Support from Teachers and Peer Parents is Essential for Our LGBTQ Youth
Please don’t underestimate the role you play
State alliances and national organizations whose purpose is to affirm and support our LGBTQ youth are crucial to widespread social change and legal reform. Without these nonprofit entities, and the compassionate people behind them, we wouldn’t have seen the myriad advances that help today be a better day for gay or transgender teenagers, et al, to find love and acceptance. To witness that, absolutely, there is a place for them in this world.
Even so, support at home is more important. This, after all, is where our youth rest their heads. It’s where they’re fed both food and ideology. Home is the first place they begin to learn who they are, and whether or not unconditional love exists for them.
So what does that mean for the 15-year-old whose parents lack understanding, avoid education about LGBTQ matters, and refuse to acknowledge their child’s truth?
It means that a certain responsibility lies with the other adults in this precious child’s day-to-day life.
Local educators, school faculty, church leaders, community fixtures (think librarians), and the parents of that teen’s peers are called to be what their own parents will not.
> a voice of encouragement
> a source of acceptance
> a safe space to just be
> an offerer of physical affection (as in Free Mom Hugs)
One teacher from a rural school district in the Midwest says of an LGBTQ student, “Ya know what? This isn’t my story, my life. All I am is a supporting character and I’m gonna support the [expletive] outta this kid.”
As it should be. Her life sees no consequence by being present in the way her student needs her to be. But as a teacher? How she chooses to treat her charges, and whether or not she shows them respect, can create very real consequences for those students. (Please refer to The Trevor Project’s National Survey on LGBTQ Mental Health [2020], linked above.)
I live in a rural area myself, where not all minds are open to the cultivation and success of LGBTQ individuals, whether by bigotry filtered through religion, or plain ignorance and lack of caring. And yet I’ve had positive conversations with countless ally educators, and been privy to unwavering support by school administrators and faculty, and watched with a swelling heart how easily other parents embrace kids who aren’t their own, because — and it’s so simple — they see their value beyond the labels.
You’ve perhaps heard the African proverb, “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” A child. End of sentence. No prerequisites. No qualifiers. No matter if they’re gay or bi or straight, cis- or transgender, queer or questioning, or anything else.
Teachers. Youth leaders. Librarians. The office staff at school. Cross country coaches and drama directors. Fellow parents.
You are the village.
Yours might be the only support they receive.
The affirmation you deliver any given day could be the balm for a hurting heart.
A hug you give may be the first they’ve received in months.
“Challenges faced by LGBTQ youth are changing, but what they always need is support from each other and the adults in their lives.” The Human Rights Campaign
Our kids need you.
Are you answering the call?
