Chasg the rabow: lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth and pri semtics - PMC

Contents:

• CHASG THE RABOW: LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR AND QUEER YOUTH AND PRI SEMTICS
• GAY PRI  (TAGGED ARTICL)
• GAY PRI MONTH IS A TIME FOR JOY, BUT ALSO TO REFLECT ON THOSE STILL BEG PERSECUTED
• ARTICL ON GAY PRI

CHASG THE RABOW: LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR AND QUEER YOUTH AND PRI SEMTICS

Published fal eded form as:PMCID: PMC5378595NIHMSID: NIHMS843014AbstractWhile the pri rabow has been part of polil and social terventn for s, few have rearched how lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer young people perceive and e the symbol.

How do lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth who experience greater feelgs of isolatn and discrimatn than heterosexual youth regnise and ploy the symbol? As part of a larger study on supportive lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth environments, we nducted 66 go-along terviews wh lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth people om Massachetts, Mnota and Brish Columbia. Keywords: Lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, LGBT, youth, wellbeg, semtics, rabow, pri flagIntroductnLbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth face greater risk of physil and mental health hazards than their heterosexual peers, cludg substance abe, sexual risk-takg, suicidaly and prsn (D’Augelli 2003; Eisenberg and Rnick 2006; Friedman et al.

Factors fluencg the negative health out clu discrimatn, harassment and physil harm, lack of fay and social support and ternalised homophobia, which culmate experienc of mory strs, or a unique set of strsors experienced by those on society’s margs (Chard et al. In an effort to addrs the issu, rearch has foced on what ndns serve to protect lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer groups om the negative out. Rearchers have found that school-based support, like safe-space iativ and Gay Straight Alliance or siar clubs, are stmental (Kosciw et al.

GAY PRI  (TAGGED ARTICL)

Even more signifint are the protective effects of support om fay, iends, teachers and muny members, and pecially the support of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer peers (Doty et al.

2015) important nuance to mory strs arguments, a study of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth’s higher rat of self-stctive behavrs, McDermott, Roen and Surfield (2008) argue that is the general ntext of environmental homophobia that is distrsg to youth, not the sexual mory inti themselv. In attempts to addrs environmental homophobia and genr-based bullyg, public policy rearchers have enuraged school teachers, unsellors, health staff and admistrators to vt ‘safe space’ iativ by g stickers pictg the inic symbols of the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer-associated rabow ‘pri flag’ to proclaim certa areas as safe (Payne and Smh 2013; Ratts et al.

2013; Vacro, Augt, and Kennedy 2011) the out of bullyg and other strsors lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth experience (Rivers 2000), symbols of pri may be particularly important.

GAY PRI MONTH IS A TIME FOR JOY, BUT ALSO TO REFLECT ON THOSE STILL BEG PERSECUTED

Policy makers hope the visibily of the symbol n help, but rearchers utn that the mere display of such rabows or ‘safe space’ stickers as part of many of the iativ seldom requir trag that aids teachers their practil support of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth (Payne and Smh 2013). Trag teachers and other muny members how to support sexual mory youth is cril; however, this study shows there may be more advantag om the display of pri symbols than ially rabow as a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer symbolIn June 2015, the rabow flag appeared on ernment buildgs and landmarks across the USA celebratn of the US Supreme Court cisn legalisg same sex marriage. Over 26 ln dividuals altered their Facebook profile pictur wh rabow filters as a show of support for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muni (Dewey 2015).

Lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muni, for example, have a long tradn of g nocuo objects such as the placement of ear piercgs, the lour and placement of handkerchiefs and hair styl to signal inty and muny (Berlant and Freeman 1992; Bryan-Wilson and Fischer 2015) s 1978 creatn by the artist Gilbert Baker, the symbol of the rabow has been creasgly ed to reprent lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer pri and solidary (Dreyf 2015). The rabow flag on street signs and pestrian crossgs n also mark geographilly fed spac for gay muni (Ghaziani 2014). To approach the rabow flag through semtics is to regnise as a signifier of nnoted meangs that are produced, refed and renegotiated wh each rearch on lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer symbolism, cludg the rabow flag, has generally been limed to adult populatns wh a cynil foc on palist nsumptn (Crowley, Harré, and Lunt 2007; Milligan 2013; Philippm 1999).

ARTICL ON GAY PRI

Chas (2001) for example, not that wh creased visibily, lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people have bee a ‘lavenr market’ for advertisers. Instead of focg on the rabow’s meang for the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muni, rearch has foced on how symbols n be ed to market to lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people whout alienatg others (Oakenfull and Greenlee 2005; Philippm 1999).

However, rearch to healthy lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth velopment do so wh few or no mentns of the rabow as a signifier that participat the productn of what healthy velopment n look like (Renow 2004; Shippee 2011).

This study monstrat that the symbol of the rabow flag holds meang for ntemporary lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer youth over and above how is marketed to them media and nsumable products, and is importantly associated wh protective factors like school and muny the absence of normalisg cultural nversatns or exposure to lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people school curricula (Eisenberg et al.