SUPPORTING

LGBTQ+ YOUTH
IN SCHOOLS Shaily Shah
UNC School Counseling
2018-2019
PRETEST
 80% of transgender adults
know before middle
school that they are
“different.”

(Hyun, Raff, & Trier, 2012) 3

 The average age of
trans-spectrum
self-realization: 7.9 years

(Hyun, Raff, & Trier, 2012) 4

 83% of people who
identify as transgender
ideate suicide

(Hyun, Raff, & Trier, 2012) 5

 32% of people who
identify as transgender
attempt suicide

(Hyun, Raff, & Trier, 2012) 6

TODAY’S GOALS

● Clarifying terminology related to LGBTQ+

● Nurturing positive attitudes & respect for
individual differences related to sexual orientation,
gender identity, and gender expression
● Navigating if a student comes out to you
● Navigating confidentiality/privacy issues
● Navigating parental resistance to LGBTQ-related
curriculum

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 SOME
BACKGROUND
8

SEX & GENDER
SEX
“characteristics associated
with reproduction and
biology that generally
assign individuals into
categories of ‘male’ and
‘female’ at birth”
*better understood as a spectrum*
Trans Student
Educational Resources
GENDER
“cultural constructs
describing
characteristics that are
historically related to
femininity/masculinity
women/men ”
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 Trans Student
Educational Resources

CISGENDER

gender
identity aligns with the
sex they were
assigned at birth.

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 (Schools in Transition)

SEXUAL ORIENTATION &

GENDER IDENTITY

SEXUAL ORIENTATION GENDER IDENTITY

describes a person’s sexual Someone’s own
or romantic attraction personal sense of being
male, female, both, or
neither

EVERYONE HAS BOTH

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 (Schools in Transition)

GENDER EXPRESSION
How a person expresses their gender through outward
presentation and behavior
● name
● clothing
● hair style
● body language
● mannerisms

GENDER NON-CONFORMING
behaviors or gender expression falls outside what is
generally considered “typical” for their assigned sex
at birth.

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 WHAT DOES
TRANSGENDER
MEAN?
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 (Hyun, Raff, & Trier, 2012)

TRANSGENDER

Umbrella term used to describe those who

challenge social gender norms, including:
▹ Genderqueer people
▹ Gender-nonconforming people
▹ Transsexuals
▹ Crossdressers

PEOPLE MUST SELF-IDENTIFY AS TRANSGENDER IN ORDER

FOR THE TERM TO BE USED APPROPRIATELY TO DESCRIBE THEM

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ACTIVITY
USE THE FOLLOWING WORD BANK TO FILL OUT THE GENDERBREAD
PERSON WORKSHEET
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SEX ATTRACTION EXPRESSION IDENTITY
16
17
Pronouns
18
 Pronouns
Source: Schools in Transition
19
 TIPS FOR
TEACHING
INCLUSIVELY
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 (GLSEN Elementary
School Toolkit, 2016)

CHALLENGE YOUR OWN ASSUMPTIONS

● Do you expect boys to be more

adventurous ? Girls to be
calm/organized?
● Do you make assumptions about who
might want or not want to participate in
certain activities?

21
 (GLSEN Elementary
School Toolkit, 2016)
Write math problems with contexts that include a
variety of family structures and gender-expressions.

“Daniel wanted
bake a cake for his
grandmother. The
original recipe calls
for 2 cups of flour. If “Rosa and her two
he is doubling the dads were at the
recipe, how much store and wanted
flour does he to buy three boxes
need?” of pasta. If each
box costs $.75, how
much will all three
boxes cost?”

22
 (GLSEN Elementary
School Toolkit, 2016)
Books that portray diverse families as well as men
and women outside of gender stereotypes

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 BUT WHAT IF
PARENTS RESIST
THIS?
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 (Hermann-Wilmarth & Ryan, 2018)

● Frame LGBTQ+ curriculum as part of larger context

○ Students are problem-solvers
○ Makes it part of larger learning-goals
○ Racism, classism, sexism
● Be intentional and mindful with language when
explaining framework to parents:
○ “we’re teaching inclusively”
● Integrate LGBTQ+ issues in a pedagogical focus
○ literacy/ELA

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 (Hermann-Wilmarth & Ryan, 2018)

● Social learning, emotional learning, academic

learning
● Remain flexible, but don’t allow one parent to
determine larger learning environment
○ Option to allow student to “sit-out” from read
aloud, but make it clear that read-aloud will still
happen with the class
● Reframe resistance with dialogue

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 (GLSEN Elementary
School Toolkit, 2016)

Find ways of grouping and lining up

students other than “boys here, girls there”

● table groups
● assign/call numbers
● birthdays
● lunch choice

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 THINK ABOUT AND JOT
DOWN TIMES YOU HAVE
SEEN OR HEARD
HARASSMENT RELATED TO
GENDER

28
[SHARE OUT]

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Boys don’t wear
pink.

