Safe Spaces ~ August

For my blog post this week I decided to do the reflection.

Okay, so right from the get go I knew this was going to be a challenging article for me to read. In the beginning it started with kids who had committed suicide in 2010... The focus on heterosexism in this article is very important in my opinion. Heterosexism is when people are assumed to be straight because that is the "social norm". In this article though, the focus is more on the use of it in the classroom. Heterosexism and heteronormativity is everywhere around us. We are taught in class that a family is made up of a mother and father, in books we read it is straight couples, and in tv shows (until recently) they are made up of heterosexual couples. A good way that the article counteracts this is when the teacher, Zeke, comes into classrooms. He brings books about family that don't meet the social norms. For example a book about two male penguins that raise an egg together. This connects to the Johnson article in the sense that we should openly talk about issues and not tip toe around them.

I have a very close friend back at home who is a lesbian. We have known each other basically our whole lives and she came out to me about 3 and half years ago.  Nothing changed between us, we are still as close as can be, but it just opened my eyes to the LGBT world. I didn't have much experience with it, but as soon as my best friend came out I learned our school had a G.S.A. and joined immediately. I learned so much about the LGBT world that I didn't know was even a thing. This was a very powerful article that I am excited to talk about in class. 

The Human Rights Campaign  is an excellent source for allies and members of the LGBTQ community for resources and facts. Also The Trevor Project is a source for LGBT youth who may not feel safe in the environment they live in, and is also a suicide prevention foundation. 

Topic of discussion: In your high school experience and life how has the LGBT community ben shown? Were there any acts of non-supporters (didn't want to say homophobia... but I guess I just did) in your high school or life in general?