Michael: This is Maddy Hernstrom-Hill and Connie Chang and we will be asking them a few questions about the LGBT and the local GSA at BLS.
Emily: What inspired you to be part of the GSA at BLS?
Maddy: Well, I've always supported LGBT rights and I wanted to find a way to be involved in the cause. The local GSA seemed like the best way to impact the environment that I was actually in, in a positive way in relationship to LGBTQ.
Emily: What are your thoughts on LGBT bullying at BLS?
Maddy: I don't think it's a very big issue. You very rarely hear of extreme things; physical harassment does not often happen while I've been here. I've never seen our board defaced, I've never seen someone get shoved into a locker or have insults yelled at them, but I know that there is occasionally anti-gay graffiti in the bathroom, and that defacement of the board has happened in the past, and that you do in the hallways hear people say offensive words, but usually it is not directed at anyone.
Connie: I think like the only extent that LGBT "bullying" that could happen in school - wait, no, it wouldn't happen in school, you'd keep it to yourself. It would be outside of school. But people would still be affected by it.
Maddy: Yes, we're lucky to have an administration that will come down really harshly on anyone who tries that.
Emily: What events are BLS GSA planning on doing? What events have you done?
Maddy: Well, actually, about a week from now will be the Day of Silence, which is a day in which people remain silent the entire day to show their support for LGBT youth who are forced to remain silent, and that is our major issue that is sort of our thing at the moment. And a few weeks from then we will be attending youth pride, and a few months back we would have done something for AIDS day, but unfortunately we weren't very organized at the time, and we didn't, but last year we did do a collection and we all wore ribbons.
E: What are some steps that you recommend people take in order to [prevent or lessen bullying at school?
Maddy: I think you should call people out on it - if you hear people use offensive language, then say something. it's very cheesy, but it's true that if someone does stand up and say, "that is not cool," people will be less likely to do it in the future, as long as you stay calm and don't flip out, because flipping out makes people go, "Hey, that provoked really strong reactions, let's do it again and see what happens."
C: I also think it's equally important to use inclusive language too, like if you're talking to your friends, and you don't know for sure if they're straight or gay or whatever, to be like, "Oh, when are you gonna get a boyfriend or a girlfriend?" Not like suggesting that they're gay or anything, but in a way that's like, "I don't want to judge you. Don't wanna be heteronormative."
E: Where do you see the LGBT cause in 50 years?
Maddy: I think that it won't be as big a deal in 50 years. Because looking back 50 years in the past, because Stonewall happened about 50 years ago. Before then, being gay back then was, you took your life in your hands if you were openly gay, being gay was defined as a perversion, a social deviance, but now, not in every part of the country, but in a lot of the country, it is not a very big deal if someone you know is gay. So in 50 years I'm thinking gay marriage will be a national thing that's legal, and it won't be something anyone really thinks about, it will just be like, "Why would that not be legal?"
C: I agree with that too, i think it'll be like where racism was 50 years ago, like back then people - like way way back, sort of the civil rights movement, even though it wasn't 50 years ago, people will definitely be more inclusive, it will be less of a deal, I hope that gay marriage and marriage wouldn't have any distinction, and yeah. And any sort of hate toward LGBT members and community - I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing - but it will be more hush-hush, be cover-up, like it would be a taboo to call a gay person a fag, like it's a taboo to call a black person the n word.
E: How has the GSA improved your life?
M: It's made me more aware of things. I used to think that just Boston was basically, "Okay, people don't get harassed in Boston, it's not something that happens." That was very naive, but now I've been able to look back on our records, and we have a harassment log that was starred in 1996, and you can see people - it was sort of awful, some for the things that happened. It was very rarely physical, but there were openly homophobic teachers, and nothing really happened if someone made a homophobic comment, so I can see the progress we've made.
E: Have you ever faced bullying based on your sexuality?
M: No. I am very lucky I have never been bullied for being bisexual. I have been bullied for other reasons, but never because of sexuality.
E: What is your opinion on homophobic graffiti? Is it an innocent act, or a major infraction?
M: I think that it's only a very serious infraction if it's directed specifically at one student, but either way it reflects the attitude of the community, or at least a few individuals towards LGBT people, and either way it's a big morale-lowerer for anyone who sees it.
