I had two phenomenal volunteer speakers with me from Spectrum’s Speakers Bureau program. One speaker told of his experience being the 5th grader that teased other presumably gay boys and growing up to be the "out" high schooler who was teased on a daily basis because he was gay. The other speaker told of her experience having been born and raised male, joining the Marine Corps, and eventually transitioning to female. Can any of you imagine being in 5th grade and having someone stand in front of you and say, "I was born a boy, but now I’m a girl?" Or, having someone stand in front of you and say, "I will never be able to take back the pain I caused some of the boys that I teased that did grow up to be gay men, but I can try to make better decisions now." There is no way that ever would have been my reality in 5th grade!
The young people at this school blew my mind. We had conversations about bullying, teasing, harassing, how it feels to be teased, how it feels to be the teaser, and how we can all work together to make the school safer for all students, including those who are LGBT.
I think that my favorite take-away memory is from a young person in the last group of the day. We asked the group, “How do you think someone feels when they are being teased or bullied?” One young person said, "It's just like People magazine. When someone like Brad Pitt does something kind of silly, People magazine jumps all over him. They put it all over in their magazine. A lot of Americans get really excited because they can feel better about themselves knowing that someone really famous like Brad Pitt did something silly. But, sometimes I wonder if anyone stops to think about how it makes Brad Pitt feel. It might really hurt his feelings."
It was such a great experience. Time and time again, I am so grateful that I am able to work here at Spectrum and be part of an organization that really is doing groundbreaking work. Every day, I feel like we are creating a safer community right here in Marin County for all LGBT people.
I think that the 5th grade students said it best: "It feels icky to be bullied so we should all look out for each other and take care of each other."
Casey Halcro coordinates Spectrum's Speakers Bureau and Youth programs. Her email address is casey@spectrumLGBTcenter.org
Spectrum LGBT Center
