Through the ages, the telltale signs of bullying have been met with one of the most rage-inducing phrases of all time: “Kids will be kids!” Bullying has become part of the quintessential high-school experience, with people taking position as either the bully or the bullied. One of the most common causes of bullying in high schools stems from queerphobia- the prejudice, fear, and hatred of people who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Being in the closet is hard, and dealing with prejudice whilst closeted is harder, but for some LGBTQIA+ teens, coming out of the closet only leads to more queerphobia and prejudice.
Wellington High School is known for its welcoming and accepting community, but even we are not free from bullying and queerphobia When asked what effects queerphobia could have on a high school community, Deputy Principal Megan Southwell responded “I think it has the potential to create a divided community in which some people feel unsafe and excluded, which can result in some very tragic events.”
The support WHS has for the LGBTQIA+ community gives somewhat of a false sense of security in regards to queerphobia- we think, due to the support our school shows, that all of our students wholeheartedly agree with the ideals that our school supports. It is not a single edged blade, either- retaliation in the form of graffiti in the gender-neutral changing stall on level four was found with insults aimed at cisgender and heterosexual people. The sword is sharp on both sides, and while queerphobia is more common, discrimination or mistreatment of people due to their sexuality or gender (regardless of what sexuality or gender they identify as) is absolutely unacceptable and goes against Wellington High School’s code of ethics.
Ri Comer, a year ten student at WHS, says that queerphobia in their classes stem from “people who think it’s cool to use gay as a slur and things like that,” and that senior management could be taking further steps to make sure that people are educated about it and making it clear that “people are actually affected by that”. Ri also said that they have heard of students being bullied at Wellington High, but had personally never witnessed it. A member of the Ultraviolet club (who wished to remain unnamed) said “I think it is wonderful that there is so much support from the staff at our school, but there’s always something more that can be done- until the bullying is eradicated in all schools, our work is not done,” in response to being asked about queerphobia throughout all Wellington high schools. “WHS is doing its best, but the standard needs to be raised for all schools”.
Southwell said you have to have a zero tolerance policy to any prejudice. “You can’t make the mistake that slurs like “gay” aren’t a big deal, they are and they just continue to allow prejudice to occur.” She said students should understand the consequences of their actions. “Schools should ensure part of the process is making sure students understand… how they are impacting on others with their queerphobic behaviour”. She also said that “we really get our guidance from the LGBT community, and I love that at WHS it is the students who often teach us what is right.” Having such an open and accepting attitude from a member of senior management is very reassuring, especially when the Ultraviolet club looks for support in its efforts.
According to a study done by Youth ‘07 and published on GayNz.com in 2009, 71% of queer NZ teens interviewed said that they felt they couldn’t talk to their family about their sexuality, and 60% had said they weren’t “out” at home or at school. Could Wellington, despite just having celebrated 30th anniversary of the Homosexual Law Reform, still have an underlying problem of queerphobia? In a study done by LGBT Foundation, they found only 9% of students overall would feel safe telling a teacher they were queer. Part of the problem is the attitude we have towards it- due to the progressiveness of WHS, people often assume that queerphobia doesn’t exist, and end up ignoring queerphobia when it does happen- and just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
Multiple students from Wellington College came to speak with me and talked about an instance of a queerphobic action in their school. A teacher allegedly responded to a query about a QSA by saying that there were “no gay students” at WC. Even microaggressions and ignorance like that is adding to the issue- in a 2001/2002 survey done in Australia (known to be the most accurate survey done in the country), 8.6% of men and 15.1% of women between the ages of 16 and 59 said they experienced some level of same gender attraction. For a school with 1550 students, it would quite simply be impossible for there to be no queer students, unless the school actively discriminated and didn’t accept students that openly experienced same gender attraction.
Wellington High School isn’t without it’s faults, but the LGBTQIA+ community can be thankful for the accepting and caring staff that stand up for their students everyday. Being part of a community that is on the receiving end of so much judgement and hate, having the safe-haven that the school supports such as the Ultraviolet club is so important. Yes, we can do better, we can always do better, but we are already doing so well in regards to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community- things like our gender neutral bathrooms and the respect teachers show to students in regards to name changes and pronouns are fantastic steps forwards. But there’s still more work to be done, and WHS can help make changes not only in our own school but we can help change others, too.
By Ed Smith
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