How to Survive a Plague: LGBTQ Issues and Civic Activism in the Social Studies Classroom

Schools can be a scary and dangerous place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. More than half of LGBT youth (55.5%) reported feeling unsafe at school due to their sexual orientation, and 37.8% felt unsafe due to their gender expression (Kosciw, Greytak, Palmer, & Boesen, 2014). Additionally, nearly 65% of LGBT youth heard homophobic remarks, and 85% were verbally harassed in the past year (Kosciw et al., 2014). This bullying and harassment in schools can lead to dire consequences for LGBT youth, including isolation from friends and family, depression, drug and/or alcohol use and addiction, low self-esteem, lack of engagement in school, academic failure, and fighting (Holmes & Cahill, 2004; Kosciw et al., 2014; Meyer, 2010; Wilkinson & Pearson, 2009).