[New study shows persistent struggle among lesbian, gay and bisexual youth](http://mashable.com/2016/08/13/lesbian-gay-bisexual-high-school-violence-study/#TlJgBRsK0EqO)
[Here’s the CDC study itself.](Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9–12 — United States and Selected Sites, 2015 | MMWR)
Sad but unsurprising. I definitely lucked out, especially as someone from TN; I haven’t been hit by much more than some name-calling (“useless lesbian”, “Antichrist”, “d*ke”, etc.) and this really creepy guy a grade above me who insists he can make any girl straight. (Um, ew. I’m normally fairly pacifistic, but I really, really want to break his face.) Most people at my school are allies or just don’t care. However, a school about an hour away had a few students try to start a GSA, and literally hundreds of parents tried to block all clubs just to prevent a GSA. (It’s not like they proselytize!)
@Hamlon will have an interesting POV on this.
Our family can vouch for that -my (gay) son was bullied throughout HS in spite of the fact that he graduated as the class valedictorian. Entire sports teams took to twitter and Yik YaK(?) to harass him. He was physically assaulted in locker rooms and alienated from certain social groups for coming out… and we live in NJ where there are tough anti bullying laws.
Even in the classroom teachers used anti gay films (God hates… WBC film) and anti gay rhetoric (gays shouldn’t be allowed to adopt or raise children) to teach concepts of free speech and rhetoric in class … without showing (or saying) any positive things to counteract the effect. Many classes presented only heteronormativity - even in health class. The effect was demeaning, dehumanizing and conducive to bullying. LGBTQ history was not taught.
There are so many things teachers and administrators can do to to create an environment that is more accepting and inclusive -starting with adding LGBTQ inclusive curriculum to present positive role models in history and health and dating info in sex ed. My son wrote the LGBTQ curriculum for his AP US History class- the kids were receptive - most had never even heard of stonewall… Most teachers at his school weren’t coming from malice -they just weren’t aware (or even thought) that there might be LGBT students in their classes… and just didn’t know how to implement any inclusivity…
I recently heard (it may be in this study- I haven’t read it yet) that according to the CDC 8% of HS students identify as LGBT…
I’m sorry your son went through that.
It’s awful that some people think that they can treat other people that way. Ugh.
And I’ve found that in some (most?) cases of bullying in HS, anti-bullying laws do nothing. The bullies (as far as I’ve seen) usually act very entitled and think that they can get away with anything because Dad has money and Mom is in the PTA. Nobody wants to go through the hassle of reporting, because it is a complicated process! Further, the anti-fighting school rules would get the victim in trouble for being combatitive or swearing or even not standing up sooner! And some students fear the administration, and others might not want to come out because the administrator is required to tell the parents. It’s just not a good system. I think better diversity and character education are needed. Some people might complain about “indoctrinating my children and turning them gay”, but, IMHO, it’s better to have complaints at the kindergarten level than suicides in high school.
@awesomepolyglot I definitely do! My old principal was trying to enforce all these extra requirements for our gay-straight alliance that actually went against federal law. He demanded that we change the name/charter to prioritize all social issues and didn’t allow us to put announcements or posters out. He would also make excuses that our club was too exclusive even though he had no problems with The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life (how specific can you get!) It was getting to be a huge hassle, but eventually that principal left the school and our new one was more neutral on the whole gsa issue. We don’t necessarily get support from the school (quite a few teachers were against this), but we’re left to our own devices for the most part. The student body is mixed in its views on lgbt+ issues, so it’s like walking on eggshells whenever you want to discuss recent events in the local/international news. Teachers try to keep a sense of neutrality at all times and can view lgbt students as inherently defiant/taboo. There also seems to be this line you cannot cross when entering certain classroom discussions because it’s perceived as inappropriate. One day my Trans* classmate just wanted to do her business in the girl’s bathroom, but our assistant principal wasn’t having it. 
When she came to school in a bra and feminine clothing, the assistant principal called their mom (which actually can put someone in a lot of danger!) and they were forced to go home for the day. She’s leaving the school for an early college program mainly because she didn’t feel supported or welcomed at school (sentiments of many students). The general rule at our school is you can be out, but not too out. 8-|
@Hamlon ugh. My school’s principal said yes to the club and yes to signs, but my school’s GSA hasn’t put any up yet, simply because we can almost never meet; most people in the club aren’t out, and I’m one of only 2 or 3 with a supportive parent. She also waived the requirement that parents have to sign off on joining the club.
She let my trans senior friend go to prom in a tux with a girl, and when a guy showed up in a costume dress on Halloween, her only objection was “no costumes”, which was consistently reinforced for the entire student body.
So my school is LGBT friendly, I guess. There are always a few people who are out to a lot of people, and they’re pretty helpful.
I do think it’s regional. Around here nobody cares, but I know other areas (not so far from here) are very difficult and bullying by adults, as well as children is common.
I wonder if there are any studies–I’m curious if your anecdata is accurate (I hope not).
“Anecdata”-- off topic, but that’s a great word.
adding to what I said earlier: another reason (IME) that people don’t report is they don’t want to seem weak or be targeted further.
I know in NJ they are trying to change the law slightly bc the law is inadvertently outing students to their parents (which is illegal in NJ)… by all of the required parental notification paperwork… 
Just want to add our family was very thankful for the NJ anti bullying law… it would have been much worse without it.
Ooh, I hope they do. Being outed is often a dangerous situation.