1. Parent Booklet PFLAG National
2. Youth Stats GLSEN
3. New Study Canadian researchers
4. "Just the Facts" American Psychological Association
5. Basics PFLAG National
Gay Youth Stats & Why You Should Care...
The issue of sexual orientation is one of personal importance to a great number of children. Researchers and social scientists suggest that 1 to 3 of every 10 students is either gay or lesbian, or has an immediate family member who is. Thus, between 3-9 kids in every class of 30 has had some direct experience with the issues of homosexuality and homophobia.
Schools have an obligation to support and enhance the self-esteem of all students regardless of their sexual orientation. They are also a logical place to provide accurate information. This section reports some of the many effects of homophobia on students in educational environments.
STATISTICS:
Gay and Lesbian students often feel invisible in their schools. Their invisibility is typically reinforced by heterosexism in their environment, which causes gay and lesbian young people to feel invisible, unsupported and isolated. The following statistics vividly illustrate some of the reasons educators should be concerned about the experiences gay and lesbian young people have while in school.
SUICIDE:
A 1989 study by the US Department of Health and Human Services showed gay and lesbian youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual young people. 30% of the completed youth suicides are committed by lesbian and gay youth annually and suicide is their leading cause of death.
SCHOOL DROP-OUT:
28% of gay and lesbian high school students in a national study were seen to have dropped out of school because of harassment resulting from their sexual orientation. (Remafedi, G., Pediatrics, 326-330. 1987) ISOLATION: 80% of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth report severe isolation problems. They experience social isolation, emotional isolation and cognitive isolation. (Hetrick. E.S. Martin.A.D., Journal of Homosexuality 14 (1/2). 25-43. 1987)
VIOLENCE:
45% of gay males and 20% of lesbians report having experienced verbal harassment and/or physical violence as a result of their sexual orientation during high school. (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, ";National Anti-Gay/Lesbian Victimization Report";, 1984)
HOMELESSNESS:
26% of gay and lesbian youth are forced to leave home because of conflicts with their families over their sexual identities. (Remafedi. G., Pediatrics, 79, 326-330, 1987)
HIV/AIDS:
Approximately 20% of all persons with AIDS are 20-29 years old; given the long latency period between infection and the onset of the disease, many were probably infected as teenagers (Lehman, M., HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 5(1), 1993)
STUDENT ATTITUDES:
97% of students in public high schools report regularly hearing homophobic remarks from their peers. (Making Schools Safe for Gay and Lesbian Youth: Report of Mass. Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, 1993)
STAFF ATTITUDES:
53% of students report hearing homophobic comments made by school staff. (Making Schools Safe for Gay and Lesbian Youth: Report of Mass. Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, 1993)
HEALTH ISSUES:
68% of adolescent gay males use alcohol and 44% use other drugs; 83% of lesbians use alcohol and 56% use other drugs. (Hunter. J. et al. Unpublished research by the Columbia University HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, 1992)
DEPRESSION:
In a study of depression and gay youth, researchers found depression strikes homosexual youth four to five times more severely than their non-gay peers.
(Hammelman, TL, 1990) (Fact Sheet compiled by GLSEN , New York, NY and Youth Pride, Inc., Providence, RI)
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NEW STUDY SHEDS LITTLE LIGHT ON THE ORIGINS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Thursday, April 22, 1999 More Research Needed, But Equality Should Not Be Predicated On Results Of Studies, Asserts HRC WASHINGTON --
A new study released today by Canadian researchers offers little in the scientific search for the origins of sexual orientation. While research regarding the origins of sexual orientation remains inconclusive, the need for equality under the law for gay and lesbian Americans is clear, according to HRC. "A growing body of evidence suggests a biological or genetic component to sexual orientation, but it is by no means conclusive," said HRC
Communications Director David M. Smith. "There is also a mountain of conclusive evidence that shows that gay and lesbian Americans are discriminated against and sometimes brutally attacked. While we welcome more research to help clarify this issue, our priority as a society should be equal protection under the law and basic fairness in public policy for all people."
The new study challenges the 1993 findings of researcher Dean Hamer who reported that evidence of a genetic basis for homosexuality in males could be observed by studying the X chromosome. Hamer's study showed the existence of similar patterns in the Xq28 chromosomes of gay brothers. The Canadian study,which tried to replicate Hamer's, did not corroborate his evidence. The new findings were published in the trade journal Science, by four researchers from the University of Western Ontario: George Rice; Carol Anderson; Neil Risch; and George Ebars. The study consisted of a molecular analysis of the Xq28 chromosome in 52 gay brothers. The researchers were trying to find a similar pattern shared by the siblings in this chromosome, as had Hamer. However, unlike Hamer's study, the researchers found no conclusive genetic link.
The researchers made clear that this finding in no way suggests that there is not a biological or genetic component to sexual orientation. "Although we found no evidence of linkage of sexual orientation to Xq28, those results do not preclude the possibility of detectable gene effects elsewhere in the genome," the researchers stated in the article in Science. Hamer's research at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Biochemistry originally reported that the families of 76 gay men had a significantly higher number of gay male relatives then the general population. According to the study, almost all the gay relatives were on the mother's side of the family. This suggested that homosexuality may be inherited via the X chromosome, which comes from the mother. Hamer followed this hypothesis and conducted a study with 40 pairs of gay brothers and found that 33 pairs shared similarities in their Xq28 chromosomes.
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