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Boys don’t wear
pink.

Only girls play

with dolls.

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Boys don’t wear
pink. You throw like a
girl!

Only girls play

with dolls.

32
Boys don’t wear
pink. You throw like a
girl!

Tomboy!

Only girls play

with dolls.

33
Boys don’t wear
pink. You look like a You throw like a
boy when you girl!
wear that.

Tomboy!

Only girls play

with dolls.

34
Boys don’t wear
pink. You look like a You throw like a
boy when you girl!
wear that.

Tomboy!

Only girls play

with dolls.
That’s gay

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Boys don’t wear
pink. You look like a You throw like a
boy when you girl!
wear that.

Tomboy!

Sissy

Only girls play

with dolls.
That’s gay

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Boys don’t wear
pink. You throw like a
You look like a
girl!
boy when you

INTERVENE
wear that.

Tomboy!

Sissy

Only girls play

with dolls.
That’s gay

37
INTERVENE

● focus on harassing behavior, not

the targeted individual
● utilize existing rules/guidelines
about bullying and respect
● offer support to targeted
individuals
● proactively address gender
stereotypes with whole class

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 WHAT IF A
STUDENT
COMES OUT TO
ME?
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 (GLSEN, 2016)
(Hyun, Raff, & Trier, 2012)

What if a student comes out to me?

● offer support
● appreciate the student’s courage
● be a role model of acceptance and respect
● assure & respect confidentiality
● acceptance
● LISTEN
● remember that the student has not changed
● validate the person’s identity and expression
● if you make a mistake in addressing the
individual, apologize and move on

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 (GLSEN, 2016)

ASK…
● Have you been able to tell anyone else?
● Do you feel safe in this school?
● Do you feel supported by other adults in
your life?
● Do you need help of any kind?
● Do you need resources or someone to
listen?
“I knew it”
● Have I ever offended you unknowingly?
“Are you sure it’s
not just a phase?”
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 PRIVACY &
CONFIDENTIALITY
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 (Schools-in-Transition)

“A student’s transgender status, legal

name or sex assigned at birth is confidential
medical information and protected
personally identifiable information, and
disclosure of that information may violate (FERPA)
or constitutional privacy protections.”

ASK THE STUDENT (don’t assume):

- if family knows
- if family is accepting & supportive

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 (GLSEN Elementary
School Toolkit, 2016)
RESOURCES:

GLSEN Ready, Set,

Respect!
Elementary School
GLSEN SafeSpace: Toolkit
A Guide to
Supporting Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender
Students at Your
School

Schools-In-Transition:
A Guide for
Supporting
Transgender Students
in K-12 Schools

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REFERENCES
● genderbread.org
● GLSEN (2016). Ready, set, respect!: GLSEN’S elementary school toolkit. Retrieved from
https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/GLSEN%20Ready%20Set%20Respect.pdf
● GLSEN (2016). The safe space kit: Guide to being an ally to LGBT students. Retrieved from
https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/GLSEN%20Safe%20Space%20Kit.pdf
● Hermann-Wilmarth, J., & Ryan, C. (2018). Navigating parental resistance: Learning from
responses
of LGBTQ+-inclusive elementary school teachers. Theory into Practice. doi:
10.1080/00405841.2018.1536914.
● Hyun, J., Raff, R., & Trier, B. (2012). Helping transgender youth [PDF document]. Retrieved from
Lecture
Notes Online Website: https://www.wa-schoolcounselor.org/files/transgender
presentation.pdf.
● Schools-in-transition: A guide for supporting transgender students in K-12 schools. (n.d.). Human
Rights Documents Online. doi:10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-9970-2015013.
● Trans Student Educational Resources

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POST TEST