Owen Hansen

Mr. Cabrera

AP Language and Composition

5 April 2024

Homophobia in School

In premodern times, homosexuality was a commonly accepted form of love, just the same

as opposite sex love. However, In Middle Ages with the rise of Christian and Islamic religions,

homophobia had now become the common outlook towards the homosexual community. Due to

homosexuality being viewed as an illness and it being shunned in the bible, which the most

popular religion in America believed in, there were huge movements being made against

homosexuals in the 1970s, Specifically the “Save our Children” campaign. This campaign

seeped homophobia onto school grounds as kids began absorbing the anti-gay propaganda fed to

them by this hate group and the parents that supported its views. While it happened so quickly,

the homophobia never really left the school grounds since then. Since the 1970s, through the

current incompetent justice system implemented in American schools, America has struggled

with homophobia on school grounds, and it has caused massive harm mentally and physically.

Before analyzing the current issues, it is important to first understand what justice is and

the correct approach to handle homophobia in schools. Restorative justice focuses highly on the

importance of repairing the damage done, emotionally and physically, and educates the offender

on their offense’s harms, and reintegrates them into society as a better person. In a small scale

this could mean a person with a DUI going through rehabilitation, and helping other alcoholics
recover once out of the system. On a larger scale this could mean a large corporation funds and

hosts an Eco cleaning programs after being found guilty of mass pollution. The current justice

system implemented in school follows very closely the ideology of retributive justice, an eye for

an eye ideology which causes the offenders to suffer punishment equal to the offence they

committed. On school grounds, the true best approach to dealing with homophobia would be a

restorative justice approach that serves to close the gap between the gay and homophobic

communities and build bonds between people and erode hatred and stigma. The Retributive

justice system in schools has yet to educate offenders and does not serve to fix the root issue of

this hatred for the LGBTQ community.

Through the past many decades, homophobia and the hatred students faced because of its

effects intensely impacted and continue to impact young scholars in the mental aspect. Through

several data gathering by the HRC and The Trevor Project, it is clear to see that on average, all

students that identify as a part of the LGBTQ community experience considerably higher rates of

stress than cis gendered and straight students, as well as higher rates of suicide for not being

accepted for who they are. It is shown consistently that when these kids are supported for who

they are, they are more likely to have stable mental health and are less likely to commit suicide

compared to when they are not being supported, and more often than not, LGBTQ students are

not being supported. A closer account of the mental health of LGBTQ students can be examined

through Doug Faulkner’s story. In the quote, “"I was at the bottom of all my classes. My self-

esteem was so low that I was almost suicidal,” it shows that the homophobia faced by Doug

caused him great discouragement and forced him into mental instability. Although he was an

outgoing student with a considerable IQ, the daily ridicule he faced caused him to fall into a

depressive rut and lose motivation for living and academics.

 The harm he faced wasn’t all mental though, as the text, “It wasn't just verbal abuse but

physical abuse, too. Once, on the way home, my hair was set on fire,” explains the physical

assault he faced as a homosexual student. This attacking happened all throughout school, and

although it seems alien, many LGBTQ students have similar accounts of assaults. These assaults

are not a thing of a past, they are still occurring on the daily, and still cause horrendous tragedies,

such as the tragedy of Nex Bennedict. Due to Nex's gender Identity as a Trans person, being non-

binary caused them to get bullied. The bullying grew to the point of Nex being assaulted by 3

individuals in the Owasso High School of bathroom of Oklahoma, leaving them hospitalized.

The day after being hospitalized, Nex had died due to complications with medications, ruled as a

suicide. Weather or not intentional, the death of Nex Benedict was caused by homophobia they

faced in school not only by the students who have assaulted them, but by the unsporting school

which did not take action to protect Nex in the first place, knowing that this harassments was

occurring prior to the events taken place. These assaults on LGBTQ students to grow to murder

when not stopped by a proper justice system. Even if these assaults were intercepted and delt

with through the retributive justice system, in dire situations like these it could create further

resentment for the LGBTQ community for the logic that follow the common saying, “snitches

get stitches,” insinuating that if the assaulters were caught, an even worse assaulting would be on

the way.

While some argue that homophobia doesn’t affect any other the LGBTQ populus, the

harm stretches past just LGBTQ students, homophobia and its effects harms all students

regardless of gender and sexuality. While it is true that Cisgendered students do not face the

same amount of hate that LGBTQ students do, the harms materializes in different forms than the

typical discrimination formats. According to Louisa Allen with the University of Auckland,
homophobia does not need a LGBTQ target to be considered homophobia, which means

homophobia can happen to any person. In short, homophobia comes in many shapes with many

perpetuators and many victims. A straight student may face judgement and bullying by being

friends with a gay person. This pressure on students to avoid chastisement splits most into two

categories, another homophobic perpetuator, or another faced with hateful remarks and actions

regardless of their true sexuality. The homophobia faced by LGBTQ students also causes harm to

students not apart of the demographic when it comes to terrorizing threats and assaults such as

the Libs of TikTok Bomb threats. After anti libertarian Chaya Raichik on her "Libs of TikTok" X

account posted the location of several schools and the LGBTQ books the school owns, schools

began to receive backfire from the accounts fanbase with homophobic motivated threats towards

school, staff, and students. To date, 21 Bomb threats have been sent to schools for owning books

such as, "This Book is Gay," and many more. While the students have no control over the

content of their school’s library, they still had faced the harm presented by homophobia. Despite

most students not fitting into the LGBTQ demographic, the violence was faced by all of the

students, not just the ones who were LGBTQ. If Restorative justice was implemented earlier in

the school systems, the older generation terrorizing the students would have been rehabilitated,

curbing their ignorance through education, and bringing forth more acceptance in society.

Restorative justice would deal with the homophobia at its root source, unlike the retributive

justice which had failed the older generation and allowed behavior like this to go on.

Through the current incompetent justice system implemented in American

schools, America has struggled with homophobia on school grounds, and it has caused massive

harm mentally and physically not only to LGBTQ students, but harm to all students in American

schools. Only through fighting homophobia at its source through restorative justice is progress
going to be made. Homophobia is only going to get better if relationships are built between the

gay and straight youth communities, and if the ignorant get educated instead of equal

punishment. Making things equal does not make things right, only through building bonds

between people and eroding hatred and stigma will things be made right.