The GSA Reading Group Challenge for "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" – Win 10 Free Copies for your Students – Enter Now!

Good news!

Thanks to a generous donation, I have 90 paperback copies of "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" to donate... and will be giving them to nine different high school Gay-Straight Alliance groups!

To enter, follow these steps:

1) Get ten members of your high school GSA to commit to reading "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill" this 2018-2019 school year, and schedule a meeting when you'll discuss the book.

2) Have the GSA's faculty or parent advisor email me at
leewind (at) roadrunner (dot) com
with the name of your school and mailing address.

3) Be one of the first eight* high school GSAs to contact me and you'll win the ten free copies! (I'll cover shipping costs inside the U.S. If you're an international school, you'll have to cover shipping.)

*Why eight? Because the Gay Straight Alliance at Pali High in Pacific Palisades, California, was the first group to get ten free copies!

Will your school's GSA be next? I hope so—good luck!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

GSAs in the South of the USA - what's the reality?

Check out this really interesting article at BuzzFeed by Anna North about teens in the American South who have started Gay-Straight Alliances at their high schools.

The quotes from teens are really interesting,

[T]here are a lot more supportive people here than a northerner would expect to find. Much of the assumption from the North is that the whole of the South is this monolithically oppressive place full of rednecks and hillbillies who shoot gay people on sight. But it's really not that case. There are pockets of very supportive, loving people, allies and other LGBTQ people. And I'm very glad to have found and brought together those people at my high school.

-Dohyun Ahn, who started a Gay-Straight Alliance at Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia in 2009.

The South is really awful. It's not really easy anywhere, but it's particularly bad down here because of how thick the religious culture is. Church is expected of you, and if you don't go to church people sneer at you and start to gossip. I knew people in middle school who basically had to be in-the-closet atheists. So when a kid comes out, or at least tries to, the parents and teachers don't even have to tell the kid he's going to hell, because it's like they've trained their kids to say that in their place. It's pretty frightening, the religious conservatism. Obviously, not every Christian down here is evil, and there are a lot of gay Christians. It's just the militant and abusive Christians that make life for gay kids in public schools (no pun intended) hell.

-Ryan, a trans member of the GSA at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

The article explores the choice these teens face when they finish high school - should they stay in the South, or leaving for more GLBTQ-accepting climes?  Some choose to leave, like Anne Stillwagon, who helped Dohyun Ahn start the GSA at Walton High School:

I haven't even considered staying in the south long-term. For college I'll be going to a much more open and affirming town in Ohio. Though I've lived in the south my whole life, I don't feel like it's a part of me at all. I don't identify with Southern culture, and don't feel a connection. East Cobb is not my home, it's "the place I live."

And others choose to stay, like Anna Turkett, who helped found the GSA at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham.   Anna said,

"if everybody leaves, then there's no one left to be the liberal voice, the pro-LGBT voice."

The article's pretty hopeful, noting that the challenges of the climate in the South are actually leading teens to be more dedicated to making a difference.

It's an article well worth reading.

Namaste,
Lee

ps - My thanks to Hayden Thorne for sharing this with me, so I could share it with all of you!

The ACLU walks you through HOW TO START A Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Club at YOUR School!

I really liked this video, and hope you find it useful:



Good Luck with your GSA!

Namaste,
Lee

Help The Students at Sequoyah High School In Tennessee Get A GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance Club) And Feel Safer!

Chris wore this t-shirt to support his sister and to try and get a GSA club at their high school.

Here's what happened.

When several students at Sequoyah High School in Madisonville, Tennessee tried to start a Gay-Straight Alliance club after years of bullying, their principal said no. When the students circulated a petition and gathered 150 student signatures supporting the club, the principal banned petitions. When this brought local media scrutiny and the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the administration blocked the club based on its failure to secure an advisor. Although the students found teachers who seemed supportive and willing to serve as advisers, all eventually withdrew without explanation.

