Professor tries to get to the root of bullying
Study finds gender roles can be behind harassment toward the LGBT community
By CINDY GEORGE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Nov. 6, 2010, 8:32PM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7282868.htmlQ: Describe your research on the issue.
A: I have a handout that was accepted for the Helping Children At Home and School third edition. It's a guide for parents about how to support a gay or lesbian child. Another project that I'm doing right now is looking at the intersection of biological sex, gender identity and sexual orientation and which of those factors seems to put someone more at risk for being victimized, having self-esteem issues or school problems. Some of the research that I've looked at shows that it may not necessarily be your sexual orientation that may set you up for rejection from peers or bullying, but that it may be that you're not conforming to your gender role.
Q: How are you conducting your study?
A: One of the measures that I used was created by a researcher in Boston - a conformity to masculine norms inventory and a conformity to feminine norms inventory. It's a survey that basically gives you a score. It's my proxy for how you are gender conformity-wise. This study is looking at 12- to 19-year-old students. I also ask them about physical harassment and assault. It's a crude measure of how much victimization and bullying that they might have experienced.
