The importance of LGBTQ+ education today


In November 2018, the Scottish Government made the monumental move of making LGBTQ+ inclusive education compulsory in the Scottish education system. This is a move that will likely save many lives and make young LGBTQ+ individuals feel safe and included with their peers.

LGBTQ+ inclusive education is an essential in 2019, and it is a fact that school curriculums must come to terms with. We teach young people to be respectful and considerate at school, yet bullying against LGBTQ+ people is still prevalent. Looking back on my own experience of being a young LGBTQ+ individual, I now realise that it was isolating and lonely in some ways. Despite never feeling overtly uncomfortable with being gay, and despite having a good support network of friends and family, I feel that I was quite reserved and, in some ways, felt that I couldn't fully express who I was until I was in my final year of high school. Perhaps if LGBTQ+ inclusive education was part of the curriculum from a young age then this could have been different.

We learned a lot about heterosexual relationships in school, though anything other than that was never really discussed. This probably wasn't helped by the fact that it was a Catholic school that I attended. The problem with excluding LGBTQ+ people from the curriculum is that schools are not setting people up for the real world where LGBTQ+ people are very much present and visible, yet in schools (at least in mines) they are largely invisible.

[Side note: The TIE campaign, as discussed in one of my previous posts carries out constantly tremendous work by raising awareness, hosting workshops and doing their best to ensure young LGBTQ+ people feel included whilst educating non-LGBTQ+ people about the importance of inclusive education. Their work is life-saving, so check them out if you have a chance.]

It wasn't until I moved to Glasgow that I became fully comfortable with my sexuality because I didn't feel constrained by the pressures of the high school status quo, though in my final year of school, I had become more comfortable with myself. And, although I was never bullied or outcasted for my sexuality, I didn't feel comfortable discussing that side of my life until the end of my school years - and, at that, I was very selective of who I talked to. This could have also been due to it being a time in my life where I was still trying to discover and understand who I was, and I didn't want to talk to anyone else about it until I fully understood myself.

Part of this insecurity likely did come from the lack of education in schools and, as a result, I would have to learn about what it meant to be gay from other sources - such as online forums. Around the time I was coming to terms with my sexuality, I also became a big Lady Gaga fan - I am sure I have discussed this in previous posts as well. I believe that her presence and the community she allowed me to enter in to helped me to consolidate my feelings and feel welcome in a community that I couldn't directly engage with. Her message of being Born This Way began when I was in my early teens and, I believe, this acted as an essential part in my mental development.

The sad reality is that, despite their being role models and online opportunities to inspire and allow LGBTQ+ people to come to terms with their sexuality, not everyone will have access to those resources, or may not find them useful at all. Digital escapism does not always work in the real world and many people will still be in danger once they click the "Log Out" button. The need to implement LGBTQ+ education in all schools is necessary for developing well-rounded individuals who have an understanding of the wide variety of people who live in their communities.

Hatred against LGBTQ+ individuals is not innate, it is learned behaviour. As such, to create a more inclusive society, we need to unlearn that behaviour to understand that everyone deserves equality and respect. I'm extremely proud that Scotland introduced LGBTQ+ inclusive education to schools, and I really hope it makes a difference to the lives of young LGBTQ+ people - whilst allowing non-LGBTQ+ people to understand and learn more about lives other than their own.

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