Now, according to the ACLU, Principal Moser has allegedly assaulted one student, Chris Sigler, for wearing a handmade shirt that read “GSA: We’ve got your back” – grabbing his arm and chest-bumping him while asking “Who’s the big man now?”

Despite the complaint filed by Chris and his mother, the Sheriff’s Department has failed to interview his sister, who witnessed the alleged assault, or his mother, who witnessed additional behavior from the principal.

And the students at Sequoyah High don't have a GSA. Yet.

Want to help?

You can sign a joint petition by the Tennessee Equality Project and Gay-Straight Alliance Network’s Make It Better Project that demands

that the Sheriff’s Department fully investigate this incident, and further, that Monroe County Schools approve the GSA, state that teachers who agree to advise the GSA will not face repercussions (as demanded by the TN ACLU), and address the hostile environment that LGBTQ students face at Sequoyah.

You can also send a letter to Director of Schools Mike Lowry from the ACLU website - and customize it with your own words. (My own take on that: be courteous but firm.)

You can find out more here at the ACLU site and sign the petition here at change.org.

This is a great reminder of how we have to stand up for others... and let's help the GLBTQ and Allied students at Sequoyah High School get a GSA and feel safer!

Namaste,
Lee

GSA Monday: Manhasset High School's Gay-Straight Alliance "It Gets Better"

This was wonderful!



Now I want EVERY school's GSA to do a video!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - My thanks to Karol for sharing this with me so I could share it with all of you!

What Actually Happens At A Gay-Straight Alliance Meeting: A Little Education For Rhode Island Republican State Representative Dan Gordon

So, here's the skinny:

In Rhode Island, a piece ran in a local-news website about the Tiverton High School's new GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance). It's a really nice article, about how as her school project a gay senior started the GSA, and how it's become so much more for her - mainly a safe space, a catalyst for change, a "family."

The article has gotten a lot of comments (over 300), including one from the above-named elected official. Here's his comment (a second posting) that started the firestorm:

Rep. Dan Gordon
10:22pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2011

Bill, I didn't delete the comment. In fact just got off of the phone with the editor and had a conversation about it. I stand by what I said. Here is again, under my name.

"And this is why if I have anything to say about it, Tiverton will lose school funding to local charter schools. It doesn’t matter if gay or straight, if sexual meet-up groups are being promoted in our schools rather than improving test scores, that school is failing. Is it really more important for our children to get ’sexed-up’, than learning advanced math?"

According to the article about this at Advocate.com,

Gordon went on Providence radio station WPRO Thursday to explain his stance further. He said he is not antigay, that he has a gay cousin and gay friends, and that he served alongside gay people in the Marine Corps. He also said, “Anything of a sexual nature should not be taking place at a taxpayer-funded facility,” adding, “When I was in school, if there was a group for heterosexual students that was going to be meeting after school, I would all day be thinking about who are all the new faces that would be there tonight. That’s just human nature.”

Sexual Meet Up Groups? Getting Sexed-Up?

Wow. I've been an advisor to a Los Angeles area High School's GSA for the last three years, and I can tell you that so much of what is discussed is how to deal with this kind of ignorance and misinformation about what it means to be queer. A GSA meeting is one where students get together in a safe environment and are able to talk about the challenges and triumphs in being themselves - gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and straight allies. They talk about TV shows and homework, racism and homophobia, language and attitudes. In fact, here are 14 weeks worth of topics that many GSAs have used as starting points for their own discussions.

