GAY — and proud of it

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This article was published 30/01/2011 (5550 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Although most of the talk surrounding the Golden Globes was about host Ricky Gervais and his shots at celebs, there was at least one other star at the podium who silenced the room. Chris Colfer won the award for best supporting actor in a series, mini-series, or made-for-TV movie for his portrayal of gay glee club member Kurt Hummel in the TV series Glee.

“(Gay teens) are told they can’t be who they are or have what they want because of who they are, well, screw that, kids,” said the openly gay Colfer during his acceptance speech.

With positive role models for LGBTQ teens popping up all over the screen, are things really getting better?

“There’s both negative and positive connotations. They take it from a stereotypical angle,” says Fiona Jackson, the programming co-ordinator for the Rainbow Resource Centre’s Peer Project for Youth, an LGBTQ youth group that offers support and resources to gay teens.

“The more that they see positive affirmations of LGBTQ people in the media, that reaffirms that it’s OK,” says Jackson. “Even if it’s just a visual of a gay couple holding hands… they see their people functioning in the world and being OK.”

Jackson’s group typically sees 10 to 35 teens in attendance, which sometimes leads them to talk about the harassment they get at school. Jackson says there have been recent instances of kids being pushed around, stalked and chased after school because of their sexuality.

“I think it’s great that there’s more education, but this stuff isn’t going away as much as we need it to,” says Jackson.

A lot of the kids say the verbal slurs are much more prominent. Even though comments such as “That’s so gay” and certain epithets aren’t always directed at them, they still carry a negative connotation.

The University of Winnipeg and gay rights organization Egale Canada have been researching homophobia in high schools. Surveys were sent out to 3,600 Canadian post-secondary schools, with the results showing that 70 per cent of all students heard the phrase “That’s so gay” every day. The results also showed that of the students who identified themselves as LGBTQ, 51 per cent have been harassed verbally.

Although Jackson mentions that some of the kids at Peer Project for Youth feel ignored by the teachers, some educators are trying to change the climate for gay students. Candice Behrendt, a French immersion teacher at Garden City Collegiate, is against derogatory remarks.

“(Students) are about to say, “That’s so g-” but they catch themselves,” says Behrendt.

Behrendt graduated last June from the University of Winnipeg, making Garden City her first teaching gig. In September, she, along with three other teachers decided to form a Gay-Straight Alliance at Garden City, joining the ranks of other Winnipeg high schools such as Grant Park, Vincent Massey, Sturgeon Heights, Fort Richmond, Kelvin and Maples Collegiate.

“It just started organically,” says Behrendt.

Behrendt says the reaction to having a GSA at Garden City was so overwhelmingly positive that they had to change the tentative start date from January/February 2011 to September last year.

“We didn’t know if we would get concerns from community members or students,” says Behrendt, pleased with the response. “We haven’t had any negative reaction at all.”

The group meets every Tuesday at noon, with attendance varying. More than 40 students from all grades attended the first meeting. Behrendt and her colleagues maintain a casual environment. Sometimes they’ll make rainbow bracelets. Students who never attend meetings have told Behrendt how happy they are that they have a GSA at their school.

“I had one student actually hug me because she has never seen an adult making a stand on this issue at all,” says Behrendt.

As far as media representation goes, Behrendt has a similar sentiment as Jackson’s. Although it’s good to have visibility, stereotypes are a concern.

“I think it’s positive and negative, because at the same time, if a student or any individual thinks that they don’t know anyone who is LGBTQ and think that all lesbian women are Ellen (Degeneres), then that would be a negative thing.”

TV storylines

Entertainment Weekly recently published a list of storylines involving gay teens, starting with One Life to Live’s 1992 storyline starring Ryan Phillippe as the first gay teen on network television. Here are some of the storylines currently airing:

90210 (CW): Hunky Teddy (Trevor Donovan) has been coming to terms with his sexuality in this remake’s third season. He recently entered into a secret relationship with Ian (played by Saskatchewan singer Kyle Riabko) but is set to start something with newcomer Marco (Freddie Smith).

DEGRASSI (MuchMusic): No stranger to featuring storylines involving gay teens, this season saw football star Riley (Argiris Karras) come out of the closet and start a relationship with Zane (Shannon Kook-Chun). Promos for the second part of the season show the two kissing as Riley’s mother walks in.

GLEE (Fox/Global): Natch. Kurt (Chris Colfer) is crushing on gay student Blaine (Darren Criss) while dealing with the violent, sexually confused bully Dave (Max Adler). (Trivia: Chord Overstreet, who plays Sam Evans, was initially brought on as a love interest for Kurt.)

GOSSIP GIRL (CW/MuchMusic): The Upper East Side’s Eric (Connor Paolo) has been out since the first season. He’s sometimes portrayed as the most sane and rational of the dramatic rich kids, only occasionally stirring the pot.

SHAMELESS (Showtime): On this edgy remake of a UK show about a family dealing with their drunken patriarch, Ian (Cameron Monaghan) is having an affair with his forty-something boss who’s married.

SKINS (MTV): This other remake of a UK show has received plenty of controversy surrounding its gay teen before it even aired. Not because the character is gay, but because the creators changed the character from gay Maxxie (Mitch Hewer) to lesbian Tea (Sofia Black D’elia).