“Don't Be So Gay!”: Queers, Bullying, and Making Schools Safe

Once viewed as an inevitable if unpleasant part of growing up, bullying is now recognized as a real threat to students' physicaland psychological well-being -- particularly in light of recent teensuicides linked with homophobia in schools. Despite a ... Read more

Once viewed as an inevitable if unpleasant part of growing up, bullying is now recognized as a real threat to students' physicaland psychological well-being -- particularly in light of recent teensuicides linked with homophobia in schools. Despite a shift in publicattitudes and legislative responses to the problem, bullying remains aconstant reality for many queer youth in Canadian schools. In ""Don't Be So Gay " Queers, Bullying, andMaking Schools Safe, " Donn Short considers the effectiveness ofanti-harassment policies and safe-school legislation to address theproblem of homophobic bullying. After spending several months in tenToronto-area high schools interviewing queer youth and their allies, Short concludes that current legislation and its approach to schoolsafety and homophobia is generally more responsive than proactive andtransformative. "Don't Be So Gay " suggests thatwhile effective legislation is vital to establishing a safe space forqueer students, other influences -- including religion, family beliefs, and peer pressure -- may be more powerful. Drawing on students'own experiences and thoughts on how safety is pursued in their schoolsand how their understandings and definitions of safety might betranslated into law and policy reform, this book offers a freshperspective on a hotly debated issue.Donn Short is an assistant professor of law at RobsonHall Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba and the foundingeditor of the "Canadian Journal of Human Rights." Less