As of right now, 37 out of 50 American states have legalized gay marriage. But even where it is legal, the stigma around homosexuality causes unjust discrimination and micro aggressive bullying. LGBT+(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other sexual orientations) people are around 4 times more likely to commit suicide, and out of those, LGBT+ youth with unsupportive or rejecting families are 8.4 times more likely to take their own life.

Why?
And what is being done about it?

For as long as humankind has been around, our society has been plagued with the idea of heteronormativity, the belief that the default for all humans is heterosexual and cisgendered. This belief is not one taught in school or in church, and most parents don’t so bluntly tell their children, “Everyone is straight and biologically gendered, and those who aren’t don’t deserve to be respected.” Heteronormativity is more indirectly taught, the main source being media or television. If a child grows up only seeing straight couples in movies, that is what they’ll expect in real life. Few disney movies, children’s books, or dramas show LGBT+ individuals (with the exception of TV shows that have LGBT+ characters as jokes). This idea of human default is false, of course, but it is worked and pounded into children’s brains to the point where it’ll take years and years for them to finally let go of prejudices created without their knowing. And even then, few people ever make an effort to do so. This is the cause of LGBT+ target bullying and harassment.

Heteronormativity surrounds children for the duration of their entire childhood, becoming more and more discreet throughout the years. They are taught only feminine and masculine pronouns (he, she, his, hers, etc.), limiting their acceptance of diverse genders. It becomes a well known fact that girl like boys and vice versa. When asked the source of their opposition to homosexuality, most kids will answer along the lines of “It’s just wrong.” 

It’s easier to stop this than it may seem. If schools simply educate students about a spectrum of sexualities and genders rather than just the “norm,” children would grow up to be more accepting of diverse people. Of course, considering the beliefs and religions of specific families, some parents or guardians may not approve of the school’s decision to educate students on varying sexualities. But because of the Law of Separation of Church and State, there is nothing legally wrong with this. As long as teachers don’t teach children that religion is wrong or invalid, and they are giving accurate facts and statistics, the school cannot be legally punished for teaching LGBT related issues. There is also the issue of the teachers’ religious belief. It would not be ideal to have teachers communicating to students that homosexual behavior is unacceptable, but a curriculum including a wide variety of pronouns and diverse sexual education can be enforced as long as it is focused on facts rather than morals. Nevertheless, some educators will even refuse to include something as simple as diversity-related books in their classrooms. The goal should be to get as many educators possible to take a pledge of sorts that holds them to the promise to a) use a variety of names and pronouns when referring to gender, b) provide open support for any students experiencing issues regarding their own sexual orientation or gender identity as well as gathering support for conservative or unaccepting families, and c) help to create a non-bias society and generally work towards eradicating heteronormative beliefs. These simple things require no materials, no money, and almost no work. All this does is create more mindful educators that are motivated to make every student feel comfortable in their school environment and achieve maximum success in their academic and social lives. While not all educators will agree, the goal is to get the most people possible to take this pledge.

Another possible step is to make sure that Health and Sex-education classes are incorporating facts about a wide range of sexual orientations and genders early in children’s lives. Rather than only teaching kids about heterosexual relationships it would be wise to educate students on diversity and acceptance of all sexualities and genders. This education doesn’t have to be professionally developed and skillfully worked into the curriculum- all it has to be is a way to keep the teachers mindful of how what they say indirectly affects how the students think and perceive the world. For example, instead of telling children that they might become attracted to the opposite gender, tell them that they might become attracted to other people. And if they’re not, that’s normal too. Little things like that are what affect students more than direct discrimination between sexualities, and it’s little things like this that we have to change. 

There is already an organization that is working towards this goal. It is called GLSEN- Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. This organization helps to stop target bullying and harassment of LGBT+ identifying students. While GLSEN is an incredible and widely effective association, I argue that it would be wise to focus less on the bullies and victims, and more on the teachers and unspoken social stigmas. Several Young Adult books feature lesbians and the journey of accepting oneself. These kinds of novels are also positive small steps towards encouraging all students to accept different sexualities.  Spreading awareness of LGBT+ bullying and micro aggressions will teach children to be more open-minded and aware of the comments being made by educators and peers that contribute to the thought of disgrace associated with homosexual and transgender people.

I believe that if we start teaching children acceptance at an early age and continue throughout their childhoods, we can effectively create a safer environment for people of all sexual orientations and gender expressions. Through using the simple steps described above it is possible to successfully and widely eliminate heteronormative beliefs. This will be done with respect to all religions and beliefs in the school systems regardless of what the children learn at home, although the hope is that children will bring what they learn about acceptance through school into their home lives. I hope that schools and individual educators will open their own minds as well as their students’ minds with the intention of constructing a positive work environment where all forms of self-expression are not only accepted but encouraged, and all people are welcome in hopes of keeping LGBT+ children comfortable in an academic setting. It is the responsible thing to do to keep children safe and happy during these crucial years of education.