by Emily A. Greytak, Joseph G. Kosciw, and Elizabeth M. Diaz
©2009 Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
This GLSEN study focuses on the verbal, emotional and physical abuse and harassment experienced by gender non-conforming and transgender middle and high school students. It is one of the first reports to specifically focus on gender identity and expression, rather than sexual orientation.
While we applaud GLSEN and the researchers for their commitment to reducing discrimination and bullying directed at trans and gender non-conforming youth, we must also point out that this study does not examine the effects or prevalence of this type of discrimination at the elementary school level.
TransActive believes that until our society takes a serious look at the negative impact that gender role and gender expression stereotyping has on our youngest and most vulnerable youth, we will always find ourselves in a "repair the damage already done" situation.
(Highlights in red are those of the TransActive staff and not the original authors.)
Societal norms of gender expression - masculinity or femininity - pervade American culture, on television, in advertising, at sporting events and in school hallways nationwide. Children hear words like "sissy" or "tomboy" or expression like "you throw like a girl" from their first days on the playground. Name-calling and bullying based on gender expression are among the first forms of harassment that young people learn and experience. And as transgender and gender non-conforming students enter middle and high school, they can face far harsher realities than name-calling, including harassment and physical violence.
Transgender students face much higher levels of harassment and violence than lesbian, gay or bisexual students. And these higher levels of victimization result in these students missing more school, receiving lower grades and feeling isolated and not part of the school community. The report also reveals that many of these students lack the school supports and resources that have been shown to improve school climate for lesbian, gay and bisexual students.
Amidst this dispiriting information, however, there are some encouraging findings. In the face of such hostile climates, transgender students can be resilient, as they more often talk to teachers and raise these issues in their classes than their non-transgender lesbian, gay or bisexual peers. Educators need to listen to and support these students when they speak up.
Key Findings
Biased Language
Most transgender youth attended schools with hostile school climates. Transgender students reported frequently hearing homophobic language and negative remarks about gender expression from other students. Although it was not frequent, some students reported hearing these types of remarks from school personnel.
- 90% of transgender students heard derogatory remarks, such as "dyke" or "faggot", sometimes, often, or frequently in school.
- 90% of transgender students heard negative remarks about someone's gender expression sometimes, often or frequently in school.
- Remarks about students not acting "masculine" enough were more common than remarks about students not acting "feminine" enough. (82% vs. 77% hearing remarks sometimes often or frequently).
- A third of transgender students heard school staff make homophobic (32%) remarks, sexist remarks (39%), and negative comments about someone's gender expression (39%) sometimes, often, or frequently in the past year.
Transgender students also reported little intervention on the part of school personnel when such language was used. Less than a fifth of transgender students said that school staff intervened most of the time or always when hearing homophobic remarks (16%) or negative remarks about someone's gender expression (11%).
School Safety and Experiences of Harassment and Assault
Two-thirds of transgender students felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation (69%) and how they expressed their gender (65%). Transgender students were more likely to feel unsafe in school because of a personal characteristic than were non-transgender (cisgender) students (82% of transgender students compared to 67% of female students, 68% of male students and 73% of students with other gender identities).
Transgender students experienced high levels of in-school victimization. The majority of students had been verbally harassed in school in the past year because of their sexual orientation and gender expression, and many had also experienced physical violence.
- Almost all transgender students had been verbally harassed (e.g., called names or threatened) in the past year at school because of their (actual or perceived) sexual orientation (89%) and their gender expression (87%).
- Over half of all transgender students had been physically harassed (e.g., pushed or shoved) in school in the past year because of their (actual or perceived) sexual orientation (55%) and their gender expression (53%).
- Many transgender students had been physically assaulted (e.g., punched, kicked, or injured with a weapon) in school in the past year because of their (actual or perceived) sexual orientation (28%) and their gender expression (26%).
- Although lesbian, gay and bisexual students overall reported high levels of harassment and assault in school, transgender students experienced even higher levels than non-transgender students.
Similar to their non-transgender (cisgender) peers, most (54%) transgender students who were victimized in school did not report the events to school authorities. Unfortunately, among those who did report incidents to school personnel, few students (33%) believed that staff addressed the situation effectively.
Impact of Victimization on Educational Outcomes
A hostile school climate can have very negative repercussions on transgender students' ability to succeed in school - a high incidence of harassment was related to increased absenteeism, decreased educational aspirations, and lower academic performance. Transgender students fared worse on these educational outcomes than non-transgender (cisgender) lesbian, gay and bisexual students, perhaps because of their increased levels of in-school victimization.
Methods
Data used in this report come from GLSEN's fifth National School Climate Survey, which was conducted during the 2006-2007 school year. When examining differences between transgender students and non-transgender (cisgender) students, GLSEN used the full sample of 6,209 LGBT students. However, by and large this report examines the specific experiences of the 295 students in the survey who identified as transgender.
These transgender students were between 13 and 20 years of age, and the majority of the sample was White (64%) and identified as gay or lesbian.
Click here to read or download the entire survey results.
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