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Bibliography

"Body Image and Self-Esteem." KidsHealth. Ed. D'Arcy Lyness. The Nemours Foundation, July 2015. Web. 27 May 2017.

"Depression (major Depression) Coping and Support." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 07 July 2016. Web. 27 May 2017.

"Help Teens Build a Healthy Body Image." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 27 May 2017.

"How Physical Appearance Issues Lead to Teen Depression." California Counseling Group. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2017.

John Wisniewski / May 23rd, 2014. "Promoting Social Change: LGBT Activism." Dissident Voice: A Radical Newsletter in the Struggle for Peace and Social Justice. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2017.

"Marriage Equality | Revel & Riot." Revel Riot. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2017.

N.p., n.d. Web.

What Is Depression? N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2017.

What Is Depression? N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2017.

Print

Dawson, James, and Spike Gerrell. This Book Is Gay. Naperville, IL: Source Jabberwocky, 2015. Print.

Toner, Jacqueline B., and Claire A. B. Freeland. Depression: A Teen's Guide to Survive and Thrive. Washington, DC: Magination, American Psychological Association, 2016. Print.

Watson, Stephanie. Gay Rights Movement. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO, 2014. Print.

Wilcox, Christine. Teens and Body Image. San Diego, CA: ReferencePoint, 2016. Print.

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Unity is key!

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SUBSCRIBE to Chescaleigh! http://bit.ly/chescaSUBSCRIBE TWEET this video http://ctt.ec/VUcsh Animation by the lovely Kat Blaque http://youtube.com/TransDIYer * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Wanna learn more about privilege and how to understand it?

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Every day, students who are (or are perceived to be) lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) are subjected to pervasive discrimination, including harassment, bullying, intimidation, and violence. These hostile school climates drag down our education system and have lasting negative impacts on students’ mental health and academic achievement.”

“Recent surveys show that eight out of ten LGBT students report experiencing harassment at their school within the past year based on their sexual orientation. Discrimination against LGBT and gender nonconforming students has a direct and negative impact on the student's’ education. Nearly a third of LGBT students reported skipping a class at least once and three in ten reported missing at least one entire day of school in the past month because of safety concerns. Worse still, a nationally representative study of students grades 7-12 found that LGBT students are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide as their peers – oftentimes citing persistent bullying and harassment as a reason.”

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Anti- LGBT discrimination has harmful effects on the LGBT community resulting in many being unemployed which leads to being homeless, poor health and food insecurity and more. Rolling Stone states, “A 2013 Pew Research Center survey found that 21 percent of the LGBT adults surveyed said their employer treated them unfairly because of their sexuality or gender identity. Another report, authored the National Black Justice Coalition and other groups, found that nearly 50 percent of black LGBT people have experienced employment discrimination. Rates are significantly higher for transgender workers — some 90 percent of trans people have reported experiencing on-the-job harassment or mistreatment, while 47 percent said they were fired, not hired or denied a promotion because of their gender identity, according to a national survey.”

“A 2009 Williams Institute report also found that same-sex couples are two times more likely to live in poverty than different-sex couples, while single LGB adults are 1.2 times more likely to be poor than their straight counterparts.”

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“By 2014, 17 States, Washington D.C. and 8 Native American tribes had adopted full equality. And on June 26, 2015, same-sex marriage was declared legal nationwide when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that state-level bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional. The court ruled that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and the refusal to recognize those marriages performed in other jurisdictions violates the Due Process and the Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The ruling overturned a precedent, Baker v. Nelson.”

Here are just a few of the thousands of rights and protections that were denied to LGBTQ citizens in the USA prior to June 26 2015 and continue to be denied to LGBTQ people all over the word today:

Right to marry / right to divorce

Hospital visitations

Child custody rights

Adoption rights

Parenting rights

Automatic inheritance

Divorce protections

Employment equality

Immigration law

Medicaid

Retirement plans

Right to a fair trial

Social security benefits

Survivor benefits

Freedom of gender expression

Spousal and child support

Federal taxes / joint taxes

Legal protection from gender-identity-based discrimination

Exemption from property tax upon death of a spouse

Immunity from being forced to testify against one’s spouse

Legal protection from discrimination based on sexuality

Health insurance continuation of health coverage

Medical decision-making power on behalf of a spouse

Legal protection from housing discrimination

Right to free expression and free association

The right to serve openly in the military

Right to medical coverage and safe access to care

Standing to sue for wrongful death of a spouse

Access to equal education

Access to family insurance policies

Domestic violence protections

~Right to form a family

In the United States, legal battles for marriage equality began in 1969, when the Metropolitan Community Church performed the nation’s first gay wedding ceremony. It was not legally recognized, and in 1970, the church filed the a lawsuit seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriages. They lost, and with that, the legal fight for marriage equality went quiet for over two decades. In 1993, the issue of marriage equality moved back into the spotlight, after several gay couples filed a discrimination suit against the state of Hawaii, which had denied their requests for a marriage license. Their claim was that the state had no practical reason to refuse them, and the Supreme Court agreed. It was ruled that the government of Hawaii had to prove that refusing to recognize their relationships was in the best interest of the state, or give them the same rights and benefits as straight couples. The next day, the judge issued a stay on his order.

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Violence is still a huge part of the LGBT community. Stated by Kelly Cogswell, an LGBT activist and Columnist for New York’s Gay City News “JW: Looking back, is enough attention paid to the welfare and concerns of the gay and lesbian community, by authorities, such as politicians and police departments? RC: We still have a lot of work to do, and need ongoing support from among politicians, from the cops, in schools. Violence remains one of the biggest issues facing the LGBTQ community. Queers still regularly get harassed and beaten in the street. Trans women and our young people are most at risk. Too often, cops aren’t there to prevent it. Many don’t respond appropriately after it happens. Worst of all is when cops are the culprits. Bullying in schools is still a huge problem, like discrimination in the workplace. We also need to house our homeless LGBTQ youth, and make sure they get educated. And for that matter, we have to house aging queers that aren’t necessarily welcome in the average institution. All of this requires activists to pressure politicians and local leaders.”

Stated by Mary Beth Maxwell, “The incident there, which involved the assault of a staff member, followed a string of other anti-LGBTQ attacks nationally. Last week, 13 shots were fired at an LGBTQ center in Tulsa, Okla. In New Jersey and Florida, the offices of equality organizations were vandalized a little more than a week apart. Community centers in Minneapolis and Los Angeles have been defaced with anti-LGBTQ graffiti. And in the just the first two months of this year, at least seven transgender women of color have been brutally murdered.” she also states, “Hate violence is not new, but we’re witnessing an alarming upward trend in the frequency of attacks. The FBI reported an escalation in bias-motivated incidents in 2015, including a nearly threefold increase in reported hate crimes related to gender identity during that year alone. After the 2016 election, the Southern Poverty Law Center recorded more than 400 incidents of hate-based harassment or violence. A recent survey by the Human Rights Campaign of 50,000 youth found an increase in bullying since the election, and both the Trans Lifeline and the Trevor Project, which run hotlines for LGBTQ people, reported a “flood of calls” following the Trump administration’s decision to rescind vitally important guidance upholding protections for transgender students.” Diversity is what makes our nation thrive and is what embraces creativity and leadership. Due to these acts this shows nothing but disrespect to the values we all share. These attacks on shelters and centers that established for sanctuary and solidarity are extremely unacceptable. These actions are forced upon to instill fear and intimidate which is why LGBT marching and protest groups have formed all across the country for a quicker and more effective response.