February Handout
If you didn't get a copy of the handout about gender neutral pronouns at the February chapter meeting, you can click on the image below:
Although not specifically LGBTQ, the author's introduction in What Color Is Your Parachute? gives an example of mainstream usage of the pronoun "they" as a singular. You can read a related article here and a thorough reading list here about the historical singular use of the pronouns they/them.
A look at Elementary Schools, Bullying & Homophobia
GLSEN Releases Groundbreaking Study of Bias, Bullying and Homophobia in Grades K-6
|
MEDIA CONTACT Andy Marra Public Relations Manager 646-388-6575 amarra@glsen.org Jan 18, 2012 |
"Playgrounds and Prejudice: Elementary School Climate in the United States" First National Study to Look at Homophobia, Gender Nonconformity in Elementary Schools
Gender Nonconforming Students at Particular Risk for Bullying, Many Teachers Unprepared to Address Issues of Gender Expression, LGBT Families
On February 1, join GLSEN for an in-depth look at the study findings from Playgrounds and Prejudice. Participants will also learn more about GLSEN's elementary school toolkit, Ready Set, Respect! Register for this webinar here: http://glsen.us/elementarywebinar
NEW YORK - Jan. 18, 2012 - The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) today released a new report on school climate, biased remarks and bullying, Playgrounds and Prejudice: Elementary School Climate in the United States. The report, based on national surveys of 1,065 elementary school students in 3rd to 6th grade and 1,099 elementary school teachers of K-6th grade, examines students' and teachers' experiences with biased remarks and bullying, and their attitudes about gender expression and family diversity. The surveys were conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of GLSEN during November and December 2010.
"School climate and victimization can affect students' educational outcomes and personal development at every grade level," said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. "Playgrounds and Prejudice offers invaluable insights into biased remarks and bullying in America's elementary schools. The report also shows the need for elementary schools to do more to address issues of homophobia, gender expression and family diversity."GLSEN today also released Ready, Set, Respect! GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit, an instructional resource developed to help educators address issues raised in Playgrounds and Prejudice, particularly teachers' willingness to address but lack of understanding of biased language, LGBT-inclusive family diversity and gender nonconformity.
"Over the past few years, there has been an increase in research on bullying in schools, including elementary schools," said GLSEN Senior Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives Dr. Joseph Kosciw. "However, our report is one of the few that examines bias-based bullying at the elementary school level and the first to examine incidence of homophobic remarks and the negative experiences of children who do not conform to societal standards in their gender expression from a national vantage point."
"Playgrounds and Prejudice articulates a desire among elementary educators to create optimal learning environments for all students, but there is a larger need to provide educational tools and resources that enhance their understanding of gender nonconforming students and families with LGBT parents," said Byard. "Providing this kind of support to teachers and school staff serving our nation's youngest students will build a lasting foundation of learning and development for all elementary school students."
Key Findings on Biased Language, Name-Calling and Bullying
- The most common forms of biased language in elementary schools, heard regularly (i.e., sometimes, often or all the time) by both students and teachers, are the use of the word "gay" in a negative way, such as "that's so gay," (students: 45%, teachers: 49%) and comments like "spaz" or "retard" (51% of students, 45% of teachers). Many also report regularly hearing students make homophobic remarks, such as "fag" or "lesbo" (students: 26%, teachers: 26%) and negative comments about race/ethnicity (students: 26%, teachers: 21%).
- Three-fourths of students (75%) report that students at their school are called names, made fun of or bullied with at least some regularity. Most commonly this is because of students' looks or body size (67%), followed by not being good at sports (37%), how well they do at schoolwork (26%), not conforming to traditional gender norms/roles (23%) or because other people think they're gay (21%).
Key Findings on Gender Non-Conforming Students
- Nearly 1 in 10 of elementary students in 3rd to 6th grade (8%) indicate that they do not always conform to traditional gender norms/roles - either they are boys who others sometimes think, act or look like a girl, or they are girls who others sometimes think, act or look like a boy.