Cynda, the teen who started the GSA, responded to Rep. Gordon , and I like her comment so much I'll share it here:

Cynda
4:56pm on Thursday, March 31, 2011

I figured by now it was high time I post something up. Being the creator of the THS GSA I am absolutely shocked. I am shocked that a representative would say such harsh and insulting comments on a topic he clearly knowns nothing of. As I said on a different article, nowhere in our agenda is there anything about sex, or sex related topics. Not only is the topic of sex completely irrelevent to the purpose of a GSA, but that is not a topic to be discussed. Mr. Forrest, our advisor, and myself, wouldn't allow it. We are here to make a change, to make a difference, in the school and the lives of the students that go here. We're trying to get people to understand that bullying, and not just towards gays, is wrong. We need people (students) to know that if they are having a problem at school, or even at home, and they don't know where they belong, that they can come to us. We will be there to support them no matter what, because we believe in equality. No matter what your gender is, or your sexual orientation, your race, religion, anything..we are all equal. That is what this GSA, and all other GSA's are for. Not for getting "sexed-up." Not even anywhere near that. I am absolutely in shock that Gordon, and those who agree with him would make such an assumption. You claim you are adults. Why don't you try acting like one, and start learning about those things that you don't quite understand before making assumption that aren't only rude, but also insulting and hurtful to others.

Thank you, Cynda.

And really, Representative Gordon. If you're so concerned with education, perhaps you could become better educated yourself about what really happens at Gay-Straight Alliance meetings before assuming that everything to do with gay people instantly becomes all about sex. Presumably, the state government of Rhode Island is full of heteroSEXuals. Would I be correct to assume that you are all able to go about the business at hand without yourselves getting all "Sexed Up" simply by meeting with each other?

I find this combination of ignorance and homophobia so frustrating.

Namaste,
Lee

Palisades Charter High School's Anti-Hate Rally: A Report From The Field

So one of the amazing things about speaking at middle schools and high schools is how it connects me with teens and gives me a window into their struggles and triumphs.

After visiting Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles last October, I was contacted by a junior at the school, Dakota, who told me that she and her classmates were planning an Anti-Hate Rally to build on the momentum of my visit. I asked her to let me know how it went, and just this week she submitted this report from the field:

Students at the Anti-Hate Rally
flank the red poster paper where they wrote down
the hateful things people had said to them

Ever since I can remember, there have been gay and lesbian people in my life. They are normal, they are family, and they are greatly loved. Most of them live in New York and I don't get to see them nearly as often as I would like. They are some of the greatest people I know. They have always been kind, caring, and supportive towards me. That is why my E.A.S.T. class seemed like the perfect outlet for me to show my support for them.

At my high school we have an E.A.S.T. class, which stands for "Environmental And Space Technology." In this class we create projects that can some how benefit our school, the environment, or certain groups of people. Past examples have been, creating a rain garden, getting an AIDS walk together, and putting energy efficient light bulbs in our school.

When I first heard that we had to create our own project, I was lost. I didn't know what to do until I heard another girl in my class talk about California Faith For Equality. Their mission statement is, "To educate, support and mobilize California’s faith communities to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and to safeguard religious freedom." That is taken from their website. I immediately wanted to help. This was my chance to give back to the community that had given me so much.

Since CFFE is quite busy, it was a little hard getting in touch with them. So, my new found friend and I decided to take matters into our own hands. After the news broke about many teens taking their own lives because they were bullied, we knew we had the opportunity to do something great. We decided to create an "Anti-Hate" rally.

The goal of the rally was to make my high school a place where anyone could feel accepted and to stop bullying of any kind. It took about four months to organize the whole thing. We had to go through many steps to get the project approved. The GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) and Leadership class were the two most helpful groups. Leadership helped with the organizing and the GSA showed heaping spoonfuls of support.

During the actual rally, a large red piece of poster paper was laid out in the middle of our school. We told people to come over and write down any hateful things that anyone had ever said to them, on the paper. At the end, we were going to stomp on the paper and rip it up with our feet to symbolize a new beginning. When I walked out into the middle of my school, the entire GSA was there and they were all wearing purple to show their support. It was so wonderful and fulfilling to see how enthusiastic they were. The GSA members were the ones who wrote most of what was on the poster.

