Homophobia in secondary school

deasyd

Hey everyone,

I'm making a radio documentry on homophobia in secondary schools and I am looking for students aged 16 and above to participate, both boys and girls. This is your chance to tell your story and have your voice heard nationwide!

I would like to clarify that I need students who are currently in school or have left school as a result of homophobic bullying. You don’t have to currently be a victim of homophobic bullying. This could have happened in the past or you could just openly gay in school and tell me your stories/experiences after coming out whether they be good or bad. None of the student’s names will be revealed in the documentary nor will the schools that they attend. However, I need the students to understand that the documentary will be broadcast on some radio stations in Ireland and even if you do not reveal your identity that some people may recognise your voice.

Student interviews:
· Primarily I am looking for four students (two boys and two girls age 16 at a minimum).
· I would like students that are good speakers and who would be comfortable talking to me about these issues.
· Any students who are not openly gay in school and conceal their sexuality for fear of ridicule, these people would also be great to talk too.

anyone who is interested in taking part please send me a message or post your interest here and I can arrange contact.

Note: I would like to point out that the making of the documentry will take place in Waterford and Dublin.

I have to have the interviews finished by the first week in March

David

Annasopra

contact BelongTo as well

deasyd

Thanks for that, but I have already tried BelongTo and they refused to help as they have their own media campaign going on. I am really stuck. I didn't think it would be this hard to get young people involved and expose this issue. I find that the lgbt community often complain about inequality and miss-treatment, yet when an opportunity like this comes along no-one is willing to help out, not even the support groups. I really am shocked becuase this will be broadcast on a number of radio stations around Ireland, but if I do not get the people to come forward and tell their stories it will not go ahead. This is a terrible shame as there is a great production team working on this project for free. All the lgbt community have to do is take part, tell their stories and have thier say. If they don't the efforts will be shifted to a project less worthy which is a terrible shame.

LegacyUser

deasyd wrote: »

All the lgbt community have to do is take part, tell their stories and have thier say. If they don't the efforts will be shifted to a project less worthy which is a terrible shame.

You make it sound as if it's an easy thing to do, which it's not, especially for young people who mightn't be comfortable discussing the topic (naturally, after bring bullied over it).

Sir Ophiuchus

Write to GCN giving details and asking for participants.

deasyd

Thanks for recommending GCN I will contact them asap. Also, I do understand that it may be difficult to tell their stories if they were bullied in the past. All the more reason to tell your story and shed some light on the issue! I will be as compassionate as possible. This will be a good cause in the end. I am finding it difficult to contact young people as BelongTo connot help.

Bottle_of_Smoke

I remember listening to the Adrian Kennedy phoneshow when I was a kid and for some people they used voice distortion of some kind so the people weren't recognised. Maybe if you did this you would get some more volunteers

cooltown

I am a 17 year old male and I'm going to an all male secondary school. I am gay! I haven't come out yet. I live in a small country town. Where being gay isn't accepted. In school if people find something bad it is then called gay! Students often say homophobic comments in class about other students and the teachers don't know how to deal with them!
The younger teachers are alot more accepting but the older one's are not. I suppose this is because of the generation gap. For example one of our teachers loves GAA. After Donal og cusack was on the late late show. He basically said that he had no more respect for him anymore. He said that he was sick and dirty. He said that he should be put in a different dressing roometc. This is very hard to hear these comments rip through your head.
As I said earlier on I haven't come out. People still no I'm different though they know I'm not interested in girls etc! It is a very lonely place and depressing.
I would be happy to answer some of your questions. I wouldn't have the confidence to go on the radio though!

deasyd

Thanks very much for the reply cooltown. I fully understand where you are coming from and you certainly are not alone. Many students come face-to-face with this in school, whether they are out or not. The issues that you metioned are a daily occurance. These are exactly the kind of problems that I am trying to tackle.

However, just to reinforce my angle, the documetry in total will be a maximun of 20 minutes. I am already interviewing one male student and a mother of a gay son to get her angle on the issue. So really each person may only me talking for a maximum of 2 minutes. The documntry will obviously be pre-recorded so you can prepare what you are going to say. I will need someone willing to talk on the radio, but again you guide the story and reveal what you want to say or only what you are comfortable with. I cannot distort voices and there is no need to be so sacred. Everything will work out fine, should you choose to take part. Homophobic bullying or using gay words to insult people was common place when I was in school, but since leaving school five lads in my class came out as gay. So things are not always how they seem and, as I said earlier, you definately are not alone. If you are interested in being interviewed, and I can promise I will be as compassionate as possible, don't hestitate to add another post and I can arrange to contact you.

All the best Cooltown,
Dave

hitlersson666

I would do it but i could not do my own voice my school is VERY homophobic

deasyd

Ok everyone,

I am actually making a few calls and am in the process of finding out if I can distort the voices of the people that take part. It looks like I will be able to do it.

Who would be interested in taking part if I can distort your voices???

I will post the definate answer here as sonn as I know.

Dave

cooltown

There is also a huge stigma attached to coming out. If you come out in a small town. You will become the talk of the town. People will look down on your parents and siblings! If you do choose to come out you could cause all this pain for your family which is just not fair on them. They will become knowen as the people with the queer son by some!

Aoifums

Would you need parents to sign anything if this were to go ahead?

This sounds sort of interesting. I'm a 17 year old girl, in 5th year at an all girls school. To be honest though, I'd want to know what station this would be broadcast on first. I'd be far more likely to do it if my voice was distorted.

deasyd

Aoifu,

It's great that you are interested because no girls are coming forward. Your parents would not need to sign anything once you are 16 or over. I will be able to distort your voice if you take part. It is an independent documentry so it will be broadcast on a number of radio stations. I am hoping that newstalk and maybe radio one will broadcast it. It will be the summer before it will be released.

cooltown

I would just like to know where will this interview take place? Would you have to travel or could it be done over the phone?

Aoifums

cooltown wrote: »

I would just like to know where will this interview take place? Would you have to travel or could it be done over the phone?

I was just about to ask this too.

deasyd

Cooltown,

where are you from? Interviews wll take place in Dublin or Waterford.

cooltown

I live in north cork!

BeLonG_To

Hello there,
Just to respond to some of the points raised on this thread, on behalf of BeLonG To Youth Service;
We work to support and resource LGBT youth through a variety of methods including one-to-one and group supports, and various initiatives such as advocacy campaigns, training and media work.
We have completed a number of pieces of high-profile media work recently, in fact Crossing The Line productions are currently putting together the final touches of a two-part documentary on growing up LGBT in Ireland, due to be broadcast on RTE in the next couple of months. Because LGBT youth often experience marginalization and discrimination, we find it to be of huge importance to ensure that LGBT youth who are taking part in media projects are fully briefed, trained and aware of the implications of appearing in media. We are also aware of the importance of not 'over exposing' young people to media and the reason we decided not to take part in this documentary was because of the aforementioned projects we were already involved with. As the welfare of LGBT youth is the core concern of our work, we do not make decisions lightly in regard to possible appearances, as I'm sure that anyone with experience or knowledge of the LGBT community will understand.

In the meantime, I would urge any young LGBT person who wants to avail of safe, peer-led support to access our range of supports. For a full list of services and groups around the country, please see www.belongto.org
David Carroll
BeLonG To Youth Service