- Gender nonconforming students are less likely than other students to feel very safe at school (42% vs 61%), and are more likely than others to indicate they sometimes do not want to go to school because they feel unsafe or afraid there (35% vs 15%). Gender nonconforming students are also more likely than others to be called names, made fun of or bullied at least sometimes at school (56% vs 33%).
- Less than half of teachers believe that a gender nonconforming student would feel comfortable at their school (male student who acts or looks traditionally feminine: 44%, female student who acts or looks traditionally masculine: 49%)
- Only a third (34%) of teachers report having personally engaged in efforts to create a safe and supportive classroom environment for gender nonconforming students.
Key Findings on Family Diversity
- Seven in ten students (72%) say they have been taught that there are many different kinds of families. However, less than 2 in 10 (18%) have learned about families with gay or lesbian parents (families that have two dads or two moms).
- While an overwhelming majority of elementary school teachers say that they include representations of different families when the topic of families comes up in their classrooms (89%), less than a quarter of teachers report any representation of lesbian, gay or bisexual parents (21%) or transgender parents (8%).
- Only a quarter (24%) of teachers report having personally engaged in efforts to create a safe and supportive classroom environment for families with LGBT parents.
Key Findings on Teacher Preparedness
- A majority of elementary school teachers believe they are obligated to ensure a safe learning environment for gender nonconforming students (83%) and students with LGBT parents (70%). Eight in 10 teachers would feel comfortable addressing name-calling, bullying or harassment of students because a student is perceived to be gay, lesbian or bisexual (81%) or is gender nonconforming (81%).
- Less than half of teachers (48%) indicate that they feel comfortable responding to questions from their students about gay, lesbian or bisexual people. There was a lower level of comfort found among teachers (41%) responding to questions from their students about transgender people.
- A majority of teachers (85%) have received professional development on diversity or multicultural issues, but less than half of teachers have ever received specific professional development on gender issues (37%) or on families with LGBT parents (23%).
Methodology
Findings in Playgrounds and Prejudice: Elementary School Climate in the United Statescame from online surveys conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of GLSEN among 1,065 U.S. elementary school students in 3rd to 6th grade and 1,099 U.S. elementary school teachers of Kindergarten to 6th grade. The national sample was drawn primarily from the Harris Poll Online (HPOL) opt-in panel and supplemented with sample from trusted partner panels. All respondents were invited to participate through password protected emails. Interviews for students averaged 15 minutes in length and were conducted between November 3 and November 29, 2010. Interviews for teachers averaged 20 minutes in length and were conducted between November 11 and December 7, 2010. The data were weighted to key demographic variables to align with the national population of the respective groups. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. In addition, an online strategy session was conducted on June 14, 2010 among a group of 20 elementary school teachers of grades ranging from Kindergarten to 6th grade to inform the development of the survey. Key informants (e.g., elementary school teachers, administrators, students, and teacher educators) reviewed the student and teacher surveys to assess for comprehension and face validity. A full methodology is available upon request by contacting GLSEN Public Relations Manager Andy Marra at amarra@glsen.org.
About GLSEN
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Established in 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community. For information on GLSEN's research, educational resources, public policy advocacy, student organizing programs and educator training initiatives, visitwww.glsen.org.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visitwww.harrisinteractive.com.
http://www.glsen.org/playgroundsandprejudice.html
From GLAAD – Girl Scout Cookies, Here I Come!
PROPOSED COOKIE BOYCOTT OVER GIRL SCOUTS' TRANSGENDER-INCLUSIVE POLICY
In October of 2011, 7-year-old Bobby Montoya, a transgender girl, asked to join the Girl Scouts of Colorado. After initially being rejected, Bobby was welcomed by the chapter who issued a statement saying, “Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members. If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.”
In response to the Girl Scout’s inclusive policy, a California teen posted a YouTube video which uses anti-transgender arguments to call for a boycott of the Girl Scouts’ famous cookies. The Girls Scouts are standing by their policy to include transgender girls as Scouts, and in astatement to the Washington Post, the organization said it “prided itself on being an inclusive organization serving girls from all walks of life.”
The Girl Scout’s welcoming policy is supported by the American Psychological Association, which has clear guidelines for parents and educators of transgender and gender non-conforming young people. The APA states that “[I]t is not helpful to force the child to act in a more gender-conforming way.”
