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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and individuals with other minority sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBT+) live in a distinct and difficult reality.
The populace has long been subjected to legal and social discrimination, false beliefs about health and medicine, and pervasive acts of social intolerance.
The adolescent LGBT+ community is disproportionately affected by risk factors like suicide, substance misuse, loneliness, bullying, and absenteeism.
What Are GSA.
Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) fulfill such a need. GSAs are school clubs that provide LGBT+ and allies (heterosexual peers) a safe place in school while providing support, socialization and advocacy opportunities.
GSAs are particularly important for LGBT+ adolescents in rural communities because of the typical decrease in population diversity, limited or nonexistent resources for LGBT+ people and a lack of visibility and inclusion in public schools.
In recent years there has been greater social acceptance of LGBT+ individuals, including a demand for their civil rights, leading to the federal legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015 and same-sex adoption in 2016.
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The increased support, visibility and legal rights for the LGBT+ community may be a reason that more people are now open about their sexual orientation and gender identity, particularly as adolescents.
However, there is not increased support, equality, understanding and tolerance everywhere, particularly for LGBT+ adolescents in rural areas.
The Rural LGBT+ Experiance
In rural areas, resources tend to be limited, putting LGBT+ youth at greater risk for problems.
A national survey compared the presence of LGBT+-related resources in rural, urban and suburban schools and found that urban and suburban schools noticeably surpassed rural schools with more supportive staff and administration.
Inclusive curriculum and reading materials, anti-bullying policies, GSAs and supportive community groups.
Additionally, rural schools were more likely to teach abstinence-only curriculum in health and sex education courses than urban or suburban schools.
Some rural areas that have a less diverse population have few LGBT+ resources or organizations or visible out LGBT+ community members — this can be detrimental for LGBT+ youth’s identity and healthy development.
With limited resources, support and health-based information, it is much more difficult for rural LGBT+ adolescents to thrive and successfully develop.
In order to combat intolerance and provide a supportive space for LGBT+ students, some schools have adopted student-run clubs like GSAs. While GSAs can be found across the U.S.
They are particularly important for rural areas. Where there is minimal public LGBT+ presence in a community, LGBT+ youth are more likely to feel isolated as they face instances of misunderstanding and social discrimination.
GSAs create a public LGBT+ presence and are inclusive to nonheterosexuals and allied heterosexuals.