Brody's Notes... Vancouver Sun Reports On 'Dare to Stand Out' Anti-Homophobia Forum

Nathan Knowles    Photograph by Arlen Redekop The Vancouver Sun 

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Mar 26 | 200 Metropolitan area Vancouver teenagers attended "Dare to Stand Out," an anti-homophobia conference sponsored by the Gay-Straight Alliance in Vancouver, Canada on Wednesday, March 24th, according to the Vancouver Sun's Staff Writer, Andrea Woo. Writing about Grade 9 secondary student, Nathan Knowles, Woo reported;

"The first time Nathan Knowles experienced overt discrimination for being gay was during his first year of high school, in 2009.

A heterosexual couple was making out in the hallway -- "being very open with their sexuality," according to Knowles -- prompting him to tell the couple to tone it down.

"What are you going to do about it, faggot?" snapped the boy.

"He's the only one who's ever been brave enough to say something directly to me," Knowles told Woo. "But I've heard others talking about me behind my back."

The Grade 9 student participated in a gay-straight alliance (GSA) workshop, where he gathered information on how to start a GSA at his school, Maple Ridge secondary.

Amara Charters, a Grade 12 student at Templeton secondary, participated in a gender identity workshop.

"It's something I'm really interested in learning more about because it's something I don't fully understand," said Charters. "I wanted to hear from people who were transsexual, and get their stories, and learn how they feel about the community."

Charters noted that while homophobia isn't blatant at her school, homophobic language is pervasive.

"A lot of times people will say, 'That's so gay,'" Charters said. "I point out to them, 'You really shouldn't say that. Gay is not a synonym for stupid.'"

"Sometimes people do it without even noticing it or thinking about it," said Hana Kaay-Gordon, a Grade 12 student at Britannia secondary. "Our society has kind of made it seem okay. It's almost slang. It's been turned into another language."

Organiser Steve Mulligan, the Vancouver school board's anti-homophobia and diversity coordinator, said the purpose of the conference was to give students the tools and confidence to make schools more inclusive.

"It's also to give students who regularly feel quite alone and isolated a feeling of having kindred souls, and others they can identify with," Mulligan said.

Teenagers are an important demographic to target, he added, because homophobia can have profound effects on youths in their formative years.

"Research shows things like dropping out of school, substance abuse, suicide -- all of these things are much more prevalent among queer kids," he said.

While there have been similar gatherings for teachers, Mulligan said this was the first of its kind for students.

Workshops during the all-day event included "GSA 101," "Responding to Homophobia" and "Gender Identity."

Guest speakers included comedienne Morgan Brayton, Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium manager Janine Fuller and Vancouver Pride Society president Ken Coolen.