Fearless Friday
Fearless Friday explores gender. (Icon via garwlbanan)
Unfortunately, the -less is missing from today's post. Because young gay men seem to be committing suicide these days in response to bullying.
On September 9, Billy Lucas of Greensburg, Indiana, hung himself after other students bullied him, called him gay and telling him to kill himself. Yesterday word came that Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers, jumped off the George Washington Bridge after two of his fellow students filmed him having sex with another man and broadcast it over the Internet. In between those dates, three other teens also took their own lives, one of them another college student. Fear that the torment would not end, fear that a life was ruined, these are all reasons people are driven to suicide. Fear tips into despair, which is the loss of hope.
That's why Dan Savage started "It Gets Better," which now has over 200 videos. It's working, too. Check out the letter from a parent posted here. Ellen DeGeneres has also spoken out.
GLBT teens have a higher rate of suicide and of suicide attempt than the public in general. There are no statistics for how many GLBT teens have to deal with bullying, but Mental Health America's fact sheet notes that bullying does affect these teens' education and mental health. The Trevor Project offers suicide prevention resources as well as a forum for chat and support for gay teens.
This is the 21st century, people. Bullying of anyone is wrong.
We, as people of the word, know that words have power. Bullies use them to wound, to kill. We need to use them to speak out on behalf of GLBT teens, to help, to heal.
All I can do right now is say: Watch the "It Gets Better" videos, and offer a list of books I've read, that I would recommend, in no particular order:
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levithan
My Most Excellent Year - Steve Kluger
Hero - Perry Moore
Freak Show - James St. James
Skim - Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki
Hard Love - Ellen Wittlinger
Parrotfish - Ellen Wittlinger
Other book suggestions that offer support for GLBT teens are welcome in comments. Please!