Today is the Day of Silence, when students from middle school to college take some form of a vow of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBTQ bullying and harassment. Once again, the day reminds me both of the challenges that still remain for LGBTQ youth and those with LGBTQ parents and of the amazing strides they’ve made since I was that age.
When I was at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Creating Change conference in January, I was struck by the number of teens and 20-somethings not only present, but present as representatives of their schools’ official Gay Straight Alliances or other organizations. Kids these days. I wondered if I would have come out in high school if I’d had the support of a student organization like that. Progress is afoot.
Things are even getting better in Minnesota, whose Anoka-Hennepin School District was sued several years ago after a spate of anti-gay bullying. On Wednesday, Governor Mark Dayton signed a stronger anti-bullying bill, which finally passed the state legislature after a two-year struggle.
Still, as Rethinking Schools notes in its latest issue, anti-bullying legislation is only one part of a broader social justice movement:
The terrain, in terms of legal rights and public conversation, is shifting rapidly, creating space for enormous advances in curriculum and school climate. At the same time, homophobia, misogyny, and other forms of hatred are alive and well, and even progressive schools and classrooms have a long way to go in creating nurturing spaces for students, parents, and staff who don’t conform to gender and/or sexuality “norms.” So how do we move forward?
They suggest several areas for our efforts: building community and safe places for students, creating safe places for LGBTQ teachers and staff to come out, and integrating LGBTQ people and history into the curriculum.
It’s a good prescription and a daunting challenge. My best reason for hope, however, is the bravery of all the students choosing to take part in the Day of Silence, both in supportive schools and otherwise. They are on the front lines, making the silence heard loud and clear.