We Have a Long Way to Go To Be Inclusive
By Angel McDonough
“ I don’t support gay people.” A student I don’t know, sitting in front of me in the library, said that within earshot of surrounding students.
“I would not accept myself if I was gay.” A student walking behind me in the hallway said that, apparently for my benefit. My reply was sarcastic.
“Gay people make me uncomfortable.” Another student walking behind me said that, also for my benefit, I suspect. My reply (perhaps more of a reaction) was again, unfortunately, sarcastic.
I responded to those last two comments directly, confronting the students who made them. Maybe I said the right thing, maybe not.
We’re all learning.
I am writing this piece because it seems like I am confronted with discrimination and ignorance about LGBTQ+ issues at PRHS. Sometimes it sounds like hate. I want to find a way to educate students and faculty about LGBTQ+ issues without reacting to each hurtful comment in the library, hallways and classrooms.
What is the LGBTQ+ community? The acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning. A variation is LGBTQIA+. The I A stands for itersex, asexual and agender. Most people know what lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans mean but many don’t know the terms that come after that to define our community.
Intersex is when a person is born with body parts that don’t fit into “male” or “female.” Asexuality is when someone lacks sexual attraction. Asexuality is a spectrum and can range from not doing sexual things at all to having low sexual attraction. Agender is when a person does not identify with any gender. People who are agender can use a range of pronouns like he, she, or they of even neopronouns.
Neopronouns are a new type of pronouns. They are mostly used by trans, nonbinary people who just don’t conform to a gender.
I want to include examples of how to use certain pronouns. They can be difficult to get comfortable with. I feel like a lot of people at PRHS know my pronoun reference but don’t use it because it’s inconvenient. I can’t be the only one saying this.
He:
He laughed/I called him/His eyes gleam/That is his/He likes himself.
She:
She laughed/I called her/Her eyes gleam/That is hers/She likes herself.
Singular they:
They laughed/I called them/Their eyes gleam/That is theirs/They like themself.
Ze and zir:
Ze laughed …I called zir/zem … Zir/Zes eyes geam … That is zirs/zes …. Ze likes zirself.
There are levels in between, but I just don’t know how much of it people will read. As an alternative, there are several adults in this building who can help you understand. They have supported me and other LGBTQ+ students. They can help you with pronouns. These adults include Ms. Bush, Ms. Rhoades, Mr. McFadden, Ms. Williamson and Ms Peinado.
At my former school (I transferred to PRHS in the fall), supporters of the LGBTQ+ community represented a majority of the student body, while non-supporters of the LGBTQ+ community were in the minority. This is what I would like Poland to become. It’s difficult to express how hurtful casual comments can be at this school. As a school community, we need to do better at educating ourselves and others about LGBTQ+ students, as well as other minority groups.
Here is a useful link if you want to help our school community become more inclusive:
https://healthline.com/health/transphobia#examples.
By Angel McDonough
“ I don’t support gay people.” A student I don’t know, sitting in front of me in the library, said that within earshot of surrounding students.
“I would not accept myself if I was gay.” A student walking behind me in the hallway said that, apparently for my benefit. My reply was sarcastic.
“Gay people make me uncomfortable.” Another student walking behind me said that, also for my benefit, I suspect. My reply (perhaps more of a reaction) was again, unfortunately, sarcastic.
I responded to those last two comments directly, confronting the students who made them. Maybe I said the right thing, maybe not.
We’re all learning.
I am writing this piece because it seems like I am confronted with discrimination and ignorance about LGBTQ+ issues at PRHS. Sometimes it sounds like hate. I want to find a way to educate students and faculty about LGBTQ+ issues without reacting to each hurtful comment in the library, hallways and classrooms.
What is the LGBTQ+ community? The acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning. A variation is LGBTQIA+. The I A stands for itersex, asexual and agender. Most people know what lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans mean but many don’t know the terms that come after that to define our community.
Intersex is when a person is born with body parts that don’t fit into “male” or “female.” Asexuality is when someone lacks sexual attraction. Asexuality is a spectrum and can range from not doing sexual things at all to having low sexual attraction. Agender is when a person does not identify with any gender. People who are agender can use a range of pronouns like he, she, or they of even neopronouns.
Neopronouns are a new type of pronouns. They are mostly used by trans, nonbinary people who just don’t conform to a gender.
I want to include examples of how to use certain pronouns. They can be difficult to get comfortable with. I feel like a lot of people at PRHS know my pronoun reference but don’t use it because it’s inconvenient. I can’t be the only one saying this.
He:
He laughed/I called him/His eyes gleam/That is his/He likes himself.
She:
She laughed/I called her/Her eyes gleam/That is hers/She likes herself.
Singular they:
They laughed/I called them/Their eyes gleam/That is theirs/They like themself.
Ze and zir:
Ze laughed …I called zir/zem … Zir/Zes eyes geam … That is zirs/zes …. Ze likes zirself.
There are levels in between, but I just don’t know how much of it people will read. As an alternative, there are several adults in this building who can help you understand. They have supported me and other LGBTQ+ students. They can help you with pronouns. These adults include Ms. Bush, Ms. Rhoades, Mr. McFadden, Ms. Williamson and Ms Peinado.
At my former school (I transferred to PRHS in the fall), supporters of the LGBTQ+ community represented a majority of the student body, while non-supporters of the LGBTQ+ community were in the minority. This is what I would like Poland to become. It’s difficult to express how hurtful casual comments can be at this school. As a school community, we need to do better at educating ourselves and others about LGBTQ+ students, as well as other minority groups.
Here is a useful link if you want to help our school community become more inclusive:
https://healthline.com/health/transphobia#examples.