I was a little disappointed to see that even though we had made announcements and put up posters, most people just walked by and didn't bother to ask what we were doing or participate. Some people actually walked by and laughed at what people had written. Luckily there wasn't too much of that, but it was surprising to see people do that.

Even though hardly any outside people participated, the people who did wrote amazing things. People wrote raw and vulnerable things and it was so hard to believe that those things had been said to their faces. When we were done, people ripped the paper up with their hands and said it felt so good to get rid of it all.

Even though the project didn't turn out the way we had hoped, the people who did participate made a huge impact on my life. I hope that this story can inspire other people to create rallies at their school or anywhere else in their community, because we need to support people. We can't let ignorance take over and leave us all with nothing. We all need to fight for equality!

-Dakota, 11th grader at Palisades Charter High School

The hateful words are destroyed.

I'll share with you all what I told Dakota, and it's something I tell GSA clubs all the time - the impact goes far beyond those who come and participate. Kind of like Israel for Jews... you don't have to live in Israel to feel the impact of there being a "safe space for Jews where it's not unusual to be Jewish" in this world. Similarly, I'm sure the Palisades Charter High School Anti-Hate Rally had an impact far beyond those who participated directly. Every student who walked by noticed the group around that giant red poster paper and the ritual of destroying the hateful words, and I'm sure it shifted the atmosphere to be more embracing of equality for all.

Great job, Dakota! Kudos to you and the Pali High GSA for making your school, and our world, a better place!

Namaste,
Lee

GSA Mondays: Next week is ALLY WEEK - Let's Get YOU (and your GSA) ready!

One thing I've learned from over two years of volunteering with a local high school's Gay-Straight Alliance club is that some meetings are inward-focused, and some extend the club out into the larger school community.

Next week (Oct 18-22, 2010) is "Ally Week," and GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) is helping everyone get ready to celebrate our Allies and have members of the broader community stand up and say, "Yes, I'm an Ally to the Gay Community."

You can have people sign up and take the Ally Pledge to end Anti-LGBT Bullying and harassment.

If you are an Ally, you can stand up and let people know you believe in LGBTQ Equality. That you believe that our schools and our communities should be a safe space for all people, Straight and Gay and anywhere in-between.

And if you are a member of the GLBTQ community, let our Allies know that THEY are part of our community as well. Invite them to be part of our GSA clubs, invite them to share our journey and struggle - and ultimate triumph as we all change the world together... And make it a better place!

So this week, plan how you (and your GSA) can reach out to our Allies in your school and in your communities.

And next week, we'll celebrate our Allies!

Namaste,
Lee

The Mariposa Club - A Latino Gay Teen Book

By Rigoberto Gonzalez

"Mariposa" means butterfly in Spanish.

It's also a slang term for gay men in Latin America.

Originally it was derogatory, but the term is being claimed by some gay Latinos with pride - just as the word "queer" has been de-fanged over time and made into a term of empowerment.

But for Maui, it's a struggle to be Latino and gay. He does have some gay friends, and together the "fierce foursome" (Isaac, Trini, Liberace and Maui) try to form a GLBTQ alliance at their school.

But it turns out to be even tougher than they thought... Will they be able to make their idea of "The Mariposa Club" a reality?


Check out this review by Ryan over at the New York Public Library's Stuff For The Teen Age blog, where he says,

"For any teen looking for a good book about fun and friendship, I recommend The Mariposa Club."

Add your review of "The Mariposa Club in comments!

The Best Response to Hate is... Gunn High School Sings Away A Hate Group

Check out what happened when Fred Phelp's Westboro Baptist Church, Family and Hate Group visited the Gunn High School - and see the non-violent demonstration the student body and the Gunn High School Gay Straight Alliance created:



These students found that the best response to hate is Love. And singing. And standing together.

Right on, Gunn High School. Right on!

My thanks to Tim who found this video and sent me here, to the Not In Our Town website.

GSA Monday: A gay 15 year old sues his old school for not protecting him from bullying.

