Who Dares to Speak Above a Whisper

“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches. Every minority, be it Baptist/Unitarian, Irish/Italian/Octogenarian/Zan Buddhist, Zionist/Seventh-day Adventist, Women's Lib/ Republican, Mattachine/FourSquareGospel feels it has the will, the right, the duty to douse the kerosene, light the fuse. Every dimwit editor who sees himself as the source of all dreary blanc-mange plain porridge unleavened literature, licks his guillotine and eyes the neck of any author who dares to speak above a whisper or write above a nursery rhyme...." -Ray Bradbury

I feel that the above quote really helps to tie the issue of censorship into our cultural issues and diversity class. It is like a metaphor of how each person is a book, full of a wealth of information, and other people go around ready to burn all these books, based on different ethnicities or opinions. They are ready to ‘burn their book’ as in silence them forever just because they do not agree with the person’s view point or maybe find it offensive. The end of the quote that is talking about writing anything more than a nursery rhyme shows how when people see others being censored or ‘burned’ they will not say anything serious, just fluffy and appropriate things that do not evoke any emotions or reaction. They want to appear ‘normal’.

Although there are many things that I could have chosen to write about from last week’s class, the one issue that is of great importance to me resulting from that class is censorship. I know we did not directly discuss censorship in class but that is what I took from last class. Censorship is defined as the suppression of speech or other communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive or inconvenient. There are a few issues within our class that I feel are directly caused by censorship. I also wish to point out that censorship is not always put into place by a government nor is it official. Any time when a person feels that they cannot freely express their opinions because of the actions of another person or group of people, that is censorship.

The first issue is going to tie directly into our learning about LGBTQ youth, and particularly those who are considering suicide. I was touched by the video clip “Ricks Rant Teen Suicide” when we saw it. It was so powerful. All I could think of was the last statement. “300 kids is 300 too many”. But if we pose the question as to why all these suicides are taking place, all I can think of is censorship. When LGBTQ youth see Jamie Hubley expressing his sexuality in a positive way and then get bullied to the point where he kills himself, are they going to express themselves or are they going to hide? This is a form of oppression on these kids and for them to have to hide their feelings that is censorship! Apart from the LGBTQ youth themselves, I know that the whole topic of LGBTQ people, although it is beginning to become more socially accepted, has been silenced by society. (Once again, censorship). Even when I did not identify as part of the LGBTQ community, I was always a very strong ally. My best friend is gay, and I would stand up for him in a heart-beat. There are some places where I felt that I could not say things due to society’s opinion on LGBTQ. This, once again, is censorship! So what I am trying to say here, is that we need to say loud and proud that we are LGBTQ or Allies, whichever, and as CYW’s I feel that being an Ally is a very important role in supporting these youth!

LGBTQ youth suicide and murders

This is a clip about children who were bullied to the point of committing suicide or were murdered by their peers for identifying as LGBTQ. The majority of the children were under sixteen and a few of them were as young as eleven. This clip goes to show that the word “bullying” needs to be taken out of our vocabulary and instead be referred to as harassment, which is what it really is. We would not be able to go up to someone in our place of work or in a public area and act as  ‘bullies’ it would be considered harassment or assault and would be a criminal offence. It is not a light hearted issue, and it needs to be taken seriously. I totally agree with the statement that teachers need to be held accountable for this. Even if they support the oppression of LGBTQ youth indirectly, like by allowing students to say ‘that’s gay’ or not talking openly, or not allowing gay straight alliances within the school. Furthermore, we as people need to feel some sense of responsibility towards one another. In my opinion it is just as wrong to see something bad being done to someone and walk by without acknowledging it as it is to be the one actually harassing the person.

A Day in our Shoes: LGBTQ Youth Homelessness

 I think I made it about two minutes into this clip without crying. It is by far the most powerful video clip I have seen throughout this course and blogging assignment. Half of all youth that are homeless identify as LGBTQ and a huge part of these children are homeless because they were kicked out of their home just for the simple fact that they are LGBTQ.  Another thing I want to mention is the fact that children are coming out a younger age now, some as early as fourteen years old. In Canada it is illegal for a child to be living alone under the age of sixteen, and it is illegal for shelters to assist them in any way. This means there are a lot of youth between the ages of fourteen to sixteen that are homeless and have to sleep on the street because their age stops them from accessing services.

