Educate to Create a More Inclusive World
July 8, 2020
This post was written by Vivian Chen. In the field of finance and accounting, Vivian is filled with enthusiasm to create positive social impact through business. She is, among other things, a believer in the power of being civically engaged and informed.
Every June the internet and much of the world are filled with brilliant colors, rainbow flags and balloons waving in the air, marking the month-long celebration of the freedom and inclusivity of different kinds of love and identities.
June is Pride Month; as Pride Month ends, we, at the Chamber, are filled with enthusiasm to create more inclusivity year-long.
What is Pride Month for?
Pride Month celebrates the diversity of sexual and gender identities, summarized by the acronym LGBTQIA+. While LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) stands for terminologies often known by the general public, QIA+ is much more ambiguous to those unfamiliar. In fact, QIA+ is relatively new, and the LGBT community is still learning how to embrace it. Below you will find a small description for the acronym ‘QIA+’.
Q stands for either “queer” or “questioning.” Queer represents individuals whom cannot confine their sexual orientation and/or gender identity by just one type. Questioning represents individuals who are still doubting their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
I stands for “intersex.” According to the Intersex Society of North America, intersex is used to describe someone “born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male”.
A stands for “asexual” or “ally.” Asexual is used to describe those who are not sexually attracted to others, and ally is a familiar term already used for other movements — anti-racism, feminism, etc. — which refers to those who do not identify as a member of the oppressed group but commit to combatting systemic and cultural oppression.
+ stands for the many other gender and sexual identities that do not fall within any of the letters, such as pansexuality.
As evident above, Pride Month is a celebration of love and identities of all kinds and is participated by people of all sexual and gender identities.
The History of the Gay Rights Movement (FACTSHEET)
Though there were a number of efforts, individual and organized, advocating for gay rights throughout the 20th century, the Stonewall riots in June of 1969 were considered the turning point of gay pride, igniting the gay rights movement. As the pride parades grew to be partaken by more people each year, so had the momentum and progress for equality between people of LGBTQIA+ and of heterosexuality.
For instance, homosexuality and bisexuality were widely stigmatized as a mental illness; it was not until 1973 that the “the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in the DSM-II Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.”
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed a controversial military policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” prohibiting homosexual Americans from serving in the military, while allowing “closeted” individuals to be protected from harassment. Though an imperfect ‘solution’, the policy was a step forward for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the military.
The Employment Nondiscrimination Act passed in 2007 prohibited “discrimination of sexual orientation in the workplace, specifically during hiring.”
Beginning with Massachusetts in 2004, many states began allowing same-sex marriage until it became legal throughout the United States — a 2015 US Supreme Court ruling that “same-sex marriage is a legal right across the United States.”
Most recently, in June 2020, the Supreme Court decided that “gay and transgender people are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” barring employers from discriminating against gay and transgender employees.
Current State of Inclusivity (FACTSHEET)
While there is plenty to celebrate on the progress made over the years, much of the work still has to be done in eliminating biases against the LGBTQIA+ community.
According to the Accelerating Acceptance report by GLAAD, at least 1/3 of the straight and/or cisgender respondents reported discomfort learning that a family member, close friend, or a co-worker is LGBT.
In a 2016 PBS NewsHour episode, Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the preceding 14 years of FBI hate crime data showed that “LGBT people are targeted for violent hate crimes at a rate of two timesthat of...Muslims or black people, four times that of Jews, and 14 times that of Latinos.”
The biases against members identifying as LGBTQIA+ not only manifests into violence, but also in public health problems. For example, LGBT youth are “2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide” and lesbians are “less likely to get preventive services for cancer.”
In the education system, we can also see similar struggles relating to youth. Forty-two percent of LGBT youth report living in a community not accepting of LGBT people, being “twice as likely as their peers to say they have been physically assaulted, kicked or shoved at.”
While many educators can attest to their desire to solve this problem, only 50.3% had “taken action to do so” — according to a student-reported survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
The battle is far from over, but what is the solution?
Because a lack of understanding most contributes to the lack of empathy; one effective solution to combat biases against LGBTQIA+ is to educate, a means to increase inclusivity not only in the education system but throughout many areas.
How can educators foster greater inclusivity at school?
One small but powerful step is incorporating pronouns. Every year the first day of school is typically filled with self-introductions; by introducing yourself with your preferred pronoun and encouraging your class to do the same, you are establishing your classroom as a safe space for TQIA+ students.
As noted previously, because of the biases against LGBTQIA+ youth, not everyone will feel comfortable to come out immediately (or ever); however, by incorporating it as a natural part of self-introductions, you are normalizing the conditions of having non-intuitive gender pronouns.
If someone from your class does have a non-intuitive gender pronoun, make note of that and commit to correcting yourself and your class if anyone makes a mistake, reminding your cisgender students of what it means to be an “ally.”
One innovative solution is for schools to implement more inclusive sex education. As a 2015 study conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute found, only 12% of millennials reported that “their sex education classes covered same-sex relationships at all” (Sager, 2017). While some may argue this is a result of parent opposition, the vast majority of parents, in fact, do “agree and support LGBTQ-inclusive sex education.” What our education system has not realized yet is that an inclusive sex education can do wonders, including but not limited to:
“Reducing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates,”
Opening up conversations about gender identities as children begin to form them,
Lowering the risk for STIs for LGBTQIA+ youth who are at higher risk for STIs,
Understanding the fluidity of sexual and gender identities, and
Normalizing heterosexual and non-heterosexual sex.
Another solution is to teach students with a LGBTQIA+ inclusive curriculum. In 2011, California became the first state to require LGBT history within its schools’ curriculum; in 2019, states like Colorado, New Jersey, and Illinois followed suit. This can be delivered as:
Integrating LGBTQIA+ history with generally taught history, such as explaining that Nazi Germany used pink triangles sewn onto shirts to dehumanize gay men in concentration camps when teaching WWII history;
Incorporating LGBTQIA+ educational activities as icebreakers into everyday lesson plans;
Dedicating a lesson to teaching something about LGBTQIA+, such as marriage equality;
Lastly, a long-term commitment to educating yourself is essential to sustaining the impact. Below is a list of resources for educators:
We, at the Chamber, believe in the impact education has created for the world and are excited for educators to begin playing a more significant role in cultivating diversity and inclusion within our society. The Chamber aims to set an example for the world to follow, forming relationships with diverse individuals within our reach and influencing others to do the same.
June is a month dedicated to love and inclusivity, aiming to bring the LGBTQIA+ community together. Yet, it is also a month to inform individuals about the subject matter; it is a month in which the possibility of inspiration for inclusivity becomes higher. For us to create a more inclusive world, it is crucial for this dedication to inclusivity to not be contained within only the month of June, but extended to be a year-long commitment.
Happy educating, happy Pride, and may the world be filled with extra love moving forward!