So Jacob is this 15 year old in New York who was harassed at his school for being gay. For not looking like a stereotypical straight boy. He dyed his hair (blue, sometimes pink). He wore eyeliner. He was out. When asked if he was gay, he's say:

"Yeah, I'm gay, whatever. Peace out."

But he was teased. Bullied. The school didn't stop it. A teacher told him he should be ashamed of himself for being gay. One kid wrote "I hope you die" on his shoe. Another pulled a knife on him.

So Jacob and his Dad sued.

The new angle is that their suit, with the NYCLU, argued that people who are gay and/or who do not conform to gender stereotypes should have protection under Title IX, the federal law that "prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity." Title IX is the lever that changed girl's participation in sports, making schools accountable for including girls in sports - or risk their federal funding.

After all, it wasn't so long ago that acting like a sterotypical "girl" and being athletic were seen as mutually exclusive. And if you compare girls participation in sports from 1972 (when the law passed) to today, Title IX has helped create a gigantic shift for the better, for the fairer, for the equality of women - and thus made it a better world for us all.

Now while there is talk of settlement, this case is a warning to schools across the country that allowing harassment and bullying of their GLBTQ students is not only wrong, it's going to cost them (bad PR, and money.)

Jacob's family ultimately moved. Talking about the difference in his new school, he said:

"It's amazing. I have a lot of friends there."

I'm really proud of Jacob (and his Dad) for standing up and fighting this fight. It will make things better for other kids in both his old school, and in schools across the country.

I think it's really important that non-conforming gender expression is protected. I've heard from many teens that it's harder to be an effeminate straight guy than a butch gay one in Junior High and High School.

What about in your school?

Does something like this have a chance to impact things for the better?

Let me know what you think.

Namaste,
Lee

GSA Monday Pop Quiz: What's missing in this "GAP" ad?

See if you can figure out what's missing:



It's sweet. It's cuddly. It's... missing something, isn't it? Figure it out yet?

Okay, scroll down and take a look at my "annotated" version.



Girl + Boy, check.

Girl + Girl, check.

Girl + Girl + Girl, check.

even

Girl + Girl + Girl + Girl, check.

But

Boy + Boy ?

Nope.

Unless you wanna count the far right "starred" spot of one guy's boot hovering in the air over another guy's butt - though they're so consumed with their respective gals they're certainly not acknowledging their proximity, such as it is.

I mean, really - not even two guys touching?

How freaked out are we as a culture about gay guys, that in this "hip" message of peace and joy and buy-our-sweaters-and-jeans, we can't even get 2 guys hugging?

Pretty freaked out.

I understand that lesbians are kind of the loophole in our culture's homophobia, because straight guys think that's hot, but to have all these pairings (and trios, and quad-couplings) and not include two guys...

I mean, what's the problem? Is the Gap really where all those homophobes shop? I've kinda liked the whole Gap Holiday campaign, the catchy TV musical and gymnastic moments, and now, noticing this, I'm so disappointed.

Sigh. The Gap can do better.

We can all do better.

What do you think? Am I over-reacting, or am I right about this?


Thanks to my guy for handing me this ad and saying "look at this - really look at it!"

GSA Party-Time: Why Your Gay-Straight Alliance Should Celebrate

There is something really powerful about standing up as individuals, and then exponentially more powerfull to stand up, as a group in support of GLBTQ Teens.

At this holiday time of year, it's really important to celebrate that so many of us are there/here for these kids and teens today.

So in between finals, and holiday preparations, for your next GSA meeting grab some M&Ms, some gummi bears, some jelly beans, some sprinkle cookies and see if you can talk someone into helping you make a 10 layer jello rainbow centerpiece, like this one:







Celebrate with YOUR GSA. Or celebrate here, with your virtual GSA.

Because being there for your peers if you're a Teen, and for ALL kids if you're an adult, whether they're Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender-Non-Conforming, Queer, Questioning or Straight Allies... is worth celebrating.

