First all LGBT School in History

Frozenlily

First all LGBT School in History

January 17 2015
I was watching The Social on our Dining room TV at work and all of a sudden they bring this topic up. Now this is a topic that reminds me of a past topic we discussed about a LGBT village or town. This is something I feel is a great idea. It will help minimize the bullying of LGBT kids of all ages. Bullying for me started when I was in grade 3 and I didnt know why people were doing that. If this was around when I was starting High School I believe I would go into that school. Since there is all girl schools and all boy schools there should be all LBGT Schools and I aprove :)

Pink News: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/01/15/uks-first-lgbt-school-planned-for-the-manchester/

The Social: http://www.thesocial.ca/news/headlines/first-gay-school-could-be-coming-to-britain

Please put your thoughts into the Comments bellow :)
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Edited January 17 2015 by Frozenlily
Kiera Skylar

LoonShy

First all LGBT School in History

January 17 2015
I wonder how long before the shooting?
Ben

Gravity

First all LGBT School in History

January 17 2015
I am in two minds over this it could potentially avoid bullying but it could be counterproductive for integrating LGBT people into society as a whole.

Also Tlek that is a very dim view to take and as this would be opening where i come from i can say i feel it would be perfectly safe.
Kiera Skylar

LoonShy

First all LGBT School in History

January 17 2015
Quote by Gravity

Tlek that is a very dim view to take and as this would be opening where i come from i can say i feel it would be perfectly safe.


I have a very dim view of lgbt tolerance in society, and gathering us all up in one place is heading dangerously close to either reviving the concentration camps, or at least doing an x-mutant "mutie scum" segregation, the only problem with that is, as far as I know, not one lgbt person is able to heal from being brutally beaten or burned to death by someone they trust.


I want to be wrong on this, but I can't help but fear the worst, I mean, we have cases that get noticed like luka magnotta, or jordan sheard, how many get swept under the rug by someone that feels we deserved that fate?
Edited January 17 2015 by LoonShy

Frozenlily

First all LGBT School in History

January 17 2015
Heres the thing about this whole idea, It's deffinatly a Grey Area. It can be seen as a great possitive idea where you can feel safe going though your school years and being with like minded people. It's bad because it kinda feels like (Please don't be offended) When the african americans were segregated in america. I feel like it can be seen this way by those that do have a "dim view" but we all truly do not know how it will work out till it's actually implimented. I hope that if it does go through I hope we see more progress in society. I'd also like to see more LGBT teachers and members of the School Boards.

In my school it was not till our Principle left in Grade 11 that we got a LGBT friendly Priniciple that actually cared and protected the students. Times are changing and we all are apart of it. With this school i'm sure it will be VULENTARY and not MANDATORy.... which will be truly the deciding factor if it will be a great thing...
Kiera Skylar

LoonShy

First all LGBT School in History

January 17 2015
type slower, you'll miss fewer typos. :P


but, yeah, if it is all choice based, then it could work, but if it is "transfer them from here to there so we don't need to deal with it" then it can easily turn to a concentration camp situation, it just needs to have someone that views us as an abomination, or even tries to split us into categories, for it to go wrong.
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Dave (Voleron)

Voleron

First all LGBT School in History

January 17 2015
This is really interesting and my immediate reaction is that it sounds like a cool idea! I think that if I'd had the opportunity to go to an LGBT high school that I probably would have. My friends knew that I was gay, and once people start gossiping, the word naturally spread to other people. While I can't remember being bullied for being gay in high school, I also didn't feel like it was an environment in which I could be completely open about it, either.

This led to me finding places outside of the school setting where I could be with people like myself, and do the social things that other kids my age were doing, like dating, making friends and going to parties and outings that were relevant to my sexuality, which is a big part of growing up. For me, school was just the place I went to take classes and as soon as the day was done, I'd immediately take off to be with my gay friends whom I felt most comfortable with. I think that being able to experience this sort of thing within my school environment would've made my school experience so much more than the job it was for me, where I was basically just punching the clock and not getting involved in any sports or activities.

