“The good news is that youth are using more condoms,” said Kevin Gogin “and are going to the doctors at a higher rate,” said Ilsa Bertolini. The hard news for LGBTQ youth is the sobering statistics: higher incidence of alcohol and marijuana use; elevated mental health indicators for depression and suicide; and an increase of threats at school. Together these two San Francisco Unified School District educators presented: “That’s So Gay! Combating Homophobia to Reduce LGBTQ Health Disparities.” As the morning’s hot topic, they offered insight on knowledge and skills to increase safety in schools.
The presentation began with an interactive exercise: Know your gay celebrities! Luminaries include: Ellen de Generes, Lily Tomlin, Mary Cheney, Cheryl Swoops, Clay Aiken, Jody Foster, Maurice Sendak, and Barney Frank. Ilsa and Kevin showed the groundbreaking LGBTQ website dedicated to “creating a safe place for all students.” Kevin told the story of the public reaction to the site’s presence, some negative and positive—and ways they mitigated the issues. Later in the presentation, they asked diverse vignette style questions of the audience including, “How would you manage this situation: a female who considers herself a male wants to use the bathroom, which one would they use?” Answers from the audience showed levels of LGBTQ awareness throughout the country by our NPD partners.
“The good news is that youth are using more condoms,” said Kevin Gogin “and are going to the doctors at a higher rate,” said Ilsa Bertolini. The hard news for LGBTQ youth is the sobering statistics: higher incidence of alcohol and marijuana use; elevated mental health indicators for depression and suicide; and an increase of threats at school. Together these two San Francisco Unified School District educators presented: “That’s So Gay! Combating Homophobia to Reduce LGBTQ Health Disparities.” As the morning’s hot topic, they offered insight on knowledge and skills to increase safety in schools.
