Harsh Realities Finds Transgender Youth Face Extreme Harassment in School

[Butterfly]

Harsh Realities Finds Transgender Youth Face Extreme Harassment in School
GLSEN
March 17 2009


http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2388.html


NEW YORK, March 17, 2009 - Transgender youth face extremely high levels of victimization in school, even more so than their non-transgender lesbian, gay and bisexual peers. But they are also more likely to speak out about LGBT issues in the classroom, according to Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools, the first comprehensive study on transgender students, released today by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

[Shana A]

Harsh Realities For Transgender Students
by: Autumn Sandeen
Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 13:00:00 PM EDT

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9964

    We at [TransYouth Family Allies] are very grateful for this new publication exclusively outlining the struggles faced by transgender youth in America's schools. The results are sadly sobering, yet empowering. TYFA is empowered and inspired to take these results into schools and have better documentation to support our claims for the need of acceptance for all youth regardless of their gender identity or gender expression and the need for education for staff, students and administrators at all schools.

    This publication will be an extremely powerful tool in making positive changes. Please the time to read it and share it with others. Knowledge + Education= Power.

    --Shannon Garcia, President, TransYouth Family Allies (TYFA)

GLSEN Media Release: Harsh Realities Finds Transgender Youth Face Extreme Harassment in SchoolThe Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has released a new report  today, entitled Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools.  The opening paragraphs to the media release for the report are sobering (emphasis added); to me, the paragraphs offer both sadness (italicized) and hope (bolded) (italicized and bolded emphasis added).

[Julie Marie]

I just saw this...

While this may not seem like we're making any progress, at least these kids are out. When I was in school coming out was suicide.

Still, these kids suffer a lot of discrimination, harassment and even physical assault. The present push for anti-bullying laws is needed, not only for LGBT kids but for all kids who are different.

How many here remember being bullied when they were in school? And you had to learn to take it or defend yourself because if you went home and told your dad he'd tell you to toughen up.

Julie

[tekla]

Actually my dad told me violence as a solution to violence would solve nothing, it was my mom who dragged me to martial arts classes.

[finewine]

Was that a variation on Gandhi's "eye for an eye" philosophy?  He had something there.

[tekla]

I think its just that he knew that violence only brings on more violence, and once unleashed our animal blood lust can find it hard to control.  I've seen it too many times to doubt it.  Normally passive peace loving types can be pushed to the point where not only do they commit great violence - but, and I think here is the problem, they LIKE it.  Its something that once unleashed can be hard to get back into the bottle.

Back when I was a little kitty kat I was pretty much the geek.  (I'm old so this is pre-computer)  I wasn't just the captain of the audio/visual squad, I WAS the audio visual squad, which was swell, as old Father Drinksabit and Sister Allthumbs could never get that stuff to work and I got pulled out of class all the time to help. As things went along I fell in with a bad crowd, rock band people, and I began to back my car up on Friday afternoon and load it up with stuff and do this very psychedelic light shows in the area.  I also knew how to fix electronic stuff, so I got in pretty good with this bad crowd.

This has a point, having to do with bullying, so stick with me here.

There were two main groups of us who ended up doing a lot of this kind of work.  Geeks like me and big tough guys who could carry Marshall stacks, one under each arm.  Because we had three things in common - drugs, sex and rock and roll - we formed sort of a partnership.  The geeks taught them about all the gear, how it worked, and a bunch of physics/electronic stuff they had not bothered to learn in school.  They in turn taught us how to get in shape and how to do great violence to other humans, which they were very, very good at.

If you have ever seen, as I have, that kid who has been picked on, bullied, and all that get over on someone else in a fight for the first time in their life, its true shock and awe.  All those moments from the past come flooding back, every punch, hit, kick, wedgie and Indian burn, every time you got pantsed and tossed into the girls room, every time you're books were thrown into a puddle and your homework was ruined - every single slight you ever took from the bully types is now going to be repaid in spades. More than once I've seen little geek types (and had it happen to myself a time or two) had to be pulled off because they were about to kill someone, there was that much violence unleashed. 

Now I can't say these jerks didn't have it coming, they did.  Still, perhaps it was not the best way to go.

It is very empowering however.

[finewine]

I do know what you mean.  I was that school geek who, unwisely, would try to deal with bullies by talking to them and that would wind them up even more, as bullies hate being made to look stupid (especially as there's usually a "hit 'im john!" entourage).

The problem is that I just can't bring myself to hit anyone and really mean it.  Those guys were like animals, they'd use every ounce of strength to pummel some poor kid.  On the very few occasions that I would lift a finger, I was usually completely in control and never used anything near full force.  Most of my fights ended in very little damage as I'd just do enough to block the other guy.

