LGBTQ Youth’s Views on Gay-Straight Allianc: Buildg Communy, Providg Gateways, and Reprentg Safety and Support - PMC

Contents:

• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC
• HOW TO START A GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE (GSA)
• LGBTQ YOUTH’S VIEWS ON GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC: BUILDG COMMUNY, PROVIDG GATEWAYS, AND REPRENTG SAFETY AND SUPPORT
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC, INCLIVE POLICY, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE: LGBTQ YOUTHS' EXPERIENC OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BULLYG
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC, INCLIVE POLICY, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE: LGBTQ YOUTHS’ EXPERIENC OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BULLYG
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC: A MECHANISM OF HEALTH RISK RCTN AMONG LGBTQ ADOLCENTS
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE INVOLVEMENT AND YOUTHS’ PARTICIPATN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, ADVOCY, AND AWARENS-RAISG

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC

Gay-Straight Allianc or Genrs and Sexuali Allianc have been associated wh improvements school safety, a key ponent of school nnectedns, for all stunts.Rearch specifilly lks the prence of Gay-Straight Allianc or Genrs and Sexuali Allianc (GSAs) to greater feelgs of school nnectedns among Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Qutng (LGBTQ) stunts. Gay-Straight allianc are associated wh lower levels of school-based victimizatn of LGBTQ+ youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. One way stunts n make their school a safer environment for all youth is through a gay-straight alliance, or GSA — a stunt-led club that provis support for lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr stunts and their iends.

In 2016, we formally changed our name to Genrs & Sexuali Alliance Network (formerly Gay-Straight Alliance Network) after hearg om untls youth lears who unrstand their genrs and sexuali to be uniquely theirs and have moved beyond the labels of gay and straight, and the lims of a bary genr system. Gay-Straight Allianc, or GSAs, are stunt-led and stunt-anized school clubs that aim to create a safe, welg, and acceptg school environment for all youth, regardls of sexual orientatn or genr inty.

HOW TO START A GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE (GSA)

GSAs provi a supportive environment for lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) stunts, as well as those who are perceived by others to be LGBT, are qutng their inty, have LGBT iends or fay members, or jt re about LGBT issu. Rearch has shown that LGBT stunts hear fewer homophobic slurs, experience ls harassment, have better attendance, and feel safer at schools that have GSAs.

LGBTQ YOUTH’S VIEWS ON GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC: BUILDG COMMUNY, PROVIDG GATEWAYS, AND REPRENTG SAFETY AND SUPPORT

Department of Edutn “Dear Colleague Letter” on gay-straight alliance clubs and the Equal Accs Act: An open letter signed by the Assistant Secretary of Civil Rights of the U.

“Gay-Straight Allianc: Ground Zero for School Tolerance”: An article wrten for teachers by teachers om Edutn World magaze, explag why GSA’s should be allowed at schools. Eisenberg, ScD, MPHAbstractBACKGROUNDGay-Straight Allianc (GSAs) are school-based clubs that n ntribute to a healthy school climate for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and qutng (LGBTQ) youth. Keywords: gay-straight alliance, adolcent, sexual mory, school-basedAdolcents thrive climat that foster healthy velopment; arguably the most important climat are those school and fay settgs.

Gay-straight allianc (GSAs), as a part of a school’s climate, are a key strategy signed to ensure safety, support, and rpect for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and qutng (LGBTQ) youth schools.

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC, INCLIVE POLICY, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE: LGBTQ YOUTHS' EXPERIENC OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BULLYG

Of those who did not ment about GSAs, two were om Mnota, two om Brish Columbia, and four om Massachetts; the 8 were olr (7 of the 8 were 17 or 18 years old) and more likely to be livg an urban settg (63% pared to 29% of the total sample) but other ways were not mographilly distct om the 58 who did talk about 1Participant Sexual Orientatn and Genr Inty (N=58)FemaleMaleTrans and other labels^TOTALGay or Lbian`811221Bisexual`59317Queer and addnal labels~511218Straight--11Other--11TOTAL18211958In two lotns, participants provid nsent for themselv. Membership the GSA muny ed youth not to feel isolated their inty: “It was nice to know that there were other people like that, bee I would never have spected that anyone else was” (17-year-old, male, gay).

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC, INCLIVE POLICY, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE: LGBTQ YOUTHS’ EXPERIENC OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BULLYG

It was also monstrated participatn, as one youth exprsed tratn at missg a planng meetg: “I fot to go, and I’m, like, no, I need to go to that” (14-year-old, male, gay).

Fac pop to your head, like our GSA advisor” (18-year-old, male, gay) om across all three study s discsed the specific typ of support and guidance they received om the non-parental, important adults.

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC: A MECHANISM OF HEALTH RISK RCTN AMONG LGBTQ ADOLCENTS

(16-year-old, “other” genr and orientatn)Another youth, when explag the Ally Week that their GSA hosted at school, stated, “…all people do is say, ‘Hey, I’m an ally, ‘ and teachers were [dog] that, and that was pretty ol” (17-year-old, male, gay).

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE INVOLVEMENT AND YOUTHS’ PARTICIPATN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, ADVOCY, AND AWARENS-RAISG

Through their volvement wh GSAs, youth spoke about disverg servic such as healthre clics, hotl, and support groups: “Bee I was so volved GLSEN [Gay, Lbian & Straight Edutn Network] and GSA work, that’s how I knew about all the rourc” (18-year-old, female, queer). This youth stated, “Durg the transgenr policy that was tryg to be implemented…both [Twter and Facebook] were ed hardre” (18-year-old, male, gay).

Gay-Straight Allianc (GSA) and school polici foced on support for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer/qutng youth may rce bias-based bullyg and enhance social supports schools. Gay-Straight Allianc are Associated wh Lower Levels of School-Based Victimizatn of LGBTQ+ Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

If you are a stunt at a public high school tryg to start a gay-straight alliance (GSA) club at your school, you may be required to wre a missn statement for your club.