Poll shows peers bully gay teens

A large majority of teens has witnessed harassment of gays

posted January 13, 2003

by Marie Beylin of Campanile

Anti-gay bullying is common and detrimental to victims, yet remains unpunished, according to the most comprehensive national poll on teens' experiences and attitudes towards anti-gay bullying and harassment conducted by the National Mental Health Association. However, homosexual students at Paly for the most part do not feel that the national statistics reflect the school's and surrounding communities' actions and opinions.

"The numbers are high [in the poll]. Some of the verbal stuff refers to Paly; the physical stuff doesn't happen that often. It's a pretty good school compared to other schools in the country," Gay-Straight Alliance President MacKenzie Stuart said.

The results show that children who are perceived to be or are gay are the most frequent targets of bullying, even more so than overweight or disabled children. Seventy-eight percent of kids have witnessed anti-gay harassment in their school or communities, while 93 percent report hearing gay epithets such as "fag" and "queer". As many as 51 percent of respondents report hearing antihomosexual slurs daily, according to the survey.

"You hear stuff like ‘oh, that's so gay' all the time. It's part of the background noise. As far as high schools go, we've lucked out. I know that at other high schools you're just not out; you make sure people don't know [about your sexual orientation]," senior Claudia Cravens said.

Junior Eric Felleman concurs with Cravens. "It's rarely, if ever, been directed at me," Felleman said. "[Gay slurs] are generally used just as an insult. It's still offensive, though not related to someone's sexual orientation."

The nation's largest and oldest nonprofit mental health organization, The National Mental Health Association, released the poll results that questioned 760 teen-agers ages 12-17 on December 12.

Nearly 80 percent of adolescents say they have witnessed classmates being taunted with gay slurs, according to the survey. Of those who witness taunting, 80 percent responded that they disapproved of it. The poll also found that 75 percent of targeted kids are straight.

Various studies have found that one third of gay students are physically harassed due to their sexual orientation, while one in six is beaten to the point where they need medical attention. Polls also find that compared to straight kids, gay kids are four times more likely to be threatened with a weapon at school. About 40 percent of teens have had same-sex attractions at some time, according to the poll. Child psychiatrists suspect that the fear of being gay leads them to bully others, finding that showing their hatred of homosexuals prevents them from being perceived as homosexual.

Bullied children and teens are at an increased risk for school failure, suicide, depression, eating disorders and anxiety disorders. It has also been linked to school violence, according to the NMHA.

Though a 2000 California law bans harassment in school based on sexual orientation, teachers do not address the problem, according to students.

"You hear it so often, in front of teachers too. But it's a lot of trouble to go through for the teacher for not a huge result. Though that doesn't make it any more acceptable." Felleman said. "I don't know how much power teachers really have in that situation. I've never needed help, but I would be hesitant to ask. They have the law behind them, but from a practical standpoint that doesn't really work."

Some physiatrists are concerned with how parents and teachers try to stop bullying. They say that many teachers deal with the situation by telling perpetrators that they should not "accuse" someone of being gay because it's "mean and hurtful." Such responses, according to educator Rick Lavoie, reinforce the perception that the word gay is a pejorative such as stupid or ugly. Psychiatrists believe there are several reasons for anti-gay harassment.

"There's been a polarization of sexuality over the past 20 years, so the anti-gay bullying has gotten progressively worse. There are more explicit images in the media and at the same time more rigid views [regarding sexuality] from the right wing and churches," said Dr. Lynn Ponto, a UC San Francisco psychiatry professor and author of The Sex Lives of Teenagers.

Cravens feels that because Palo Alto is a "very affluent and fairly liberal area it pervades tolerance everywhere," and Stuart agrees. "We're an exception to the rule," Stuart said.

In response to the survey results the NMHA launched "What Does Gay Mean?" a new national program that aims to help parents answer their kids' questions regarding people's sexual preferences and share their values of tolerance before their kids are exposed to stereotypes in the media or misinformation from peers. Lynn Ponton, a child psychiatrist, authored the "What Does Gay Mean?" brochure that is the staple of the program. Students don't believe the new program will be effective. "Communication with children and parents is a good start. The problem is that the people who would follow through the most are the ones that are already pretty okay with it anyway," Cravens said.

Stuart believes the problem must be addressed at the school level.

"A brochure is more useful for other things such as drugs; harassment needs to be taken care of at school. Unless your kid is being bullied you're not going to notice anything about it. It needs to go to the school. ," Stuart said.

Felleman believes awareness could reduce the amount of harassment. "I think the best way is to let people know [homosexuality] isn't a foreign thing and it's around them in their daily lives," Fellemen said. "If the reality was brought to people's attention things might change."