History of gay men and women to be taught this fall.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A San Francisco high school may be the first in the United States to offer an LGBT studies course, which will cover terminology and the broad history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues.
“We’ll look at what it’s been like for gay men, what it’s been like for lesbian women, what it’s been like for transgender people,†Ruth Asawa High School Social Studies teacher Lyndsey Schlax told CBS San Francisco. “Twenty eight percent of our students identify as [LGBT],†Schlax continued.
The class is slated to begin at the public arts high school in the fall of 2015.
At the university level, several prominent institutions have a LGBT studies program, including the University of Maryland, Yale, University of Arizona, UCLA, and Syracuse.
Disseminating knowledge about LGBT issues may be key to fostering inclusivity and halting the prejudices and bigotry that still plague individuals who associate as LGBT of all ages.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, 4 in 10 LGBT youths say the community in which they live is not accepting of LGBT people. Furthermore, LGBT youth are twice as likely as their peers to say they have been physically assaulted, kicked, or shoved at school.
While 26 percent of LGBT youth say their biggest problems are not feeling accepted by their family, trouble at school/bullying, and a fear of being open about their sexuality, 92 percent of LGBT youth say they hear negative messages about being LGBT, with the top sources being school, the internet, and their peers.