Transgender Awareness Week, a time devoted to raising awareness about the transgender and gender non-conforming community, was November 14 -20.
In a country where LGBT students face continual harassment in schools, one might expect that ERHS would be no different.
Student responses, however, were largely positive. Students like sophomore Jenny Bo and junior Darius Barnes were among those who voiced such beliefs.
“Society doesn’t accept them really well, but they should,” said Bo. “We should be open to them.”
Barnes said that transgender students “have a hard time at school going to the bathroom and stuff like that,” and that “its probably hard for them in school to learn.” He said that he didn’t “have any problem” with people who identify as such.
Junior Victoria Holmes explained that while she supports transgender students, some Christians struggle to accept transgender students. “I know Christians feel a lot of animosity towards them,” said the junior, a Christian herself. “I don’t feel that way however, I feel you should do what feels right.”
Despite this acceptance of transgender people, neither Bo, nor Barnes, nor Holmes, had heard that it was Transgender Awareness Week. Other students interviewed around the school also did not know.
Nurse Ms. Meghan Benson also said she had not heard that it was Transgender Awareness Week.
She said that ERHS’s health department hasn’t “run into an issue” with transgender students, but that they would “make sure everyone feels comfortable, and are willing to make arrangements for their needs.”
Health teacher Dr. David Jakob said that “older folks and younger folks have a lot to learn,” and that “there’s a lot of new information” in regards to transgender persons.
Based on student interviews and research, some of which are from www.glsen.org and www.glaad.org, here are some useful tips to increase awareness:
- Always call a student by their preferred gender pronoun, whether they are transgender, or identify as something else. Besides “he” and “she,” some students also prefer gender neutral pronouns, including “they,” or “ze.”
- Do not assume that transgender people are gay or lesbian, or that they transition to become straight. They may be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or nonbinary. Remember that there is a difference between who someone is attracted to and what gender they identify as.
- Be careful about confidentiality, and “outing”. Some transgender students feel comfortable with sharing their past and transgender status, but others do not.
- Avoid backhanded compliments. Even if they sound supportive, they can make the other person feel insulted. Such compliments include “you’re pretty, for a transgender” or “oh you’re trans? That’s so trendy!”
- Don’t ask a transgender about their body or how they became transgender. If you are looking for more information, talking to a health teacher or consulting a legitimate online source like glsen.org is a better bet, for it could make a transgender student uncomfortable to talk about that.
- Don’t be freaked out. Transgender students are students just like you, with their own hobbies, aspirations, and problems.