C: Yeah, I agree with that. I think it's more of a reaction of a generation or an age or a time period or an event or some sort of movement as opposed to like an actual action. Like when you're angry, you write stuff out, and when you're homophobic, you write that sort of thing on the bathroom walls, I don't know why people do it, but apparently they do, they think it effects some sort of change. It's just like when the Romans used to write on their walls, like "Julius Caesar must be killed" or "I hate this senator," it's like their reaction to what was going on around the world instead of a direct action that they're trying to push forward, I think. And when it comes to being important or not important, I don't think it's one or the other, like definitely it's a morale-lowerer and you really shouldn't do it, plus it's defacing public property, but in the end it doesn't really kill anyone, unless you're allergic to words.
M: Except that Julius Caesar was killed.
C: Oh, right. Touche, touche. Never mind.
E: How do you feel about heteronormativity?
M: I think that it's very very annoying. In the end, I don't think that it promotes homophobia exactly, but I think it does promote the idea that being gay is abnormal, though not necessarily a bad thing.
C: Yeah, it's like... It's like those old 20s and 30s commercials in which it was like a smiling, happy, middle-class white family, buying their kayak or a boat or going on a trip or something, and they all have blond hair and blue eyes, stuff like that. But now it's a lot more diverse, and television has expanded and grown because of that, and I definitely think that heteronormativity is a passive-aggressive way, but it's still really.. It's another blow, I guess because by not including stuff like that, it's ..
M: It's a blow because it's what makes it necessary for coming out to be such a big deal. There's always an assumption that someone is straight, and that means that if you're gay, then you may feel like you're hiding something, just by going around and not constantly contradicting people when they say "Oh, your boyfriend or your girlfriend in the future will be so wonderful!"
E: What's the founding story of the GSA at BLS?
M: The GSA was founded in 1994 by Brian O'Leary. He was one of the very few openly gay students at BLS at that time; in fact, he was the only openly gay student that our faculty advisor, Mr. Southwick, who was at BLS at the time, knew. There was an openly homophobic Latin teacher at the school at that time, he made remarks, he was just - he was quite homophobic. And the GSA was founded around Brian O'Leary and his friends to provide a support against that homophobia. In 1993, the governor's commission had just come out, and the full title for it is the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. It was sort of the government putting some support behind, "We should have GSAs in schools, we acknowledge that LGBT kids need some help in high school." And so it was heavily influenced by those, and so they wanted to get better policies in high schools to provide a safe space for LGBTQ youth and to provide awareness for the homophobia that was around.
E: What does the GSA do in an average meeting?
M: That depends a lot on what time it is, because at this time of year, we're prepping for the Day of Silence, which is an upcoming event that we've already talked about, but more towards the beginning of the year, we often have discussions where we share our opinions about things. We had a discussion about gay marriage, in which we did things like looked it up in different countries to compare the US to other countries. We had a discussion about coming out, and, of course, if there's something that anyone wants to talk about - if they're having troubles at home, or they're being bullied, we're there to provide a support group for them. We have a harassment log, and oftentimes people are - not that often, luckily, but occasionally people do spend the first couple minutes of the meeting writing about their experiences in the harassment log. That actually dates back to 1996, so it's an interesting record. And ... we had a discussion on homosexuality in the media, but apart from that and prepping for events, we just hang out in a secure, nice environment.
Michael: Okay, so, having said that in 50 years you see gay couples and lesbian couples will be more included in society, how do you feel about the phrase "It gets better"?
M: I love the "It gets better" project. And I know that the phrase "It gets better" is very cheesy, and I know that there are some people who have said, like, "I want to get better now, this is not helpful," but the fact is this is suddenly, there were - there are so many role models out there, it's all over, we had the President himself speaking up for, "You should not be bullying these poor kids," and I think it's a hugely positive message.
C: I agree. All those videos themselves are very supportive of LGBT youth, and even though there has been some irony around it, like that kid who made an "It gets better" video and then committed suicide a few months later, it's still a very effective project and I think that the people who started the project are going about it the correct way.
Michael: Well, thank you Maddy, thank you Connie, we appreciate your opinions and values, and we hope that the GSA is successful.