SEXUAL ORIENTATION

SIGMUND FREUDS THEORY ON HOMOSEXUALITY

Sigmund Freud's basic theory of human

sexuality was that all human beings were
innately bisexual, and that they become
heterosexual or homosexual as a result of
their experiences with parents and others
(Freud, 1905).
Freud agreed believed that a homosexual
orientation should not be viewed as a form of
pathology.
"Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage,
but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no
degradation, it cannot be classified as an
illness; we consider it to be a variation of the
sexual function produced by a certain arrest
of sexual development. Many highly
respectable individuals of ancient and
modern times have been homosexuals,
several of the greatest men among them
(Plato, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci,
etc.). It is a great injustice to persecute
homosexuality as a crime, and cruelty too....

HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE 1950S

In the mid 1900s, several public service
announcements were released in order to warn
children and teens about the dangers of the
homosexual.

HOW DO WE EXPLAIN HOMOSEXUALITY NOW?

Lesbian A female- identified person who is attracted

romantically, physically, or emotionally to another
female-identified person.
Gay A male-identified person who is attracted
romantically, physically, or emotionally to another maleidentified person.
Bisexual A person who is attracted romantically,
physically, or emotionally to both men and women.
Transgender A person who is a member of a gender
other than that expected based on anatomical sex.
Queer An umbrella term which embraces a variety of
sexual preferences, orientations, and habits of those
who do not adhere to the heterosexual and cisgender
majority. The term queer includes, but is not exclusive
to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transpeople, and
intersex persons. Traditionally, this term is derogatory
and hurtful, however, many people who do not adhere to
sexual and/or gender norms use it to self-identify in a
positive way.

LANGUAGE

Many people often use this term casually and

inappropriately which causes gay to become a
negative slur.
Finding the right terminology to discuss these
differences that neither side will see as problematic can
prove extremely difficult.
One students call for toleration is perceived by another
student as a challenge to deeply held convictions. And
one students religious convictions are perceived by
another student as hostility toward gays and lesbians.
One parent is concerned that the schools definition of
family might exclude his family, while another parent
worries that a definition inclusive of same sex parents
will undermine what her children are taught at home.
This can lead to BULLYING in schools

GAY VS. LESBIAN STEREOTYPES

Gay

Lesbian

BULLYING

BULLYING

According to recent gay bullying statistics, gay and lesbian

teens are two to three times as more likely to commit teen
suicide than other youths.
Students who also fall into the gay, bisexual, lesbian or
transgendered identity groups report being five times as more
likely to miss school because they feel unsafe after being
bullied due to their sexual orientation.
About 28 percent out of those groups feel forced to drop out of
school altogether.
In a 2005 survey about gay bullying statistics, teens reported
that the number two reason they are bullied is because of
their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender
expression..
In fact, about 9 out of 10 LGBT teens have reported being
bullied at school within the past year because of their sexual
orientation, according to the most recent gay bullying
statistics. Out of those numbers, almost half have reported
being physically harassed followed by another quarter who
reported actually being physically assaulted.

SITUATION EXERCISE

Imagine the room is a giant "opinion scale" with one

end labeled Very Safe, the middle Unsure, and the
other end of the room Very Unsafe. Ask participants
to imagine how safe they think it is for typical
LGBTQ college students to be out in a variety of
settings.

Try not to let anyone else's opinion affect what side

of the room you stand on.

DO WE TALK ABOUT THIS IN SCHOOLS?

yes

no

PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION

A FIRST AMENDMENT FRAMEWORK FOR FINDING
COMMON GROUND
Public schools should not deal
with homosexuality at all

Public schools should address

homosexuality

-Discussions should be left entirely to

parents. Citing moral and religious
convictions, they believe that any
state effort to normalize societys
perception of same-sex relationships
is harmful to family life and a violation
of the deeply held beliefs of many
Americans.
-Public schools should uphold a view
of family that affirms sexual
abstinence until marriage between
one man and one woman.

-Families with same-sex parents must

be included in the schools definition of
family.
- They point out that harassment based
on actual or perceived sexual orientation
is a pervasive problem in public schools
that adversely affects the academic
performance of students who experience
it and sometimes leads to violence and
even suicide.

