Jul 10 2008
Lib Dem leader calls on schools to tackle homophobia
In a speech on the 7th of July, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg called on schools to recognise their “unique role” in tackling homophobia and called for better monitoring of homophobic incidents in schools. The fully story is here: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-8260.html
What is probably unique about this speech is that its the first by a mainstream political leader to include even the remote mention of bisexuals. Nick Clegg’s frequent references to ‘LGB’ rather than the ubiquitous ‘Lesbian and Gay’ can only be hailed as progress for bisexual recognition. Whilst we are still relegated to a single letter of an acronym, unlike recent Stonewall reports we are at least acknowledged.
It was a good speech, recognising that a minority of homophobic parents still poison their children’s thinking and that schools have a role in educating children against homophobia, something that presently they regularly fail to do.
As Nick Clegg rightly points out LGB pupils have higher levels of truancy, drop-out, mental health problems, panic attacks and eating disorders than straight students and more than half of LGB adults who were bullied at school contemplated self-harm or suicide. And four in ten had attempted it at least once.
Speaking as a bisexual guy who has previously self-harmed and attempted suicide, If this isn’t reason to be concerned about homophobic bullying then I don’t know what is. Bisexuals are more likely to be closet than their lesbian and gay counterparts, and whilst as a result, our outwardly homosexual cousins are more likely to bear the brunt of homophobic bullying, ‘straight acting’ bisexuals cannot feel any more comfortable ‘being themselves’ in a virulently homophobic environment than lesbians or gays. Unlike our friends in pink, bisexuals have no political movement speaking out for them, no real separate identity, and bisexual teenagers must feel terribly isolated and alone. No wonder that so many of us first ‘pick a side’ before ‘broadening our horizons’.
Clearly more needs to be done to raise awareness of bisexuality, particularly in schools and leaders like Nick Clegg have a role to play in that, for now its atleast good that we have been acknowledged by use of an acromym, next time it would be nice to be called by name.
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2 Responses to “Lib Dem leader calls on schools to tackle homophobia”
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Not living in England, I can’t really say who I would vote for. But, I have admired the LibDems’ courageous stands against the war and for civil liberties. This is another reason to admire them.
Indeed.
I remember ‘picking a side’ in high school, long before exploring any other kind of identity. Of course, I ‘chose’ to be straight and wound up in a very long-term, very harmful relationship that caused a lot of self harm, which I refused to leave because it might force me to deal with these other feelings.
Anyways.
Homophobic bullying forces a lot of kids into the closet, and it’s no wonder why. I can’t tell you what it’s like to be out in high school, but I can certainly tell you what it’s like to be in the closet during those turbulent teen years, and it’s no cake walk. Hopefully, this initiative is doing more than paying lip service to GLBT issues.