School Experiences
I was thinking about my experience with school, I've graduated now, and how I see my school experience has changed since coming out to myself. It's interesting to me now to see how being trans made me a sort of exception to the proverbial school food chain. In my school the order was popular kids/jocks, then the punks and skaters, then the average kids, then the nerds and geeks, then the German immigrant kids, then the poor kids. I would have fallen into the nerds and geeks group but in my school it was like if you were queer or trans (or worse, queer AND trans) all bets were off, you were fair game for everyone. The only time I got bullied for being a nerd it was the groups "higher on the food chain" than me doing the bullying. When I got bullied for being queer or trans, it came from every group, even ones "lower on the food chain" than me.
I hated going to the bathroom in highschool, it was always a nerve racking affair for me. I remember I got unlucky one time and although the bathroom was empty when I went in, a big group of German girls came in after me. I didn't want to wait in a stall until they were all gone because in my school it was not uncommon for groups of girls to hang around in the bathroom for quite awhile. They stared at me while I washed my hands and left but they didn't say anything. It wasn't until I was back in the cafteria sitting in my usual spot that I looked up and saw that the whole group of girls had followed me out of the bathroom and were standing in front of me. And then came the question I hated as a kid, "Are you a boy or a girl?" asked over and over while the girls giggled and laughed. And then black horns grew from their heads and their eyes turned red. Ok, I made that part up, but I wish it was the part before it that I made up. I never really thought of myself as having a bullying problem when I was in school but now that I think about it my usual spot in the cafeteria is practically proof that I did. It was very carefully selected for whenever I had to be in the cafeteria alone. My cafteria had tables and chairs in the middle and two-level carpeted wooden risers. Sitting alone at a table was suicide so I chose to sit at the very end of the top level of a riser up against a wall in the part of the cafteria with the least amount of traffic. Since I sat at the edge there was only one side of me some one could sit by and I purposely kept my backpack there, like a shield that would protect me from any kids who sought to tease me.
From what I've heard from my sister that hasn't changed either, there's an out lesbian couple at my old highschool who have to deal with the same crap I had too. My sister and I have put up anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia posters in the halls but it's not really enough. They wouldn't even let us put them up where people actually look, my sister was told she could put up two, one on each of the school bulletin boards which every one ignores.
Anyway, it made me wonder if it's the same in other schools. What was/is your school experience like? All experiences count, even if you weren't out as anything, never got bullied, and think you have nothing to say!
I hated going to the bathroom in highschool, it was always a nerve racking affair for me. I remember I got unlucky one time and although the bathroom was empty when I went in, a big group of German girls came in after me. I didn't want to wait in a stall until they were all gone because in my school it was not uncommon for groups of girls to hang around in the bathroom for quite awhile. They stared at me while I washed my hands and left but they didn't say anything. It wasn't until I was back in the cafteria sitting in my usual spot that I looked up and saw that the whole group of girls had followed me out of the bathroom and were standing in front of me. And then came the question I hated as a kid, "Are you a boy or a girl?" asked over and over while the girls giggled and laughed. And then black horns grew from their heads and their eyes turned red. Ok, I made that part up, but I wish it was the part before it that I made up. I never really thought of myself as having a bullying problem when I was in school but now that I think about it my usual spot in the cafeteria is practically proof that I did. It was very carefully selected for whenever I had to be in the cafeteria alone. My cafteria had tables and chairs in the middle and two-level carpeted wooden risers. Sitting alone at a table was suicide so I chose to sit at the very end of the top level of a riser up against a wall in the part of the cafteria with the least amount of traffic. Since I sat at the edge there was only one side of me some one could sit by and I purposely kept my backpack there, like a shield that would protect me from any kids who sought to tease me.
From what I've heard from my sister that hasn't changed either, there's an out lesbian couple at my old highschool who have to deal with the same crap I had too. My sister and I have put up anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia posters in the halls but it's not really enough. They wouldn't even let us put them up where people actually look, my sister was told she could put up two, one on each of the school bulletin boards which every one ignores.
Anyway, it made me wonder if it's the same in other schools. What was/is your school experience like? All experiences count, even if you weren't out as anything, never got bullied, and think you have nothing to say!