Gay- what does it mean? Someone who is attracted to people of the same gender as them But how are we using it?

Alan Turning Wartime code breaker / computing pioneer Carl Hester Olympic dressage rider Richard O ’ Brien Writer / ac tor Malinda Lo Writer Carol Ann Duffy Poet Lana Wachowski Film writer / di rector Sir Ian Mckellen Actor Laura Jane Grace Musician

the word “gay” is now used so commonly as an insult it shouldn’t be taken as anything personal- it’s not meant to be offensive to gay people Comments like this damage gay pupils’ confidence More than four in five say they are distressed to hear the word ‘gay’ used in this way Almost half say it distresses them ‘extremely’ or ‘a lot’

One in five gay and bisexual pupils don ’ t feel safe at school It ’ s not what they say to me individually that gets at me, it ’ s the constant stream of anti - gay remarks that people don ’ t even know they make. I feel awful all the time. It eats away inside you and sometimes knowing what they ’ d do to me if they knew makes me lose the ability to breathe. I feel that I don ' t want to carry on in school if this is what I have to put up with and hide what I feel all the time. I was a straight A * student. I got 100 per cent in my science exams, I ’ m really proud of that. But because of bullying my classwork and coursework has suffered, leaving me with a lower grade, about a C / B. Three in five gay and bisexual pupils who experience homophobic bullying say that this impacts on their school work More than half of lesbian, gay and bisexual students don ’ t feel they belong in their school because of homophobia

Half of lesbian, gay and bisexual students skip school 1/3 change their plans for future education 1/4 have tried to take their own life at some point More than half deliberately harm themselves As a result of homophobia…

Express yourself!

Include information on your school’s bullying support services and how students can access them

The following slides include suggestions for form activities to follow the assembly and reinforce the message

Express Yourself Students are to develop their vocabulary and communication skills by using a thesaurus to aid in creating a list of alternative ways of saying they don’t like something. This should be done without using slurs on other axes (for example, ablelist language like “r*tarded”) and without swearing. Alternatives include: heinous, vile, awful, dreadful, repulsive, pathetic, contemptible, boring, disgusting, atrocious, deplorable. By looking at what they actually mean to say, students should reach an understanding of the connotations they are applying to “gay”. Students could present this as a display similar to those seen on visualthesaurus.comvisualthesaurus.com

Don’t Be A Bystander Students are to watch the Don’t Be A Bystander video (if removed from assembly slides) and consider what the message is. Discuss how they can safely challenge homophobic language if others use it. They can then create a pledge board: pledges can be made individually or as a group. Our pledge! We won’t: Use “gay” as an insult Discriminate against anyone We will: Use appropriate language to express our disapproval of things Challenge homophobia if others engage in it Respect one another

LGB Icons Computer access will be needed for this. Prior to the lesson, teachers should provide a list of LGB icons to research: students could use some of the people on the assembly slides, on the Pink List, or on Wikipedia. (Note: before providing the list, run a quick check. As with any celebrities, teachers may feel that certain aspects of various icon’s lives are not suited to the task.) In groups, students should research the icon and present them as the teacher chooses. One way to do this is to divide the list so each for has two or three icons to research, and create an informational poster for a central display. Students could also present their research to the form (powerpoint, verbal report, dramatic short). This could be followed with a discussion on what makes a role model, and why LGB role models are so important.