TALKING SEXUALITY IN SCHOOLS IS NEVER AN EASY

FEAT

Teachers and school administrators find themselves in a

difficult position when it comes to sexuality rhetoric.
By even having a conversation about homosexuality,
educators risk setting themselves up for a harsh and
angry backlash, even when they don't intend to initiate a
moral debate.
A Minnesota school district heavily affected by teen
suicides in the past year recently found itself the target
of "hate letters" after announcing that they were
rethinking the school's current anti-bullying policy
which took a "neutral" stance on homosexuality.
Many schools do take the route of neutrality, deciding
that it is better to steer clear of the topic alltogether. After
all, by not condemning or promoting homosexuality, you
cannot do any damage one way or the other. Right?

WRONG!
Without explicitly naming the specific bullying
behavior, anti-bullying programs dont stand a
chance.
If kids never hear a trusted adult overtly explain that
anti-gay bullying words and actions are
unacceptable, they are given ample room to decide
for themselvesand some kids will come to the
conclusion that name-calling, teasing, and
exclusion of gay peers is tolerable.
Students are less likely to report bullying incidents if
it is not firmly established that gay bullying is
absolutely prohibited. To truly maintain a
comprehensive anti-bullying program, schools need
to explicitly state that anti-gay words and actions
will not be tolerated.

Day of Silence

Day of Silence is a day in which people of all sexual

orientations and gender identities who support lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights take a vow of
silence to recognize and protest the silence that LGBT people
face each day.
According to organizers for GLSEN'S Day of Silence, "the
event is designed to raise awareness and protest the silence
faced by LGBT people, and offer tools with which to end the
silence."
The project consists of a vow of silence for the entire school
day, or however long your school wishes to have it, where
participants pass out cards that state their reasons for not
speaking (see below). At the end of the silence, participants
can host a series of follow up events to educate their
communities on how to keep the silence from continuing.

ANTI- LGBTQ RIGHTS PROTESTORS

Day of Truth to promote conservative religious
views of homosexuality. A T-shirt proclaiming
Straight Pride is worn to counter one professing
Gay Pride.
Even the most well-intentioned efforts by school
officials to address these differences can easily
trigger angry protests from one side or the other.
The Westboro Baptist Church is one of the most
well known anti LGBTQ groups in America.

HATE CRIMES
Based on data collected from the FBI in 2011,
crimes directed against individuals on the basis of
sexual orientation are the second most frequent
hate crime committed after crimes based on race.
The number of reported hate crimes committed
against gay men and lesbians increased from 1,277
in 2010 to 1,293 in 2011

NO HATE CAMPAIGN

TRANSGENDER TEACHER
SUSPENDED FROM JOB

Some concerned parents were worried that their child

had been supervised by a teacher who was
transgender. They say they have no problem with the
teacher herself, just that she might be confusing 11year-olds regarding their own identities.

Other parents say there is nothing complicated about

explaining what a transgender person is. They say the
teacher has never been an issue before and don't see
why it is now.

Texas state law does not protect employees based on

their sexual orientation or identity.

GAY MARRIAGE STATISTICS

Total percentage of Americans who

Strongly favor/favor Gay Marriage

41%

Percent of Americans who

Oppose/Strongly oppose Gay
Marriage

47%

Total number of gay couples

598,791

State with the lowest concentration of 0.22%

gay couples (North and South Dakota)
Percent of Americans who believe
gays should be allowed to marry

43%

Percent of Americans who believe

gays should be allowed to marry

47%

THE STANDARDS
We decided that these activities and lessons would
be appropriate for a 10th grade class.
These are the Common Core Learning standards
that apply to the activities: Reading Literature
10.RL.1 10.RL.2 Reading Informational 10.RI.1
10.RI.4 10.RI.6 10.RI.7 10.RI.8 Writing: 10.W.1
10.W.4 Speaking and Listening: 10.SL.1 10.SL.2
10.SL.3 Language: 10.L.4 10.L.6 Reading History:
10.RH.2 10.RH.4 10.RH.5

RESOURCES

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/madison/wpcontent/uploads/2011/03/sexual.orientation.guidelines.p
df
http://borngay.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID
=000019#Ridley
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/education/2014/04/09/tr
ansgender-teacher-suspended-texas/7507771/
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/faculty_sites/rainbow/html/
facts_mental_health.html
https://www.gsanetwork.org/resources/gsa-actionsevents/day-silence
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/gay-bullyingepidemic/

http://sait.usc.edu/lgbt/education/educationalactivities.aspx