| Gay Straight Alliance All over North America, high school students who want to end homophobia are launching Gay-Straight Alliances or GSAs. These are clubs devoted to human rights and human dignity, including the rights and dignity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender humans. These clubs usually have a social justice and education focus. They work to change school policies and to educate their staff and student bodies regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and about anti-gay harassment and violence. Their members may be of any sexual orientation or gender identity. Some schools have also launched Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Students' Support Groups through a health center or counseling program. Just as a lot of schools offer support groups for empowering young women or young men, or for students who want to stop smoking, some offer these LGBTQ support groups. These groups are usually less focused on social justice activism than a GSA. They may be recreational (a chance to hang out in a safe space once a week and play cards) or support-focused (a place to talk about issues such as dating, getting bullied, coming out, etc.). Some GLBTQ Support Groups invite participation by straight allies (heterosexual students with a LGBTQ friend or family member or who just care about the issue) and some restrict membership, for safety's sake, to people who are, or who think they might be, sexual minorities. |
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