LGBTQ Suicide awareness video

This link is a video done as an assignment by two students that is addressing the issue of teen suicide in the LGBTQ community. I found the video so touching, some of the facts in the video were shocking and it really goes to show the need of allies within the LGBTQ community. I feel that as CYWs an LGBTQ ally is an extremely important role we need to step up and take. The part that affected me the most was the trans-gendered woman doing her speech towards the end. It was a startling fact when she said that suicide rates are over 40% among trans-gendered people, and only 1% of straight people. She then goes on to talk about all the harassment that she goes through on a daily basis. Once again this is a form of censorship that does not need to be happening. As allies we need to stand up to this and stop it and maybe save a life.

In summary of the clips that I shared, LGBTQ youth are censored by society in many different ways. They could fear becoming homeless or being bullied, and are subjected to society’s stereotypes on a regular basis.  This is all because of them witnessing other youth being bullied to the point where they feel they cannot go on, and seeing their peers being disowned by their families and without a home for identifying as LGBTQ. This fear could make youth feel that they need to live a lie and not be themselves or come out and be harassed or shunned because of it.

I want to end this part of my blog in a positive way. Throughout my blogging this week, I found an awesome role model that I think would be amazing to share with LGBTQ youth. His name is Gregory Gorgeous. I found him when I was looking up Jamie Hubley's story, since he has a video blog about it, and I found him very inspirational. I even look up to Gregory Gorgeous after watching a few of his videos, I can only imagine what an LGBTQ youth would think of him since they have experienced a lot of the same issues and Gregory is very open about what he has been through in his video blogs.

Gregory Gorgeous' Facebook Page

In Memory of Jamie Hubley (By: Gregory Gorgeous)

The second thing I want to say regarding censorship is in regards to a lot of our class mates. I feel that a portion of our class has been either directly or indirectly censored by the other portion of our class. Most, if not all, of our classes talk about issues which evoke a lot of emotion and personal opinion from people. I have found over the past two years that when we learn about the subjects that we deal with, hearing and sharing stories has been a great way that I have deepened my knowledge of most issues. I really enjoy hearing other people’s stories and they help me to connect the theories that we learn in class to the real world. The fact that many of the people who usually share these extremely valuable stories during class time have been caused by the actions of their peers to not share anymore will definitely be detrimental to my learning. In the same way, the tension in the class making me unable to now share my own stories will also make it difficult to make connections. We all have travelled very different paths and there is always something we can learn from one another. How is it that after working with these students for two and a half years, I am much more comfortable to go into a much bigger class where I have met no one and do a presentation? We need to support one another as child and youth workers and I feel that this is just not happening. It may be a bold statement, but after the actions of some of our classmates over the past few weeks on more than one occasion, I actually am ASHAMED to be part of this group! I did not have a part of any of it and I still felt some level of responsibility just for being part of the class. There are a handful of students that as a child I would most definitely not feel comfortable working with, and I feel terrible for children or youth who may have these individuals as counsellours after they graduate. After all, as CYWs we are not supposed to pass judgements on the children we work with, and with the amount of judgement that has been going around, it is hard to imagine a time where they would not be placing judgement on people. This judgement is why I tend to keep my mouth shut in class. I have many stories that I am sure would have contributed to the learning of the rest of the group, as do many of my peers , but once again, we are all being censored by the situations that have arisen in section b, child and youth work over the past few weeks.  

LGBTQ and Anti-Homophobia

Last Friday was my favorite class so far! Our speakers were awesome, they were very insightful and interactive. They got everyone involved, which is a difficult thing to do at eight am on a Friday morning. I was very surprised to see that the LGBTQ community was included in the Cultural Issues and Diversity class since when we think cultural, we tend to think more about ethnic groups than anything else. I am glad that we got the chance to see this presentation since this is an issue that has really hit home for me and really needs to be brought to the light.

There were some really good points that I picked up on from the presentation. The part I liked the most was the fact that they asked us “Did you wake up and decide to be straight?” or “Have you ever been accused of flaunting your heterosexuality?” This really went to show that homosexual people do not just wake up one day and choose to become homosexual. Instead they are born that way, and it is a part of who they are. I have a few friends who are homosexual and the bullying and harassment I have seen them go through is definitely not worth the pain they would have endured from a ‘choice’, who would choose that for themselves. Assuming that someone has chosen their sexuality also assumes that they could just ‘snap out of it’, which is simply not true. Another thing that was brought to my attention Friday was PFLAG, which stands for parents and friends of lesbians and gays. It is a gay-straight alliance and I think it is so wonderful that they talked about it. PFLAG helps to validate LGBTQ and might let homophobic ‘straight’ people see everything from a different perspective, since it communicates that we do not have to be LGBTQ in order to love, support and respect the people who are.