Ironically, while I find actual violence completely abhorrent, I'd be shaking with fury and adrenaline after one of these encounters and would fantasize about strapping them down, giving them an epidural and making them watch in an overhead mirror as I meticulously, painlessly and horrifically dismantle their feet....painless until the epidural wears off anyway.

[Julie Marie]

While there's no doubt the environment that exists at school contributes to the violence (in that it's not very well controlled, at the least) there's no doubt in my mind that kids first learn how be bullies at home.

When I was growing up it seemed the kids with "tough" fathers were the most prone to bullying. My dad always told me, "I don't you to ever start a fight but if someone else does, you finish it." Great advice but not all that easy to carry out.

I was always small but when I was younger I had a terrible temper. If I let this temper go and the kid was bigger than me I'd be quickly taught a lesson. And I also learned how much pain another human being can inflict on you when they are mad. I learned to control my temper and use diplomacy and humility to avoid being in fights. I was pretty good at that. I also chose as friends people who weren't violent.

But I understand Kat's point, when the floodgates open and you let the rage out you can be surprised at how much pain you can dish out. The few times it happened I later regretted hurting someone but while it was happening I was taking out my anger on everyone who had ever hurt me. It can be very scary.

The push to end bullying at school has to stress it's up to the parents to begin the process.

I can just hear it now, "I'm not going to teach my boy to be some sissy! He's gonna learn to fight!" 

Julie

[tekla]

The few times it happened I later regretted hurting someone

I guess that's where we differ, I've never regretted it.  There have been situations I've been in where people need defending from bullies, or women from men, oh well for them.  Wrong night, wrong fight, wrong part of town as they say.

[Julie Marie]

There have been situations I've been in where people need defending from bullies, or women from men, oh well for them.  Wrong night, wrong fight, wrong part of town as they say.

You mean like this?
Ralphie Loses It

[tekla]

Yeah, like that, but it works better with crescent wrenches in the hand and that whole head deal works much much better on concrete than in snow.

[Britney_413]

The good news is that it sounds like schools are getting better and when one step is taken back, two steps tend to go forward. As someone previously pointed out, it used to be that nobody EVER came out in school. Now kids are coming out, some are accepted, some are harrassed, and this eventually will lead to kids coming out and mostly being accepted or at least treated fairly.

I always hated how schools including universities homogonized everything and everyone and I think this is part of what promotes harrassment and violence in the first place. The purpose of school is to learn not be a part of some frat party. Instead, you have all of these "cliques" and "popular people" where everyone wants universal acceptance and the schools tend to let this run its course while at the same time turning a blind eye to outright criminal harrassment and violence. I don't believe in "forced acceptance." What ends up happening is schools try to force kids to associate with everyone and accept everyone and because of that, it actually backfires and often certain minority groups end up being mistreated.

Simply put, schools are there to teach kids. Since these kids are also minors and entrusted to the school's care, they are liable for their safety and well-being while the kids are on the premises. There is no reason that teachers cannot keep reasonable control over 20-30 kids in a room. I remember when I was in school, there were a few people here and there I enjoyed being friends with but other than the few good friends I had, I wanted to be left alone. I did not want to associate with people I didn't like and I didn't ask to be accepted by them either. Of course, the school has to force you to associate with the other kids and separates friends from each other when they aren't even distracting the learning process, and it further creates problems.

If schools truly promoted individuality, indidivual thinking, and individual socialization patters, I believe gay and trans kids would actually be accepted faster. When people can truly be themselves and associate or not associate with whomever they like, then more quality relationships and social skills develop and harrassment is likely to be minimized. It is actually better for a transkid to be left alone and not have any friends than to be forced to work with people who don't like trans people. Integration doesn't always work. The transkid wouldn't want to associate with the anti-trans people in the first place anyway.

While I didn't mean to rattle on, I just feel that schools go about things the wrong way. Instead of taking the liberal politically correct approach and forcing everyone to love, accept, and associate with all others and homogonizing everyone into the same beliefs, values, views, etc. they should take a conservative individualistic approach where people reserve the right to associate with or not associate with whomever they do or do not want to and that any harrassment and violence will not be tolerated. Again, "forced association" causes problems. Let the gay kids play by themselves if that is what they want. Acceptance is more likely to come around when it isn't forced.

As to the adult world, I don't care whether people accept me or hate me because it really makes no difference. I have a pistol on my hip and a shotgun in my home so potential hate criminals are already forewarned. Enough said.