Sexual minority youth live in virtually every city, town and village in the nation. Nearly every school serves gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) children and every teacher guides and instructs them. While some underlying assumptions about sexuality and gender are implicit in these assertions, these statements indeed reflect the reality that thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people spend their childhoods, and often adulthoods, in rural communities. The 2000 Census reveals that same-sex couples live in over 99% of United States counties. Gay and lesbian people are not alone in rural communities. This being the case, it is peculiar that the vast majority of programs for GLBT young people are in metropolitan areas. While all gay and lesbian students face tremendous challenges, rural students go noticeably underserved. The purpose of this resource manual is to assist concerned adults in creating safe environments for rural gay youth.
Why GLBT Students?
The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educators Network (GLSEN) reports in their most recent National School Climate Survey that:
- Over 80% of GLBT students are verbally harassed at school because of their sexual orientation.
- Over 80% of GLBT students have teachers who rarely intervene when homophobic remarks are made.
- Nearly 4 in 10 GLBT students are physically harassed because of their sexual orientation.
- Almost 2/3 of GLBT students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and over 1/4 have missed school as a result.
Not only do most GLBT young people face threatening school environments, many lack support from their family, friends, and communities.; The needs of GLBT students must be addressed.;
Why Rural Students?
The same GLSEN survey reveals that, in relation to their urban and suburban peers, rural gay students are more likely to:
- Be verbally harassed in school.
- Have rumors or lies spread about them in school.
- Feel unsafe in school.
- Know of no GLBT-friendly school staff members.
- Lack access to GLBT resources.
Because of their geographic isolation, these at-risk rural students are extremely difficult to reach.; The Finance Project, in Finding Resources to Support Rural Out-of-School Time Initiatives, identifies the absence of private partners, unique transportation issues, limited access to technology, and personnel shortages as barriers to creating effective youth programming in rural America.; At present rural students lack the information, services, and connections so very critical to their well being. ;
So What?
Gay and lesbian youth are at higher risk of suicide and depression than others. GLBT students who experience harassment have lower GPAs and are less likely to have post-secondary college plans than those who have more desirable school experiences. Gay teens report higher levels of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use than straight teens. Thirty to forty percent of the adolescent homeless population identifies as gay or lesbian. Rural teens display more risk factors in tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drug abuse than their peers in other locales. Rural remoteness is a risk factor for youth suicide. Clearly rural gay youth are at risk and must not be alone in their struggles.
Who Benefits From this Resource Manual?
Rural students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, rural students who do not conform to dominant gender traits, and rural students who are unsure of their sexual orientation or gender identity benefit from the first “student” section of the manual.
The second “teacher” section of the resource manual is designed to educate and equip rural teachers, administrators, school counselors, support staff, and paraprofessionals who wish to better serve GLBT youth.
The “social worker” section of the resource manual provides guidance to rural social service providers, such as social workers, program directors, medical professionals, psychologists, religious leaders and youth advocates, who are designing, implementing, and managing services to rural students.
The final “resources” section is a collection of organizations with rural-specific programming and rural-specific books, curricula, multimedia, and articles. These resources all meet the needs of rural students, teachers, and social service providers.
A Note on Methodology
Among other sources, the material in this resource manual was informed by personal interviews, web-based interviews, phone interviews, personal experiences, existing literature, and the popular press. For specific sources, please contact the author.