End verbal, offensive queer discrimination

Jordan Lutz, Staff Writer

When we were younger, everyone heard the idiom, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” As we grew older, we realized that phrase was not true. We know now that words can hurt. Most people seem to know what words hurt and avoid saying them when needed. Yet, there are words and phrases people use despite the knowledge that they cause harm. Words and phrases such as “faggot,” “dyke,” “that’s so gay” and more have increased in usage at Manhattan High. It is appropriate that the student body be informed of the harm they are causing others who hear them.

In an article, Kevin L. Nadal, associate professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, wrote about microaggressions towards the LGBT+ community.

“Microaggressions are the everyday encounters of subtle discrimination that people of various marginalized groups experience throughout their lives,” Nadal said.

Sometimes these acts are done without knowledge or intent. This is something that plagues many without realization. He studied the effects of microaggressions with his colleagues Melissa Corpus and David Rivera. They found that two-thirds of LGBT+ students felt unsafe in their environment due to the usage of homo/trans-phobic terminology. They linked other studies that showed negative words were a major cause of psychological distress and physical health issues traced to stress. These transgressions pile up and could lead to suicide. According to an article by the Center of Disease Control, claims that LGBT+ students were more than twice as likely to commit suicide when compared to heterosexual peers.

Psychologist Michael Friedman claimed that 85 percent of LGBT+ people are verbally abused at school. Most may not think but simple words can be abusive with or without intention. These words show the disregard given to the queer population over centuries. Using those words, despite being asked to stop, is abuse and disrespect to that person. If someone asks for a word not to be said because they find it offensive, stop saying it. Don’t go and use other, equally offensive words to replace the one blocked. That is not how it works. Unless you are in the LGBT+ community, you have no rights to those words. Before anything is said, no, allies are not included in having any rights to use offensive words.

Put all of this into MHS’ perspective. Students are careful with what they say but there are times when derogatory terms are used in front of faculty and nothing is done. Lack of reaction and action towards the use of derogatory queer words shows LGBT+ students that faculty do not care and that support at MHS is lacking. How can the school expect to support a student’s emotional growth if actions like this are left unpunished?  How can the school provide a safe learning environment if they allow hurtful actions like this, no matter how small, to be openly shown? Do not forget the queer students who refuse to participate in sports. A 2016 Title IX Department of Justice and Department of Education letter states that schools must, “provide an environment free of harassment.” Students being afraid to join school activities due to verbal harassment is in direct violation of this Title IX viewing.

MHS is certainly one of the most supporting schools I have seen, but there is so much room for improvement here. Stopping words and phrases like these is the first step of many for positive reform. Training teachers in how to handle situations where a queer student feels ostracized from their peers due to words like these being thrown around is a solution. Adding an LGBT+ section to anti-bullying presentations can be another step. There is so much more that this school could, and should, be doing to help integrate acceptance for its queer population.