Rural Lgbtq Youth: Starting a Gsa
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RURAL LGBTQ YOUTH: STARTING A GSA A Project Presented to the faculty of the Department of Graduate and Professional Studies in Education California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) by Megan Catherine Haas SPRING 2018 © 2018 Megan Catherine Haas ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii RURAL LGBTQ YOUTH: STARTING A GSA A Project by Megan Catherine Haas Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Frank Lilly, Ph.D. ____________________________ Date iii Student: Megan Catherine Haas I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. __________________________, Graduate Coordinator Albert S. Lozano, Ph.D __________________________ Date Department of Graduate and Professional Studies in Education iv Abstract of RURAL LGBTQ YOUTH: STARTING A GSA by Megan Catherine Haas The United States historically oppresses marginalized people. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) community is an example of an oppressed group. Activists groups such as the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis have been fighting for equal rights since the 1950’s, and LGBTQ people still face oppression. In the educational system, LGBTQ students often feel unsafe to attend school for fear of being victimized, harassed and unsupported. LGBTQ youth experience higher rates of absenteeism, suicidal thoughts, depression and substance abuse (Kann, et al., 2016). Rural youth are even more likely to experience victimization because of because of the high intolerance of homosexuality and conservatism in these communities (Kosciw, Greytak, & Diaz, 2009). Starting a successful gay straight alliance is one essential solution to providing support for LGBTQ students. A gay straight alliance helps to build tolerance on a school campus, provides support for LGBTQ youth and allies, and builds self-efficacy in a group of students who generally do not feel supported. v The handbook designed in this project provides a heuristic of how to start a GSA. It suggests activities for building relationships between students to create safe space for LGBTQ students and their allies. The handbook provides essential information on getting started, recruiting members developing goals for what to accomplish in the first few meetings. _______________________, Committee Chair Frank Lilly, Ph.D. _______________________ Date vi DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this project to my mother Janet Haas. Thank you for always believing in me and reminding me that I can succeed with hard work and patience. Also, to my LGBTQ students who inspired this work and continue to amaze me each day with your passion and resiliency. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Lilly for believing in me when I did not always believe in myself. Your encouragement and advice guided me through my project and kept me sane. My brother Tim Haas, you kept me calm during my highest points of frustration. Patricia Frerking thank you for your guidance and patience as you read my project. Lastly, thank you Grandma Jeannette for being my first student when I told you I wanted to be a teacher at three years old. You did not make it to see me walk the stage, but I know you are cheering me on from above. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Dedication……………………………………………………………………………..vii Acknowledgment……………………………………………………………………..viii List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………..xi List of Figures………………………………………………………………………….xii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………...1 Background……………………………………………………………………...1 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………..2 Purpose of the Project…………………………………………………………...5 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………........5 Benefits of a Gay Straight Alliance …………………………………………….7 Misconceptions ………………………………………………………………....7 Limitations …………………………………………………………………...…8 Definitions of Terms …………………………………………………………....8 Organization of Thesis ………………………………………………………….9 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………………………………….10 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………10 Oppression and Discrimination in America……………………………............10 Gay Rights Movement………………………………………………………….14 Similarities and Differences in Rural and Urban LGBTQ Youth…………......17 ix Negative Effects of Homophobia………………………………………………19 Gay Straight Alliance ………………………………………………………….21 Bullying and Harassment of LGBTQ Students in School …………………….22 Theoretical Framework………………………………………………………...24 Social Emotional Learning …………………………………………………….29 Conclusion…………………………………......................................................31 3. METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………………...32 Introduction …………………………………………………….......................32 Purpose …………………………………………………………………….......32 Settings …………………………………………………………………….......33 Participants………………………………….....................................................33 Steps Taken to Design the Project ……………………………………………..34 Description of the Project …………………………………………..................35 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………..36 4. CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND REFLECTIONS ………………………………………………………........................37 Conclusions…………………………………………………............................37 Limitations ……………………………………………………………………..38 Recommendations and Reflections………………………................................39 Appendix A. A Middle School GSA Handbook ………………………………............41 References......................................................................................................................71 x LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. Types of GSAs………………………………… ... .………………………… 60 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1. Theoretical Framework Connections……… ....... .……………………………28 2. Types of GSAs……………………….………………………………………..62 xii 1 Chapter One Introduction Background The fight for equal rights in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) community has been an excruciatingly long and enduring fight. During the early 1950’s, the Mattachine Society was started by Henry Hay Jr, in order to address the fact that homosexuals are not mentally ill but an oppressed minority (Ashley, 2015). By 1964, the Civil Rights Act made it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex and natural order (Fejes, 2008). Discrimination of homosexuals still occurred and the Civil Rights Act did not protect them because society did not see them as a minority. However, in the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement began with the idea of equal rights for all oppressed groups. Concurrently, women were fighting for equal rights and liberation. Women’s rights, civil rights and gay rights movements shared similar ideals of fair treatment and equality for all oppressed groups (Poindexter, 1997). In 1965, civil rights activists and gay rights activists marched in Washington D.C to protest the ban on hiring homosexuals. Then in 1969, police raided a gay club called Stonewall Inn. Patrons and other demonstrators grew fed up over police raids on gay clubs and started fighting back. It was not until 1970 that homosexuals were viewed as a minority group. In 1977, Harvey Milk was the first gay person elected to a public office in the country. As a Board Supervisor in San Francisco California, Milk started a pro-gay rights campaign (Russo, 2006). Milk and other gay rights activists worked relentlessly to 2 stop the passage of Proposition six, which would have banned homosexual teachers from working in California public schools (Fejes, 2008). In 1984, President Ronald Reagan passed the Federal Equal Access Act. This law states that if a school allows one extracurricular club, they must allow all. The law originated with Christian parents who wanted their children to be able to hold religious clubs on school campuses. Ironically, this law allowed LGBTQ students to hold gay straight alliance (GSA) clubs on campus. One of the first GSAs began at Concord Academy High School in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. As of 2013, according to the Gay Straight Alliance Network, there were about 900 GSA’s in California, of which only 40 are in middle schools (Gay Straight Alliance Network, n.d.). Statement of the Problem Bullying and harassment are prevalent problems among middle school students who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ). In a national survey administered by, the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 57.6% of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school (Kosciw, Greytak, Giga, Villenas, & Danischewski, 2016). When students feel unsafe at school, they are prone to chronic absenteeism, lower grade point averages, suicidal thoughts, depression, and substance abuse. In rural communities, LGBTQ youth are more likely to face discrimination and harassment than those in urban areas due in part to isolation, as rural communities tend to offer fewer supports for LGBTQ youth. Rural students are also more likely to have higher rates of absenteeism, suicidal thoughts, depression, and substance abuse (Kann, et al., 2016). 3 The U.S. Department of Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) to survey high school students about risky health related behavior (Kann, et al., 2016). The latest survey administered in 2015, surveyed 15, 713 students from fifty states in private and public schools. These students completed a questionnaire with