I partially agree with you Meta, in that I think it's very important to build resiliency in youth. They never know what they're going to encounter later in life and it's good to be prepared for the realities of human interaction in the world at large. With that said, I feel that there are other ways to build resiliency than throwing kids in the proverbial shark tank. What brought out those skills and developed that resiliency in me, was being able to find myself and really develop 'who I was', in a friendly and supportive environment which included gay peers and older LGBT role models who encouraged me, taught me, and helped me to develop in a positive way. This didn't exist in my school and it's too bad that it didn't, because not all LGBT youth are going to be as lucky as I was to have the means to seek out their own supports. The benefit of the school wouldn't JUST be to isolate kids from LGBT based bullying, but ALSO to allow them to develop socially, which would build the strength in them that's so critical to their success and survival in the world at large.

On the other hand, I see potential issues with segregation too. Part of what has advanced the LGBT movement so significantly in areas of the world in recent years, has been the increased visibility of LGBT people in society. For youth to grow up to be accepting of us, it's important that we're visible and part of their lives so that people know us as the friends, neighbours and everyday community members that we are. As Gravity has suggested, segregating our respective populations might well end up being counter-productive to that cause, thereby perpetuating the hostile environments that we're trying to remove these kids from by putting them in an LGBT-only school. This brings us to Tlek's concerns about the school being targeted and I think that reducing that potential for danger is probably best served by not segregating the populations.

At the end of the day, I think that so long as this kind of school becomes the exception and not the norm, it might well turn out to be a good idea and a positive experience in the lives of many LGBT youth. I think that it's equally important to have LGBT components to the regular school system, which would include stand alone courses as well as inclusion in the regular curriculum. Kids need easy access to LGBT youth groups or gay-straight alliances in the school setting so that kids not attending these LGBT schools don't have to search for the supports that they need.



If you're an LGBT youth in Canada looking for an experience similar to something you might experience at an LGBT school, check out Camp fYrefly. It's run by some of the amazing people who supported me when I was growing up!
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Kiera Skylar

LoonShy

First all LGBT School in History

January 18 2015
that brings up why I struggle with the idea, I... I haven't really been in a "pro-gay" environment, it's merely been "meh, so long as you keep it hidden, we don't care" sort of gay tolerant environment... I haven't really been able to develop into my own person WITH my sexuality....
meh, it's not that important anyway, my sexuality has little impact on my life in general, aside from being another thing I have to keep hidden to keep protected.


anyway, if the area the school is in is gay tolerant, so that it would promote a pro-gay environment for the youths to blossom into fully functional, healthy people, then I am for it.

I just have a gut reaction that making yourself noticed leads to the anti-gay groups to find you, and with a school, this means they'd send one kid in with weaponry to pull off another shooting, but make it look like gay kids being gay was what caused the shooting.
Edited January 18 2015 by LoonShy
Romario

Romario

First all LGBT School in History

January 19 2015
While the premise of this sounds great, I have to wonder how many times the minorities of any given society have segregated and what, if any positive or negative consequences there have been. I mean is it really functioning in terms of integration and a broader understanding of what gays go through, if gays start going to these schools and it becomes the norm for heterosexual kids not be confronted with having a friend or someone you know come out? Does an early learning experience get shunted to the side?

When thinking about this, I have to take into account the racial issues I have faced, which I have to admit have had a more long lasting effect on my life than coming out as gay ever has. Being Multiracial and mobile during most of my childhood, I've had the experience of going to an all white school and a majority black school, and have to admit that the ignorance of the other side at both of these schools was REALLY strong.

While being gay is a different beast, though the differing cultural peculiarities of white/black/latino/asian/pacific islander/arab etc. (and whatnot) do play a part in how most of us view society, our own communities and the gay community in general, I think the questions and thoughts on something like an all gay school are very similar to asking myself if it wouldn't just be better to go to a racially diverse school. Or to just fight to make these social hubs a better place instead of throwing in the towel and moving to the hills to "do our own thang".

But the idea does have an alluring pull, on the other hand. Because we do have a habit of popping up everywhere under the sun. What if these schools, were they to be the norm, actually help bridge more gaps than just being gays in a heterosexual, religiously inclined society?

In Germany, where I currently live, there is a definite parallel societal system between orthodox Muslims and the Christian Germans. In the States, where I was raised, there is also a parallel societal system between black gays and white gays, with of course the respective exceptions to the rule.

