On November 6th, 2018 for Social Justice Week, I attended the film, Bully. Bully documents the stories of five kids throughout parts of the American south and their experiences with bullying. I saw the film before and it was when I was twelve years old. I believe that because I saw the film at a younger age, while I knew it was important to accept people regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, and more, it was harder for me to understand the effects of bullying. After watching it eight years later, I saw it with a better understanding of the effect bullying has, especially on LGBTQIA+ kids.
One of the kids filmed was Kelby Johnson. Kelby lived in Tuttle, Oklahoma and identifies as a lesbian. In her hometown, only a few of her friends and her immediate family accepted her, whereas the rest of the community wanted nothing to do with her. In the film, she admits that she attempted suicide and have self-harmed, which unfortunately many kids who have identified as LGBTQIA+ experience due to bullying in schools and isolation from their communities.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, “Results from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey show that, nationwide, more U.S. high school students who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) report having been bullied on school property (33%) and cyberbullied (27.1%) in the past year, than their heterosexual peers (17.1% and 13.3%, respectively). The study also showed that more LGB students (10%) than heterosexual students (6.1%) reported not going to school because of safety concerns.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). The report summarizes that not only do these kids face more bullying than their heterosexual peers, but they feel even more unsafe reporting their bullies. To add on, this was report was published last year, which is not that long ago.
In our class discussion on November 13th, we discussed the roots of LGBTQIA+ youth suicide rates, and how bullying is a major cause. When these kids feel they have nobody to turn to for help and these bullies constantly tear them down because of their sexuality and gender identity, unfortunately, it can take a severe toll on their mental health. We are doing those children wrong if we do not stand by their side when they feel worthless. Especially for boys like Jamel Myles, whose story we read on the first day of our course. In the Denver Post, it says “...that other children had told Jamel to kill himself after he came out as gay.” (Mitchell “Crisis counselors meet with kids”). Those taunts eventually led Jamel to take his own life.
As a suicide loss survivor and as someone who has been bullied in school until the seventh-grade, I find this issue extremely close to me. I never want people like Kelby, Jamel, and any of my LGBTQIA+ friends to ever feel worthless by other kids just because of their sexuality and gender identity. In order to protect these students, we got to, as Julia Serano says, “Destroy the insider/outsider myth.” (Serano 100). When we educate all kids from all areas of the country about the facts about the LGBTQIA+ community, they grow to be more accepting. I am a product of that as my mom threw on her teacher hat to educate my sisters and me on queer acceptance.
Along with education for children on LGBTQIA+ acceptance, we must continue the conversations through school meetings and our congressmen as they have the power to create protection policies for states and the country. While there has been some progress made, we still have a long way to go to ensure the safety of our LGBTQIA+ kids.
One of the kids filmed was Kelby Johnson. Kelby lived in Tuttle, Oklahoma and identifies as a lesbian. In her hometown, only a few of her friends and her immediate family accepted her, whereas the rest of the community wanted nothing to do with her. In the film, she admits that she attempted suicide and have self-harmed, which unfortunately many kids who have identified as LGBTQIA+ experience due to bullying in schools and isolation from their communities.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, “Results from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey show that, nationwide, more U.S. high school students who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) report having been bullied on school property (33%) and cyberbullied (27.1%) in the past year, than their heterosexual peers (17.1% and 13.3%, respectively). The study also showed that more LGB students (10%) than heterosexual students (6.1%) reported not going to school because of safety concerns.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). The report summarizes that not only do these kids face more bullying than their heterosexual peers, but they feel even more unsafe reporting their bullies. To add on, this was report was published last year, which is not that long ago.
In our class discussion on November 13th, we discussed the roots of LGBTQIA+ youth suicide rates, and how bullying is a major cause. When these kids feel they have nobody to turn to for help and these bullies constantly tear them down because of their sexuality and gender identity, unfortunately, it can take a severe toll on their mental health. We are doing those children wrong if we do not stand by their side when they feel worthless. Especially for boys like Jamel Myles, whose story we read on the first day of our course. In the Denver Post, it says “...that other children had told Jamel to kill himself after he came out as gay.” (Mitchell “Crisis counselors meet with kids”). Those taunts eventually led Jamel to take his own life.
As a suicide loss survivor and as someone who has been bullied in school until the seventh-grade, I find this issue extremely close to me. I never want people like Kelby, Jamel, and any of my LGBTQIA+ friends to ever feel worthless by other kids just because of their sexuality and gender identity. In order to protect these students, we got to, as Julia Serano says, “Destroy the insider/outsider myth.” (Serano 100). When we educate all kids from all areas of the country about the facts about the LGBTQIA+ community, they grow to be more accepting. I am a product of that as my mom threw on her teacher hat to educate my sisters and me on queer acceptance.
Along with education for children on LGBTQIA+ acceptance, we must continue the conversations through school meetings and our congressmen as they have the power to create protection policies for states and the country. While there has been some progress made, we still have a long way to go to ensure the safety of our LGBTQIA+ kids.
Thank you for your post on this film--it sounds like an important documentary to view and engage with!
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