Kierra Gipson Draft 2

To be or not to be, this is a question that most teens ask themselves when they are feeling extremely dramatic. Unfortunately for homosexual students they ask themselves that question everyday especially when they are the target of such hate and aggression of peers. In middle schools and high schools homosexual students experience the fear of being bullied because of who they are. Students are judge based on the way they look, the way they present themselves and the choice of whom they date and/or love. Lets say a young man who considered himself to be gay walked into a new class wearing short shorts with his nails painted bright pink and lipstick the same color. The students in the class have never seen such a thing, they immediately think he is a she. Now if I were to see a young man walk into my class room wearing bright pink lipstick and nails and short shorts I would assume that he is a she with masculine features. It is human nature to assume, that cannot be avoided but assumptions can sometimes be more hurtful than criticism. Back to the classroom, the young man walks in and is immediately judged by his peers, some students can already tell he is not a girl and they are surprisingly fine with it yet there are those who are a little less open minded and observant. The young man is asked to asked to introduce himself, he is once referred to the class as him and a couple of the students are completely shocked. It is quite normal that they would be taken by surprise and act aggressively, according to Dr. Rosemary Iconis discrimination towards lesbian and gay students. is often intensified by lack of knowledge and understanding between heterosexuals and the [LGBT] community, meaning they dont understand so they are unpleasantly surprised and act accordingly (Iconis, Rosemary). A student who has no problem speaking his mind makes it know to the teacher that they are clearly mistaken and he is definitely a she. The young man stands up to introduce himself and points out that he is a boy and that he is gay. At this point it is easy to infer that some students are astonished to find out the news while others are disgusted. The student that tried to correct the teacher confronts the young man to the class and tries to understand his sexuality. While doing so the student calls the young man a faggot, this opens up a world wind of problems and confrontations. This kind situation is encountered by many homosexual and heterosexual students every day and every day there is a new way it is dealt with. The most common way a teacher would handle that situation would be to punish the heterosexual student and comfort the homosexual student. While this is a simple way to handle the issues it is not fair. Yes homosexual students are harassed and bullied every day by their peers in your typical classroom setting but that is one side of the story. We cant always target heterosexual students because of their behaviors and attitudes toward LGBT students. The finger needs to be pointed at the teacher as well. Teachers

are quick to punish students for homophobic slurs or bullying but what teachers dont realize is that they are a stimulant as well as a solution to the problem. To help better understand what I am talking about I will provide another scenario. Say a female was verbally bullying a homosexual student, she would call the student names like dyke, man-hater, and such. A caring teachers first reaction would be to reprehend the student doing the bullying. Teachers are quick to punish because they dont want to have to take the time to educate the students as to why they are punished, as a result the problem reoccurs. Teachers can become the solution to the issue if they took the time to educate students on homosexuality, and instead of punishing one party they should sit both parties down and discuss the problem. Dr. Iconis states that faculty can do something but first [they] must examine [their] own biases students experience discrimination when faculty take a passive stance I too believe that teachers can create a welcoming environment.

TO BE CONTIONUED.

Iconis, Rosemary. Reducing Homophobia Within The College Community. New York. May 2010. 67-9. 16 March 2013