Pass the jello!

Namaste,
Lee

GSA Monday Topic: Plan A Party to celebrate a school year of Gay-Straight Alliance Meetings, Progress, and Community!

You can make a Rainbow Cake!

Many schools are going to wind down in the next two months for the academic year - now's a good time to figure out when and where to have a celebration!

Think about a movie screening either at school during lunch or at someone's home (Something like "Edge of Seventeen" or "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" or a film you can all agree on!)

And/or how about an ice cream party?

Or go as a group on an adventure - bowling or to a local amusement park or a local pool for a weekend day in the sun...

Ritual is a really important thing that we often overlook in our culture.

Plan to take the time to acknowledge and celebrate that your GSA has been meeting and you have all created a safe space at your school!

And have a wonderful time at the party!

Namaste,
Lee

GSA Monday Topic: Gay Geography For Straight People - a new game!

I spent part of my Junior year in college abroad in France. Invariably, wherever I was, when I was talking to someone new in my grammatically "original" French, with my accent that I prided myself sounded "Parisian," it would come up in the conversation, mysteriously, that I was from America. "America?" They'd ask.

"Do you know Stephan B., he lives in Toronto?"

Um... well, it was the same continent.

I always felt a bit silly, but even today this happens a lot. You meet a new person, and you try to figure out how you might be connected. Who you might know in common.

It's like the 6 degrees of separation game, where the idea is that you can connect to ANYBODY on the whole planet in 6 steps or less. Like me to President Obama. I've never met him, but my friend and amazing author Jacqueline Woodson has. There. One degree of separation.

Okay, so Gay Geography for Straight people is a game where you try to figure out how someone is connected to anyone in the Gay (GLBTQAI) community. Try to help them realize that there is someone out there who is Gay, or Lesbian, or Bisexual, or Transgender, or Queer, or Gender Non-Conforming, or Questioning, or Allied, or Intersex that THEY CARE ABOUT.

For some people, the closest they're going to come is that their mother loves watching Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, and Ellen's a lesbian.

For others, they're going to realize that they DO have someone they know personally whom they care about that's part of our "rainbow" community. A sister. A grandfather. A cousin. A friend.

I bet that EVERYONE, if they're honest about it, has SOMEONE they care about that's part of the Gay community.

If Newt Gingrich can have a lesbian sister (Candace Gingrich), and Dick Cheney can have a lesbian daughter (Mary Cheney) and a granddaughter with lesbian moms, every single person at your school (students and faculty) has SOMEONE they care about who is GLBTQAI, too.

Now clearly from those last two examples, having someone you care about be part of the Gay community doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be a supporter of Gay rights. But imagine the impact it would make if every single person in your school, or in our country, or in our world, had to stand up and say how they were connected to us:

"My brother John is gay. And I care about him."
"My second cousin Eden is gay. And I care about him."
"My little sister Suzy is gender non-conforming - a Tomboy. And I care about her."
"My friend's husband Brett is a cross-dresser. And I care about him."
"My friend Adam is questioning his orientation. And I care about him."
"My teacher Ms. Jackson is a lesbian. And I care about her."
"My grandmother Odetta is bisexual. She's awesome, and I care about her."
"My friend's father, Lee, is gay. I care about their family."

Imagine what that would be like.

The idea is to show that there really isn't such a line between "us" and "them."

Our world is really made up of "we."

Try out a game of Gay Geography in your GSA this week. And see where it takes you!

Namaste,
Lee

ps- I found the gay globe image here in this article on Gay life in Shanghai!

Geography Club

by Brent Hartinger

A Gay Straight Alliance by any other name would smell as sweet...

"Geography Club" won a truckload of awards! (Check out Brent's website for the full list of accolades!)

Oh - and it's the first of a SERIES!!!! (four books total - though you may have to count it as five once you check out "Split Screen!")

Add your review of this book in "comments!"