When Bobby Montoya’s story first broke, GLAAD responded to problematic news coverage that was far less welcoming of Bobby than either the Girl Scouts or the APA. In fact, the incident inspired public debate about the age at which a person could know they are transgender and how adults should respond in similar situations. The APA says that people may identify as transgender at different ages and affirms what many trans people already know, which is that from a very young age they knew exactly who they were. But that didn’t stop so-called “experts” (like Dr. Alduan Tartt who claimed to CNN’s Don Lemon that it was “damaging” for Bobby’s mom to allow her to express herself) from making unfounded and potentially damaging claims about transgender youth.
Sherry Sybesma, the chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of California's Central Coast, where the teenager featured in the boycott video is a member, has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of a cookie boycott saying, “It’s a little like boycotting coffee to get congress to rescind a woman’s right to vote.” She also commented on the overwhelming amount of feedback they’ve received saying, “Most of the responses I have seen have been from people who believe in tolerance and believe in inclusiveness and want Girl Scouting to stand for inclusiveness and tolerance."
In fact, Adam Martin of the Atlantic Wire is reporting that the anti-transgender nature of this boycott may serve to boost Girl Scout cookie sales, as fair-minded individuals are now taking to social networks to call on people to show their support for transgender people by uppingtheir annual cookie purchases and supporting their local Girl Scout Chapter.
GLAAD applauds the Girl Scouts for continuing to speak out in support of inclusive and welcoming policies for all girls. It is important that the media not cause further harm by repeating earlier mistakes of misrepresenting transgender children in ongoing coverage. Instead of giving a platform to the claims of hate groups or so-called “experts,” GLAAD calls on the media to address transgender children and issues of gender identity responsibly by calling on real experts or individuals and families who can share their own experiences.
http://www.glaad.org/blog/proposed-cookie-boycott-over-girl-scouts-transgender-inclusive-policy
Trans Youth Family Allies
http://imatyfa.org/ is a national organization which serves youth under the age of 18, and their families. PFLAG Pasadena has a member who's a Family Advocate, and the Executive Director of TYFA lives in Los Angeles. Contact us!
Foster Care for LGBT kids
How one gender-queer foster kid is affected by a foster care system that can't handle his gender expression:
Queer and Loathing: Does the Foster Care System Bully Gay Kids?
Scanning The Transgendered Brain
Via Queerty
If scientists won't show us this gene that can tell parents whether or not they're having a gayby, how about we start putting pre-pubescent children through a brain scan so we can tell whether they're going to end up trans? Researchers at the National University of Distance Education in Madrid say they've discovered the brains of trans people happen to look like the gender they identify with, not born with.
Antonio Guillamon's team at the National University of Distance Education in Madrid, Spain, think they have found a better way to spot a transsexual brain. In a study due to be published next month, the team ran MRI scans on the brains of 18 female-to-male transsexual people who'd had no treatment and compared them with those of 24 males and 19 females.
They found significant differences between male and female brains in four regions of white matter – and the female-to-male transsexual people had white matter in these regions that resembled a male brain. "It's the first time it has been shown that the brains of female-to-male transsexual people are masculinised," Guillamon says.
In a separate study, the team used the same technique to compare white matter in 18 male-to-female transsexual people with that in 19 males and 19 females. Surprisingly, in each transsexual person's brain the structure of the white matter in the four regions was halfway between that of the males and females (Journal of Psychiatric Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.11.007). "Their brains are not completely masculinised and not completely feminised, but they still feel female," says Guillamon.
The development is big news, since prior to this research these types of brain scans could only be performed on the deceased. And while such research might trigger an initial reaction of fear — Are they eventually going to scan kids' brains and get rid of all the trans ones? — there is a practical application: If doctors can identify trans brains in kids before puberty, there can be a better informed decision about medically delaying puberty as to help a gender reassignment procedure years down the road. That is, a FTM trans boy could be identified as such before he starts growing breasts, and doctors could halt the process entirely so he wouldn't have to undergo a double mastectomy later on.
Of course we're talking about kids and psychology and biology here, so there's a big grey area. If only things were as clear as all the white matter.