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Classroom Homophobia- A Student Fights Back
by Kassy Kayiatos I
grew up in a small, affluent suburb south of San Francisco. I was the only "out" gay female at my high school. Although my town was extremely homophobic, I was lucky enough that I rarely had to deal with that homophobia head on.
But in my junior year I experienced a display of homophobia that was particularly disturbing, because it came from a teacher. This teacher had a bad habit of reverting to
"playground talk" when relating on a personal level to some of the male students. In this instance, they were discussing a male student who had recently pierced his ear."Only chicks and faggots pierce
their ears," my teacher remarked in a very loud voice. My jaw dropped, and stayed that way, until I was able to form the words "Excuse me, what did you just say?"
He responded, "Oh, I'm sorry, ladies." My parents raised me to be proud of who I am, and to stand up for things I believe in. Equality is something I definitely believe in, and I was not about to let anyone
get away with making derogatory comments in front of me-especially a teacher, who should know better. Not only did he insult "faggots," and reinforce the idea that homophobia is acceptable in the classroom, he
managed to belittle women in the process. I was so enraged that I turned bright red, but I kept my mouth shut this time because it was obvious that his mind was closed, and I didn't want to make a scene. But I knew I
had to take a stand, because no one else was going to, so I spent the rest of the class period writing a letter to the principal about what I had just experienced. After class I spoke briefly with the teacher, telling
him that I felt it was inappropriate for him to bring his homophobia into the classroom. He agreed and apologized, but I still gave the letter to the principal. The principal called a meeting with me and the teacher.
The teacher apologized again, received a warning, and was sent back to teach. About a month later, I overheard this teacher speaking with some male students. "That's a fag car," he said, describing a vehicle
that was under discussion. This time he caught himself. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, turning to me. "I forgot." What did you forget, teacher? Did you forget that there is a "faggot" in
your class, or did you forget your homophobia, or did you forget that last time you spoke like that I told on you? Or maybe you forgot that you are a teacher, and at that moment you were teaching ignorance. What I
said was, "Yes, you are sorry, and so am I." Needless to say, I wrote another letter. This time I put a copy in all of the teachers' mail boxes, and sent a copy to each member of the school board. Nothing
serious happened to the teacher as a result, but perhaps the pressure I put on him made him realize that hate is not tolerable, especially in the classroom. What I learned from all of this is that if no one speaks out,
nothing will change. Although the system may be on his side, we still have the power to change minds-but we have to be willing to take a stand. This piece was first published in YO! and can be found on their website:
www.pacificnews.org/yo. YO! is a monthly journal of youth life in the Bay Area
and is a project of the Pacific News Service. YO! works closely with many community-based organizations in the Bay Area. To subscribe to YO! send checks (yearly - 10 issues - rates: $12 student/young adult;
$15 supporter; $50 institution/organization) to YO!, c/o Pacific News Service, 660 Market St, #210, San Francisco, CA, 94104. Call 415-438-4755 for a free sample issue. |
