Notes:

Hallward states:

• No shame in who you are, who you love, or who you identify with
• LGBTQ in teenagers is so important because coming to terms with their gender identity, who you like is crucial because teenage years can impact the rest of your life
• LGBTQ teens- highest suicide (over 30% attempt)
• Problem isn’t how they are, it’s how they’re treated
  • Mental illness, substance abuse
  • LGBTQ isn’t the issue, discrimination is

Stories shared:

Generally stated : “In high school if you’re different, your the main target for others”’      Feel different alone afraid of being attacked, losing parents and friends

Samantha: A 16 year old lesbian, teacher informed parents because teacher saw her, her parents didn’t know. Her parents said “you always wore pink, tutus, girly”. She explained that gender expression and sexual orientation doesn’t define who you are. Parents didn’t realize this was normal for her and it ruined their relationship. It was hard for parents because they grew up in a whole different world/society.

Emily from Kennebunk: Grandma was her biggest role model, she was talking about her LGBTQ experience on a vacation dinner and her grandma told her “this is not the time to discuss this”, it tore her apart. When Emily finally addressed the issue with her grandma she explained her  that her brother was gay and people acted like he never existed and their relationship was ruined but she apologized because again, whole different society she grew up in. Emily’s parents were supportive of her choice tough.

In 2015, marriage was a constitutional right, no matter who you marry. This relates to teenagers because there’s no shame or stigma, they can walk around and can have as full of a life as anyone else.

Studies:

Trevor Project- workshops on bullying project (runs a national suicide hotline for kids)

1. Over ⅓ of transgender kids report physical assault
2. 74% report verbal harassment
3. Studies show the more a LGBTQ kid is bullied, the lower the grades and less motivation to go to college
   1. These kids are also 10x more likely to miss school

How to reduce suicide in LGBTQ kids:

1. Schools create a GTSA
   1. Gay, Trans, Straight Alliance
      1. After school program for these individuals to speak about their day and what’s been going on in their life
      2. Policy to protect them
   2. Reduced suicide by 60%

 

Blog Post:

Anne Hallward is such an impactful woman who really wants to help individuals and create forms of social cohesion. Her main focus on this Safe Space Podcast was the LGBTQ teen community. This is such an effective podcast because many people don’t realize that LGBTQ in teenagers is so important because coming to terms with gender identity and what gender you’re attracted to is crucial because teenage years can impact the rest of your life. In addition, the LGBTQ teen community have the highest suicide rate, over 30% attempt a certain form of suicide. The base of this problem isn’t who or how they are, it’s how they’re treated, discrimination by others is the main issue. Audio plays a role in the way this story is told because different teenagers speak openly about their experiences and encounters with being apart of the community. We struggle about our issues less if we talk about them more, even if it’s just listening. Listening, understanding, and relating to this story can be the start of a community conversation, which could then lead to a support group and creating forms of social cohesion. This podcast relates to Martha Halls visual story we viewed through her books because it was one story that many people could have viewed to create change, where as this one podcast in audio form could be the one story that many people would have listened to to create change.