Gay Straight Alliance

　

GAY STRAIGHT ALLIANCE

The gay straight alliance has become more commonly known over Ontario throughout the past year. It has found to be a very positive outlet for the LGBTTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, two-spirited, intersex, queer and questioning) people to express and be themselves. It has also given the community a chance to develop relationships with other students as well as people in the community who are experiencing the same stigmas directly or non-directly. Not everyone is supportive of this alliance, and there are always a section of people who disagree with the idea. Currently the “Ontario politicians are debating amendments to the province's Education Act designed to deal with bullying and they find themselves running up against formidable opposition in the form of the province's Catholic bishops” (Schwartz, 2012).“It is not that the clergymen are in any way supportive of bullying. What they object to is that Bill 13, the accepting schools act, gives "particular emphasis" to "LGBTTIQ people.( Schwartz, 2012). “They also oppose a particular clause that would enable students to call anti-bullying groups they form at school a "gay-straight alliance” (Schwartz, 2012). They state that bullying and gay straight alliance groups have nothing in common but information from “surveys in both Canada and the U.S. found bullying of sexual minority students is less common in schools that have an anti-homophobia policy and/or have a gay-straight alliance” (Schwartz, 2012). Further more, the definition of bullying is Bullying “repeated and aggressive behaviour by a pupil where,(a) the behaviour is intended by the pupil to cause, or the pupil ought to know that the behaviour would be likely to cause, harm, fear or distress to another individual, including psychological harm or harm to the individual's reputation, and(b) the behaviour occurs in a context where there is a real or perceived power imbalance between the pupil and the individual based on factors such as size, strength, age, intelligence, peer group power, economic status, social status, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, family circumstances, gender, race, disability or the receipt of special education” (Schwartz, 2012). Bill 13 then adds that bullying behaviour, "includes the use of any physical, verbal, electronic, written or other means."


This clearly states that bullying and the gay straight alliance have more in common then they want to lead on. They don’t want to admit that this is something positive for each individual, school and community because they are scared of the unknown. In other words, the LGBT community.
People in the LGBT community, as well as friends and family of those individuals are striving to make the gay straight alliance as effective as possible but the “problem is, Catholic doctrine has called homosexuality a “disorder.” True, homosexual people are to be tolerated, even accepted. But same sex love is, as described in 1986 by the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith (formerly known as the Inquisition), “an intrinsic moral evil””(Zerbisias, 2012). If someone has not experience this in their life they made not understand. Educating your school and community is very important so that people are able to understand different views and sexual orientation. Those that are students today, are our future tomorrow, and if they can be open to a gay straight alliance, their voice and opinions should be heard.

Students very much support the gay straight alliance and want them to take part in their schools. “In a 2011 survey of over 7,000 students for the Ontario Student Trustees' Association, 88 per cent agreed, that a student wanting to establish a Gay Straight Alliance club in their school should be allowed to do so” (Schwartz, 2012). They feel that it can make a change in their schools and the life of themselves, their friends, and or family who may be part of the LGBT community. Homosexuality is present in our society, and we cant deny it, people should be able to talk about it openly. Bill 13 also states that they “believe that students need to be equipped with the knowledge, skills, attitude and values to engage the world and others critically, which means developing a critical consciousness that allows them to take action on making their schools and communities more equitable and inclusive for all people, including LGBTTIQ people” (Broten, Hon Lauren C., 2012). Another Part of Bill 13 states they want the students to “recognize that a whole-school approach is required, and that everyone; government, educators, school staff, parents, students and the wider community, has a role to play in creating a positive school climate and preventing inappropriate behaviour, such as bullying, sexual assault, gender-based violence and incidents based on homophobia, transphobia or biphasic” (Broten, Hon Laurel C., 2012). With education the stigmas surrounding the LGBT community can be reduced as we grow in the future.

When you take a look at the conservative ideology you can see that they feel strongly about individual freedom and it is extremely important to them. With this ideology everyone knows what they want and life and the goals they want to achieve. They also know how they should be working towards accomplishing these goals for themselves. This is a perfect example of when straight people are an ally to the LGBT community by choice, and want to advocate for them, and work towards promoting awareness and eliminating discrimination. Some people are closed minded and are not at all supportive, which then leads to discrimination and prejudice. If people could look through the conservative ideologies lens, even for a short time, they could see that having goals, and changing in a positive way can provide people with a happy life. For example if they looked through the conservative lens, and set a goal to educate themselves about the LGBT community, they would learn that there are many misconceptions about this community. Such as assuming that homosexuality is a learned or is a person choice, suggesting that homosexuals can control their sexual orientation. Some attribute homosexuality to a choice and others believe genetics. But why not find out facts other than assumptions.

They assume that the LGBT community is responsible for their homosexuality. The assume someone can just control their sexuality and that it is an individual choice. If they were able to look through a different lens, and learn valuable education about what they were too stubborn to learn about before, these people can become more rounded and raise awareness for the LGBT community, as well as potentially become an ally and educate others. A woman from the LGBT community stated “She's being who she was; she's being who she was born as. I think if you talk to anybody, it's not a choice” (Haider-Markel, D. & Joslyn, M., 2012).

If everyone could take a view at the world in a lens other than their own, they make see everyone is their own person and a label shouldn’t be placed on something just because of their sexual orientation. Even in our own community of Sault Ste. Marie we support the gay straight alliance. A member of the LGBT community stated "I started a Gay Straight Alliance with the help of my friends. We have run a number of initiatives in the school, such as events for the Day of Purple, and a community gala for the International Day Against Homophobia. The GSA is in its second year of operation and this year we presented to classes about homophobic bullying and what the GSA is doing about these issues" (Aikens, 2012).

Alysha

References

　 　
Aikens, Cameron. "Sault Ste Marie Gay Teen Stands up against Bullying : The Canadian National Newspaper." Sault Ste Marie Gay Teen Stands up against Bullying : The Canadian National Newspaper. The Canadian, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/transgender/2011/10/18/1229.html>.

Broten, Hon Laurel, C. 'Bill 13, Accepting Schools Act, 2012". Legislative Assembly of Ontaro. 1 June, 2012. Web. 01 Nov.2012. http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2549　

Haider-Markel, D. & Joslyn, M. (2012). Beliefs About the Origins of Homosexuality and Support For Gay Rights: An Empirical Test of Attribution Theory. Oxford Journals, 72 (2) 291-310.

http://poq.oxfordjournals.org.libproxy.auc.ca/content/72/2/291.full

Schwartz. D. ''Gay-straight alliance' name forces debate in Ontario:Roman Catholic archbishop opposes requiring GSA name''. CBC News. 30 May, 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/05/29/f-ont-gay-straight-alliances.html>

Zerbisias, A. ''Gay-Straight Alliances save lives, say Ontario students''. 1 June, 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2012.<http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1204559--gay-straight-alliances-save-lives-say-ontario-students>