to describe something negative. You've got to start somewhere.

I tell you what did make me laugh in the article; I think its quite near the beginning around the bit about Ian McKellen and there's a quote from a boy saying 'I realised gays are people too' - I was like, um yes! What did you think they were? Better later than never though I guess.

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

I completely agree with you.

I think people underestimate what a difference can be made, if people tried to do a very small thing such as not using 'gay' to describe something negative. You've got to start somewhere.

I tell you what did make me laugh in the article; I think its quite near the beginning around the bit about Ian McKellen and there's a quote from a boy saying 'I realised gays are people too' - I was like, um yes! What did you think they were? Better later than never though I guess.

I used to love Ian McKellan, then I met him at London Pride last year.

I have a picture on my FB of it too.

I was so excited to me marching at the front of the procession, with Ian McKellan just behind me, then when he found out I was there on behalf of the Tory party and told him we were part of the new wave of Tories who don't always agree with the party line on homosexuality (which is, in fairness the most progressive of all the parties BUT like the rest still treat the gay communities as something 'different') he got quite vile and mean.

I appreciate his 'anger' comes from years of being held back by things like Section 28, but to be so negative to a group of gay/bisexual/lesbian/trans people who have an aim to change the party and the perception of the party, just made me feel like he was as close minded as the people he fights against.

---------- Post added at 07:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:39 PM ----------

I like threads like this - allows me to get on my soapbox!

 

[JCC]

Homophobia is the most acceptable and widespread form of discrimination today, except for possibly for discrimination against muslims, which is constantly growing in popularity. This is sad, but not surprising.

 

[Flannen]

I used to love Ian McKellan, then I met him at London Pride last year.

I have a picture on my FB of it too.

I was so excited to me marching at the front of the procession, with Ian McKellan just behind me, then when he found out I was there on behalf of the Tory party and told him we were part of the new wave of Tories who don't always agree with the party line on homosexuality (which is, in fairness the most progressive of all the parties BUT like the rest still treat the gay communities as something 'different') he got quite vile and mean.

I appreciate his 'anger' comes from years of being held back by things like Section 28, but to be so negative to a group of gay/bisexual/lesbian/trans people who have an aim to change the party and the perception of the party, just made me feel like he was as close minded as the people he fights against.

That's a bit of a shame. And I'm not surprised it made you feel like that.

The only other that really annoyed me about the article was the quote from the Christian woman. Something along the lines of: 'If a student came out to me, I wouldn't have any sympathy for them.' Its people like her who make the rest of us look like judgemental rude words!

But then I can safely say that I know many others who DO NOT think like that.

A few people have said they aren't surprised by this. I'm not surprised about the homophobia but I am surprised about the attitude of some of these teachers! I mean, they're teachers!!
And that surprises me. If you hadn't noticed 😀

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

Homophobia is the most acceptable and widespread form of discrimination today, except for possibly for discrimination against muslims, which is constantly growing in popularity. This is sad, but not surprising.

Actually I would its equal or slightly more tolerated than being fat.

 

[Silum]

Homophobia is the most acceptable and widespread form of discrimination today

I think homophobia is the least of the worries many people face on this planet.

 

[BillyidolwannaB]

Do you think it will ever stop? Everybody i know says Thats Gay This's Gay, they never say bad or crap anymore, its always replaced by gay. They don't even think anythings wrong with it, even though they dont have a problem with gay folks. Like theyd say to a gay person stop being gay.