“People Are Strong When They Stand Together”: Gender and Identity
Students’ gender and sexual identity profoundly shape the daily experiences they have whether they’re at home, in school, on the streets, or on the Internet. Through no fault of their own, in a culture that vilifies those with a non-dominant identity and sexual orientation, and objectifies the body image of girls and women, they must endure catcalls and put downs, threats of sexual harassment and violence, and learn to measure their self-worth by weight and dress size. Transcripts of Videos Referenced in Chapter 4 Video Guide
“I got bullied for liking girls. I got bullied for, for being Black. I got bullied for not wanting to be down.”
I Had To Leave
I HAD TO LEAVE
“I was followed. I was harassed . . . I wasn't able to learn in my school. I had to leave.”
Get The Hell Out
Get the Hell Out!
“And then one day, on Thanksgiving, my grandfather told me straight up. He was like, “I don’t want you here no more. Get the hell out!”
Andrea Followed
Andrea Followed
“One day when Andrea was walking home from a school, a man followed her in his car. He followed her until they arrived across from her house.”
Nobody Was There
NOBODY WAS THERE
“Nobody was there. And nobody see it. . . . When I get to my home, I decide to wear a knife.”
Make A Change
Make a Change
“And I’m trying to do this because we can make a change. And I hope all the people who see this will have a reaction.”
He Put Me Down
HE PUT ME DOWN
“The way I act now has a lot to do with my past relationship. The guy I used to date 4 years ago. . . . He always tried to put me down.”
I Love Instagram
I LOVE INSTAGRAM
"I’m a Instagram junkie. I love Instagram. I have a lot of followers. 10K. Everyone says, ‘Oh my God! You’re famous!’”
Not Really How I Am
NOT REALLY HOW I AM
“I feel like a pretty princess in my pictures versus how I really see myself. In the mirror, it’s crazy, like, do I really look like that?”
I Look Fat
I LOOK FAT
“It started since I was 16. I started to think that I’m fat. At the time, because I cut my hair very short, like a boy. And then, people start to say I look fat.”
Skipping My Meals
SKIPPING MY MEALS
“One day I decided like to, not to eat. . . . I keep like, skipping my meals a lot. . . . One night I got my stomach ache. I couldn’t even walk properly. I have to crawl.”
Save a Kid’s Life
SAVE A KID’S LIFE
“A Gay-Straight Alliance basically means the school, or some faction of the school, is taking a stance against homophobia . . . knowing that there’s a GSA at City-As [-School], I would go so far as to say it can save a kid’s life.”
