Anti-bullying Policy: A Hidden Agenda?

In a response to evidence that an increasing number of homosexual students have been victims of bullying, many school districts across the country are working to enhance current stringent anti-harassment rules with lessons in tolerance, teaching students early on that having “two moms” is acceptable and that some children will grow up to love members of the same gender. 

Yet there is ongoing debate as to whether or not these efforts to promote tolerance merely promote and endorse the lifestyle. A Montana pastor, for example, stated during a sermon that “we do not want the minds of our children to be polluted with the things of a carnal-minded society.” Still other parents argue that children at a very young age are not ready to hear explicit language regarding sexual activities and thus it should be left out of any discussion of tolerance in the classroom. 

Our Overview of the Recent New York Times Article on this can be found here. 

Also, what can popular musicians do to impact tolerance in public schools?

Is life getting better for gay teens? The answer, it seems, is yes and no. According to Joseph Kahn of the Boston Globe: “While physical assaults on gay teens may be declining overall — thanks to many factors, including tougher antibullying laws and more support systems for high schoolers who choose to “come out’’ — there’s ample evidence, too, that bullying and intolerance remain part of their daily lives.”

One of the many efforts to reach out to at-risk gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (known as GLBT) youth is a project known as the It Gets Better Initiative (found on the web at http://www.itgetsbetter.org/) in which concerned adults, including President Obama, have been posting messages telling GLBT youth that they are not alone in their struggles. 

Schools and Anti-Gay Bullying: The Ongoing Debate

The recent surge in teen suicides linked to anti-gay harassment, including that of an 18-year-old student from Rutgers University, is prompting much discussion, particularly around the issue of preventing bullying before it starts. The major and perhaps most public conflict among those in the debate is an ideological one: while Gay-rights supporters “insist that any effective anti-bullying program must include specific components addressing harassment of gay youth,” religious conservatives see this approach as a tactic used to sway teen’s views of homosexuality.

While some believe that bullying policy “should put emphasis on the wrong actions of the bullies and not on the characteristics of the victims” others see this approach as being dangerous. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, for example, holds strongly to the belief that policies “have to name the problem in order to have an impact.”

Yet while the debate rolls on regarding what effective anti-bullying programs look like, what is absolutely clear is that something needs to be done. In 2009 a survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) found that only 18 percent of the 7,261 students surveyed attended schools which had a comprehensive anti-gay-bullying program. 

Read more on this issue here.