It’s not all bad news in the fight against bullying in schools.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota (site of a string of teenage suicides) has settled a lawsuit and will finally change its ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ policy on gay students.
And from the UK, a new book documents the virtual elimination of homophobia amongst teenagers.
The Declining Significance of Homophobia is the result of a year long study by author Mark McCormack in three very different schools. The academic notes that many studies have documented entrenched homophobia in schools over several decades, with many instances of boys using homophobia to prove their own masculinity. He says that this was his own experience at school a decade ago.
What McCormack found in 2011 was a complete transformation amongst the kids he studied:
Heterosexual male students are proud of their pro-gay attitudes and friendship with openly gay students. Homosexuality does not affect a boy’s popularity; one gay student was even elected school president.
However, The Declining Significance of Homophobia goes beyond documenting this important shift in attitudes regarding homosexuality. It also examines how decreased homophobia results in the expansion of gendered behaviors available to young men. In these schools, boys are able to develop meaningful and loving friendships across many social groups. They replace violence, misogyny and homophobia with hugging and emotional intimacy. Free from the constant threat of social marginalization, boys are able to speak about once-feminized activities without censure.
He told the Economist that when he spoke to graduates of only a few years ago from the three schools in his study, they recalled a bad experience similar to his own, suggesting that the change in behavior is very recent.
He cites two relatively new factors to explain his findings: far more openly gay people in prominent and respected positions in society and the role of the internet in decreasing feelings of isolation. I would suggest as well that this acceptance of gay people is reflected in a recent ‘tipping point’ in media and cultural representations of gay people across the board in the UK, similar to a previous ‘point of no return’ in the 1990s with racism becoming an ‘uncool’ opinion.
McCormack argues that this positive story needs telling so gay teenagers are not just hearing bad news about bullying and suicide and are encouraged to come out and lead more satisfying and fulfilled lives. The one area the book cites as still problematic is the attitudes of some parents, although he also points out that parents of gay children are much more likely to fight for them now and are also receiving positive representations in the media.
He told the Guardian:
I’m not saying the battle is over against homophobia, but it’s getting better.
These young people see homophobia as wrong. Guys used to prove they were straight by being homophobic. Now, when young guys want to show they’re straight, they do it in a more positive way by joking about being gay.
By Paul Canning/Care2/March 12, 2012
The Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota (site of a string of teenage suicides) has settled a lawsuit and will finally change its ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ policy on gay students.
And from the UK, a new book documents the virtual elimination of homophobia amongst teenagers.
The Declining Significance of Homophobia is the result of a year long study by author Mark McCormack in three very different schools. The academic notes that many studies have documented entrenched homophobia in schools over several decades, with many instances of boys using homophobia to prove their own masculinity. He says that this was his own experience at school a decade ago.
What McCormack found in 2011 was a complete transformation amongst the kids he studied:
Heterosexual male students are proud of their pro-gay attitudes and friendship with openly gay students. Homosexuality does not affect a boy’s popularity; one gay student was even elected school president.
However, The Declining Significance of Homophobia goes beyond documenting this important shift in attitudes regarding homosexuality. It also examines how decreased homophobia results in the expansion of gendered behaviors available to young men. In these schools, boys are able to develop meaningful and loving friendships across many social groups. They replace violence, misogyny and homophobia with hugging and emotional intimacy. Free from the constant threat of social marginalization, boys are able to speak about once-feminized activities without censure.
He told the Economist that when he spoke to graduates of only a few years ago from the three schools in his study, they recalled a bad experience similar to his own, suggesting that the change in behavior is very recent.
He cites two relatively new factors to explain his findings: far more openly gay people in prominent and respected positions in society and the role of the internet in decreasing feelings of isolation. I would suggest as well that this acceptance of gay people is reflected in a recent ‘tipping point’ in media and cultural representations of gay people across the board in the UK, similar to a previous ‘point of no return’ in the 1990s with racism becoming an ‘uncool’ opinion.
McCormack argues that this positive story needs telling so gay teenagers are not just hearing bad news about bullying and suicide and are encouraged to come out and lead more satisfying and fulfilled lives. The one area the book cites as still problematic is the attitudes of some parents, although he also points out that parents of gay children are much more likely to fight for them now and are also receiving positive representations in the media.
He told the Guardian:
I’m not saying the battle is over against homophobia, but it’s getting better.
These young people see homophobia as wrong. Guys used to prove they were straight by being homophobic. Now, when young guys want to show they’re straight, they do it in a more positive way by joking about being gay.
By Paul Canning/Care2/March 12, 2012
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