Bullying in the LGBT community and how its relates to poverty

Bullying happens everywhere, but for the LGBT community it is a problem that often gets overlooked. Investigations focused on life experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth say that up to 84% report verbal harassment (Poteat, Espelage, 2005) 25% report physical harassment (Elze, 2003) (Pilkington, D’Augelli, 1995) and up to 70% experience problems in school due to prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation (Saewyc, 2007).

Lesbian and gay youth have been victimized across elementary schools (Solomon, 2004), high schools and universities (Janoff, 2005). But it is not just LGBT people who experience homophobic bullying; all young people who do not act in line with gender stereotypes can be subjected to severe bullying.

“For example, in some cultures boys are stereotyped as sporty and strong decision-makers, and girls are expected to be emotional and expressive. As a result, boys who show their feelings or who are too intimate with other boys are often labeled as homosexual by their peers. However, girls who are considered to be too boyish or who hold feminist views often face the likelihood of being labeled as lesbians.” (Advert, 1997)
People who are bullied have a higher risk of depression and anxiety, they have increased thoughts about suicide and sometimes even act upon them. Children who are bullied at school are more likely to miss, skip or even drop out of school.

 “The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.”

http://www.itgetsbetter.org/ (Link to the It Gets Better Project)

I think bullying in the LGBT community relates to poverty in ways because in some cases people, are getting kicked out of their own houses, for coming out to their parents, they don’t always get the same equal opportunity which can cause people to not be able to work to their full potential. People judge and people discriminate, whether they want to or not. Some gay or lesbian people might not get hired at a job, just because they are “different”.  After you factor all these things, and many other things it is proven that poverty rates within the LGBT community with lesbian, gay, and bisexual same sex couples are more likely to be poor then married heterosexual couples (Albelda, 2009). That gay men are sometimes poorer then heterosexual men, but stunning findings show that lesbian women are consistently poorer. Transgender people report high unemployment rates and low earning. (Badgett, 2009)

Violence, discrimination and prejudice affect the lives, economic status, and poverty rates of LGBT individuals.

-Jessica

References:

Randy Albelda (2009), “Poverty in the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community.”

M.V. Lee Badgett (2009), “Bias in the Workplace: Consistent Evidence of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination.”

D’Augelli, A. R., Grossman, A. H. and Starks, M. T. (2006) ‘Childhood gender atypicality,

victimization, and PTSD among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth’, Journal of Interpersonal

Violence, 21(11), pp. 1462–82.

Elze, D. E. (2003) ‘Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths’ perceptions of their high school

environments and comfort in school’, Children & Schools, 25(4), pp. 225–39.

Janoff, D. (2005) Pink blood: Homophobic violence in Canada, Toronto, University of

Toronto Press.

Pilkington, N. W. and D’Augelli, A. R. (1995) ‘Victimization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual

youth in community settings’, Journal of Community Psychology, 23(1), pp. 34–56.

Poteat, V. P. and Espelage, D. L. (2005) ‘Exploring the relation between bullying and

homophobic verbal content: The Homophobic Content Agent Target (HCAT)

scale’, Violence and Victims, 20(5), pp. 513–28.

Remafedi, G. (1987) ‘Adolescent homosexuality: Psychosocial and medical implications’,

Pediatrics, 79, pp. 331–7.

Saewyc, E., Poon, C., Wang, N., Homma, Y. and Smith, A. and the McCreary Centre

Society (2007) Not Yet Equal: The Health of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth in

BC, Vancouver, BC, McCreary Centre Society.

Solomon, S. (2004) ‘Kids say the funniest things...: Anti-homophobia group work in the

classroom’, Teaching Education, 15(1), pp. 103–6.

Avert (1997), 'Talking about homosexuality in the secondary school'.