November 16, 2009

>How do gender-based slurs make you feel?

>

Did you know 90% of transgender students heard negative remarks about someone’s gender expression sometimes, often, or frequently in school? And a third of transgender students heard school staff make homophobic, sexist, and negative comments about someone’s gender expression at school in the past year!

Attacks on trans and gender-nonconforming people usually start with a slur. By addressing gender-based bias language in school you’re encouraging people to think before they speak, and that can go a long way in the fight against transphobia.

So do you hear gender-based slurs in school? What do you hear most often? How do these words/phrases make you feel? Join the conversation at the Gay-Straight Alliances Facebook Page.

Also be sure to check out Harsh Realities, the first comprehensive study on the experiences of transgender students in schools.

   

About Elizabeth Free

       

Elizabeth Free is the communications manager at GLSEN--the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. Elizabeth joined GLSEN in 2009 to make schools safer for all students and says one of the best parts of her job is working with GLSEN's Student Ambassadors. She is originally from Texas and has a B.A. in Public Relations and Advertising from the University of Houston.