So today I hosted an "organizational" meeting of Arlington's first Gay-Straight Alliance Club and we had a pretty good turnout. I had a small sign up in my own room and a special ed/theater teacher spread the word a bit (thanks Merica!), which was NOT a lot of publicity, but we still managed to get 13 really spirited and fun kids in my room at lunch time without even the lure of food or Lady Gaga!
The sign in my classroom prompted very little commentary. A couple of kids asked what a GSA was and reacted with "ugh" or "gross," to which I replied "then don't come to our meeting." One girl asked if the club was legal! However, I had many more kids ask me if they could join and could I please not make the regular meetings on Thursdays, because that conflicts with French Club! Kids are so busy these days!
I'm sure there are kids who don't approve, or staff that will be uncomfortable with the existence of a GSA club on campus, but overall I've been absolutely amazed at the positive response. I am also amazed, when I think about it, by how much things have changed since when I was in high school.
In retrospect, we all knew who some of the gay kids were in high school (may he rest in peace, Todd Parker was already a huge B-52s and Bette Midler fan by that time), but there were a LOT, I'm sure, who flew under the radar. This was the time when we were all scandalized that Boy George told America that he was glad we recognized a good drag queen when we saw one, and we all promptly assumed he had told us all he was gay. I think we thought it was the same thing. As far as I can recall, there were no openly gay people around back then. Even Liberace was in the closet. Perhaps I was just stunningly naive, but I had no idea that the Village People were gay. This was the age before the internet, before MTV played black artists-heck, back when Michael Jackson was actually black! and MTV actually played videos!
It is absolutely monumental that there are not only openly gay and lesbian politicians, teachers, entertainers etc today, but that there are openly gay and lesbian students in our classrooms. Many of them have been out since middle school. Many of them have absolutely no issue with holding hands or being affectionate with each other. Many straight kids don't see anything unusual about this. Never in a million years would this have happened at Perris High School in the 1980's.
One of my openly lesbian students expressed concern that our club not be just for gay kids, but for everyone, and I totally agree with her. She pointed out that the Mexican kid who sits next to her in class was initially hesitant to sit next to her. After a few months, they talk and work together and it is no big deal. Perhaps in a very small, but significant way, she's made an impact on how he views gays and lesbians. I know that it's an overused cliche, but it is a lot easier to hate or demonize the unknown/other (whether it's a black person, a lesbian, a Mexican etc) if you don't actually know any of them. It's a lot harder to hate when that person is sitting next to you in history class. I hope that our little GSA, simply by its existence, will raise awareness that gays and lesbians and straight people can be friends and can work and live together in harmony. There is so much divisiveness and intolerance in our world today. I know there's room for a little more peace, love and understanding.
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