But we didn't get the chance to go to a school where the binding factor was that we were all gay/Les or trans or what have you. Where we were taught that we don't have to hide, that we have a right to live our lives as the next person. Most of our lessons were hard earned and hard won and were sometimes coupled with copious amounts of pain. There are those under the ever broadening umbrella'd acronym still dealing with the 'fitting in' of it long after we've had our coming out.

Could a school like this alleviate some of that?

*sorry for the tl;dr
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Edited January 19 2015 by Romario

Frozenlily

First all LGBT School in History

January 19 2015
Quote by Tlek
type slower, you'll miss fewer typos. :P



Very true!! I also naturally can't spell :D

Unknown Person

First all LGBT School in History

January 19 2015
As Voleron said; this, as an exception and not the norm might be a positive thing. I understand the need for a safe haven like this but I'd be concerned about it being rolled out across the school system. It's because of generations of struggle and bullying that we are where we are today and things are getting better, albeit slowly. So this seems a lot like a step back to me.

As a kid who grew up and went to elementary through high school in the 90's I was both shocked and pleased to see how my old high school's attitude toward LGBT youth was 10 years later when my little sister started attending. When I went there were maybe 3 out guys and maybe 4 out girls. 2 of the guys kept it on the DL and didn't receive any bullying that I was aware of but the 3rd dude who sauntered about blatantly checking out guys and trying to flirt with them, he got stuffed into lockers a few times, yeah. And I've had the good fortune to live in a pretty progressive state though maybe not in it's most progressive city. That's always going to be San Francisco, not LA ;)

Fast-forward a decade and I'm walking the halls and my gaydar is pinging like crazy. These kids aren't only not ostracized or forced to hide who they are, they're actually popular in many social circles. It's this kind of visibility and integration that will change the minds of each generation, like a grassroots campaign. Some schools in some states and in some countries will have it harder than others, of course. And there are still kids that choose to end their lives rather than face another day in those halls, classrooms, playgrounds and sports fields. Perhaps for them a place like this would be suitable for those cases.

I applaud the kids I see that feel safe enough or brave enough to live their lives as their true selves and not hide like I did. Doing that day-to-day will have far more positive effects on our society than they can possibly realize.
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Shawn Birch

Parker

First all LGBT School in History

January 20 2015
Pardon me being blunt but segregation is a giant leap backwards no matter how you try to spin it. Anytime you segregate it strengthens intolerance. The community has made great strides in the last 2 decades eliminating the hiding and fighting back the bullies. While it is still not paradise it is further along than I'd ever imagined it would be. I was not bullied in the 80's in school but I know people that were. You reading this right now may have been. I was buried so far in the closet it took me 13 years out of high school to figure out that I am what I am and I stopped hiding.
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Steven Skeffington

Rasilek

First all LGBT School in History

January 21 2015
Some may see this as sanctuary, but be that as it may it will only do more to further segregate and distort the views of LGBT people.

Sure, it's extremely hard to look past being bullied and hated. A lot of kids put up with that shit because they are different in some way, so let's look at the big picture.

Look at it this way: In the US, we've seen more and more states adopt marriage equality in the past 6 years, while the courts meanwhile continue to strike down state laws that outright ban it. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court will be taking up the matter once again this year because of those cases. Meanwhile in the UK, the issue has been settled and marriage equality is a reality.

Will these milestones instantly end hatred and bullying? Of course not. But my point is that views are evolving out there. With time, all of this will further end the worthless debates once and for all and help pave the way to a better future.

We have to be brave, and we have to teach our kids and the younger among our community to stand their ground. Because it IS getting better.

Courage is everything. Let's not step back now.
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Edited January 21 2015 by Rasilek
Finka

Finka

First all LGBT School in History

January 21 2015
In my country there are so called integration schools where healthy kids and kids with light disabilities learn together. This is quite nice since those who are disabled can go to a normal school and learn normal stuff, and healthy kids get to be around wheelchairs and learn how to help those in need.
Now I imagine a school just for the disabled. And I don't mean those who are really mentally impaired but just on a wheelchair. We would be making a kind of ghetto and saying "Look, those kids oin wheels are different, they have to have a separate school".
The same is happening with this LGBT school. It shouldn't be a school just for gay people - it should be an LGBTQ FRIENDLY school but for everyone. This woulkd teach love and acceptation!
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