Advocacy Groups For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgendered Students Essay ⋆ Education Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Advocacy groups for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) students improve lives by providing outreach and information, helping LGBTQ youth find local resources, and supporting student activism. LGBTQ youth are coming out of the closet at younger ages and in greater numbers than ever before, forcing schools and society to revamp laws and policies and institute new programs to ensure their safety and inclusion. This entry looks at how advocacy groups help.

Before the advent of the Internet, LGBTQ youth advocacy groups were confined to large cities and served small populations of youth. Many youth advocacy groups were housed in local gay and lesbian community centers, usually underfunded and staffed by volunteers who offered outreach in the form of support groups. Even so, many urban LGBTQ youth experienced extreme isolation in school and at home and had little or no access to other LGBTQ youth or adults. Growing up in small towns and rural America also presented a challenge to LGBTQ youth, who were less likely to find sources of support than their peers in more populated urban areas.

With the introduction of the Internet in the 1990s and an increase in LGBTQ characters in the popular media, LGBTQ youth have found greater societal acceptance and increased opportunities to engage with other LGBTQ youth and supportive adults. Because youth spend much of their time in school, it seems natural that America’s public schools took center stage and became the battlefield on which LGBTQ youth are currently fighting to be recognized and included in the curricula and practices of the schools.

As a result, many LGBTQ youth advocacy groups have sprung up to provide support, resources, and training to students expecting equal rights. Among the most widely known of those groups are the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), started in 1990, and the Safe Schools Coalition, adopting its current name and mission in 2001. GLSEN has local chapters across the United States, and safe schools coalitions (grassroots coalitions of parents, educators, students, and community members) have organized in many communities to work with local school districts in bringing about equity for LGBTQ students.

The increased societal support for LGBTQ youth and the 1984 Federal Equal Access Act have allowed for the formation of support programs for LGBTQ youth in America’s public schools, like Project 10 in Los Angeles, Massachusetts’ Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students, and more than 3,000

Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) student clubs in all fifty states. GSAs serve many purposes, including social, support, and advocacy. Besides GLSEN, advocacy groups offering support to students starting GSAs include the Gay-Straight Alliance Network; Lambda Legal, a national network of cooperating attorneys providing legal representation and Web-based handbooks, such as Out, Safe, and Respected: Your Rights at School; and the American Civil Liberty Union’s (ACLU) Lesbian & Gay Rights Project, fighting for the rights of LGBTQ students in courts and legislatures.

Other advocacy organizations, many of them Internet based, include National Youth Advocacy Coalition; OutProud, the National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth; Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG); Young Gay America (YGA); Youth Guardian Services, offering safe cyber spaces for LGBTQ youth; and Youth Resource, providing sexual health information to LGBTQ youth. Ambiente Joven is an advocacy organization for Spanish-speaking LGBTQ youth, and Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (Gender PAC) advocates rights of transgender students.

Bibliography:

Huegel, K. (2003). GLBTQ: The survival guide for queer and questioning teens. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.
Macgillivray, I. K. (2004). Sexual orientation and school policy: A practical guide for teachers, administrators, and community activists. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Macgillivray, I. K. (2007). Gay-straight alliances: A handbook for students, educators, and parents. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
Rich, J. R. (2002). Growing up gay in America. Portland, OR: Franklin Street Books.
Sears, J. T. (Ed.). (2005). Youth, education, and sexualities: An international encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights Project: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/index.html
Ambiente Joven: http://ambientejoven.org
Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN): http://www.glsen.org
Gay-Straight Alliance Network: http://www.gsanetwork.org
Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (Gender PAC): http://www.gpac.org/youth
Lambda Legal: http://www.lambdalegal.org
National Youth Advocacy Coalition: http://www.nyacyouth.org
OutProud: http://www.outproud.org
Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG): http://www.pflag.org
Safe Schools Coalition: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org
Young Gay America (YGA): http://www.YoungGayAmerica.com
Youth Guardian Services: http://www.youth-guard.org
Youth Resource: http://www.youthresource.com

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