Ignorance Isn’t Bliss – Why We Need LGBTQ Education | Grace James | TEDxSWPS
hi my name is Grace I'm 13 years old and I'm gay for me to stand here in front of you and say that is quite a nerve-wracking thing to do not because I'm at all ashamed about who I am I'm proud to be gay it's part of my identity I don't just accept it I embrace it no it's because I'm worried about how you're going to react when I was first working out who I was around 3 years ago I was beginning to realiz that my night and shining armor was more of a danc and distress I decided not to tell anyone again I wasn't ashamed to be me I was simply worried about how people were going to react being gay wasn't something that was ever talked about there were no openly gay kids at my school the word gay wasn't mentioned in our he and relationship classes in fact I'm not even sure I remember thinking I was gay or that I was aware of the ter it was more just I like girls in fact it was only very recently around o last year that I decided to tell people I put together this idea this concept I like girls with the world gay I was like wo I'm gay go me I thought it was finally time to tell people let me tell you although I've grown up in a fairly liberal area and my parents are completely unprejudiced coming out was was by far the hardest thing I've ever done I was a mess my legs were shaking my hands were sweating almost more than they are right now my mouth was Dr think how hard that must be for someone who's grown up in a conservative area whose parents openly homophobic whose friends who's anti-gay SLS on a daily basis no one deserves to go through that now I have not by any sh the imagination had a hard coming out my parents loved me me they continued to support me when I told them I was gay but for many this isn't the case I'm here to talk to you today about how schools can drastically improve the lives of lgbtq students simply through education but I'm also here to tell you a story that story is about a young girl and that young girl is no longer with us today one of the main reasons why I felt I couldn't come out is because I thought my classmates would make fun of me I thought they wouldn't understand what I what I meant that they would call me names and generally not make school a very nice place to be and I'm not alone in feeling like this did you know that 40% of students for unsafety say gender expression and 60% du their sexual orientation another thing which made me feel alone and isolated something which scores of lbtq students say they feel is the fact that when we had sex education no one even mentioned the word gay in addition to this when we talked about our bodies in puberty the topic of being transgender was never brought up things like this really build up inside and many lgbtq people find themselves not being able to cope did you know that 48% of trans use under J 26 will attempt suicide and that 59% self harm on a regular basis even now I'm not out in all areas of my life as there are still some people I don't feel would understand or accept me one of the use organizations I go to in particular is a place where homophobia and trans Arabia is very common word gay is often banded about as an insult and used even by the adult instructors and when people talk about people they know they often fail to recognize them by their correct names and pronouns this isn't very welcoming and doesn't make for an environment where I feel safe to be me luckily for me I don't have this kind of an issue at school but for many this isn't the case did you know that onethird of lgbtq students have missed a day or more of school in the past month due to Fe their safety these figures are shocking especially they're concern to many people there's over 4 million lgbtq people living in the UK 6% of the population identifies lesbian gay bisexual or que and .4% is transgender but what can we do to help what issues should schools even be addressing you ask well for the start there's bulying 71% of LBT students say they hear homophobic remarks every single day these often come from their peers who have little or no understanding of what it means to identify as lgbtq and therefore not those who do simply because they don't understand the concept and they VI it to strange if schools were to educate their peoples on these identities there'd be a much higher understanding and consequently a higher acceptance of them this practice in fact has already been fostered in many workplaces Lots of big companies have specific programs set up to educate their employees on this matter by bringing this education into school we can create a much more diverse and accepting environment much earlier on this the lack of lgbtq Education also often leads that people's feeling like their identity is invalid or there is even something wrong with them as schools were to reinforce these identities are just as real and important as those ass cisgender heterosexual people and we could save these people from years of feeling uncomfortable about with our identity we could help them feel okay with who they are from a much earlier age if gender was taught in schools then dysphoria could be significantly reduced for transgender peoples many feel uncomfortable in their bodies often without realizing that they could be CH causing them to feel like the feelings they have are AB normal and suppress them meaning they live their Liv as a gender they feel they're not on the other hand those who do realize often so uncomfort in their bodies they undertake dangerous practices and attempts to look like the gender they feel they should be schools could help in the prevention of this by educating their peoples on the danger these practices PS following on from this many employers may be missing out on capable young people as I mentioned earlier onethird of lgbtq peoples have missed a day or more schooled in the past month SE fears their safety if these peoples don't feel safe in school and they will not be able to receive the standard of Education the same standard of Education as their PE in schools which have better support programs geared towards them these people to feel safe in school and get the standard of Education they deserve another big issues in schools is that of sex education surveys show that only one quarter of UK schools teach lgbtq sex education and those that do often don't teach it effectively this hugely finity as lgbtq peoples as many are left with little or no knowledge of how to have safe sex and what risk sex May face for them this has serious repercussions later on in life illustrated by many statistics such as the fact that HIV is still three times more prevalent in gay men than the straight as you can see there are many issues that could be tackles through better lgbtq education the good thing is changes are stting you made for a start we're here today talking about these issues which is wonderful and many schools the specific support gr program are starting set up support programs to support lgbtq peoples and are becoming more acceped with their identities when I came out as gay my own school swits was 100% behind me so progress is being made but it could be made much quicker I'm about to read you a suicide note of a young girl in which she tells her heartbroken stories outbreaking story it issu it it shows exactly why changes must be made now this is an issue which we simply don't have time to sit on if you're reading this it means I've committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post in my queue please don't be sad it's for the better the life I would have lived is it worth living because I'm transgender I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way this note is probably going to be ly enough as it is to put it simply I feel like a girl trapped in a boy's body and I felt that way since I was four I never knew there was a word of that feeling nor was it possible for a boy to become a girl so I never told anyone and I just contined to traditionally boish things to try to fit in when I was 14 I learned what transgender men and cried of Happiness after 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was I immediately told my mom and she reacted extremely negatively telling me that it was a phase that I would never truly be a girl that God doesn't make mistakes that I am wrong if you are reading this parents please don't tell this to your kids even if you are Christian or against transgender people don't ever say that to someone especially your kid that won't anything except make them hate himself that's exactly what it did to me that's the gist of it that's why I'm killing myself sorry if that's not a good enough reason for you it's good enough for me the only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren't treated the way I was they're treated like humans with valid feelings and human rights gender needs to be talked about in schools the earlier the better my death needs to mean something my death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year I want someone to look at that number and say that's effed up and fix it fix Society please goodbye Leela alol as the story shows education in schools has the potential to make a big change to lives of lgbtq peoples it gives us opportunities to support them and help them feel comfortable with who they are are as Lea said education on this has to happen the earlier the better because at the end of the day we are just like you and we are so much more than just a label we are not just gay trans lesbian bisexual we are athletes tennis players Engineers Runners writers mathematicians chefs we are your brothers your sisters your sons your daughters we are your neighbors the person you sat next to you on the train this morning your m best friend from college to make your dad plays Cricket with we are people and we deserve equal rights [Applause]