PFLAG

PFLAG stands for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. It is an organization that supports LGBTQ youth and their families. It is a place to go for parents who do not know what to do when their child first comes out and it is an alliance between gay and straight. PFLAG always has a float in the gay pride parade in support of their family and friends who are LGBTQ. PFLAG advocates for their allies. The PFLAG website offers support to families and friends of LGBTQ and also to the LGBTQ themselves. The website has links to community and online resources, and several statistics about LGBTQ youth. Some scary statistics from the PFLAG website are:

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• 30% of all suicides are LGBTQ
• 26% of LGBTQ youth are kicked out of their homes
•   LGBTQ youth are more likely to become homeless
•  LGBTQ students hear on average 26 anti-LGBTQ slurs every day!
• 43% of trans identified attempt suicide

These statistics are startling, and it just goes to show how relevant this issue is to the field and that we, as Child and Youth Workers, have a lot to do in order to help!

PFLAG- (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Website

Hetrosexual Questionnaire

I was very interested in looking up the heterosexual questionnaire. It asks us questions like why we chose to be straight and other questions that an LGBTQ person is typically asked to explain when they come out. The questions themselves are very difficult to answer, so the questionnaire should help the person taking it to empathize with LGBTQ people and have a better understanding of the whole situation. The questions would be hard to give an accurate answer to, and it is impossible to imagine being an LGBTQ youth trying to come out to my loved ones and having any one of these questions thrown my way. The questionnaire gives us a glimpse of what LGBTQ people go through on a daily basis. When I was looking for the heterosexual questionnaire I found a site that actually uses it in a lesson plan in an anti homophobia workshop for youth. I have included the lesson plan as well since it will allow us to use the questionnaire in a therapeutic manner with children and youth.

Hetrosexual Questionnaire

Hetrosexual Questionnaire Lesson Plan (Advocates for Youth)

Mini “Outside my cultural comfort zone” assignment

The last thing I am going to blog about is my mini “Out of my cultural comfort zone” assignment. Friday after class I went to Toronto for the weekend. We all wanted to go out Saturday night, and while we were deciding where to go, I suggested that we go to see the Drag Queens. This is what I had wanted to do for my actual comfort zone assignment but it was not possible at the time. Anyway, we went to a gay bar on Church Street called “Crews & Tango”. The lower level is drag queens who perform all night and the upstairs is a dance bar. I had an awesome time and I ended up ditching my friends, who just wanted to dance, to watch the Drag Queens perform. I learned a lot about Toronto’s LGBTQ scene, and I feel like the workshop in Friday’s class gave me a different outlook which allowed me to pick up on things I normally wouldn’t.

The first thing I want to comment on about Crews & Tango is the way the bathrooms are set up. They have three bathrooms there, male, female and trans. I thought that this was very cool. We talked a lot about the problems that arise for LGBTQ people, particularly those that identify as trans-gendered, in public bathrooms. Although I am pretty sure no violence would have went on at Crews & Tango, as it is a gay bar, it was nice to know that there was that level of acceptance and equality. I am curious as to whether or not a lot of other LGBTQ friendly places have the three bathroom option.

I also learned a lot about Drag Queens. I thought they were like strippers, and everyone got really offended when I asked that. I learned that they can be sort of mean, they will stand up and point fun at people in the audience. Ultimately, I found the Drag Queens to be glamorous, and almost like a form of comedian since they are usually funny. They pretty much just put on elaborate dresses, hair and make-up and sing and dance around on stage. I loved every minute of watching the Drag Queens, and I was not even all that offended when they poked fun at me. It was a very fun and eye opening night. I have included the web link to Crews & Tango’s website. The website is neat. It has events and all of the performers on it. You click on the performer’s picture and it takes you to their profile, which has an auto-biography about how they began Drag.  The Queen I saw is called Carlotta Carlisle, I have included a link to her page as well. She is who is in the picture I took below.

Crews & Tango Website

Carlotta Carlisle