Talking about homophobic bullying and being accused of gay ‘indoctrination’ by the public
At a school board meeting at Franklin High School – a school in the state of Massachusetts – Mackenzie Atwood spoke about her experiences of homophobic bullying in the school hallways, telling parents and school staff that she and other LGBT+ students are increasingly targeted because of their sexuality and gender identity. And all, after a parent had claimed that white children were being targeted by bullies because of their race. Unsubstantiated accusations.
At that point, Atwood explained what it really means to be bullied, using the example of theatre and the actor-gay stereotype.
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”Being in the theatre – there’s obviously the stereotype that everyone in the theatre is gay, and yes, you can say that’s pretty true because a lot of us are gay and it’s a place where we can be comfortable and it’s a safe space,” continuing, ”But when kids come to the theatre every day and say, ‘Oh, I got called a f*ck in the aisles today’ or ‘I got called a racial slur in the aisles today!’, that’s not something to joke about, even though it’s become something that we’ve become so numb to that it becomes a joke.”
Then the closing that sparked the spirits of those present.
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”So I think it’s important to understand that yes, everyone is protected in the school, but being someone who is Caucasian is not something you are bullied for.”
At that point Atwood added that being gay, she had been attacked at school for her sexual orientation and from the audience one of the people present shouted: ”You have to stop, this is indoctrination!”. As if to say that in that school homophobic bullying is not a real problem, but the – alleged – bullying of Caucasian students is.
A situation bordering on the grotesque that unfortunately is not new, not only in the United States of America but also in other countries, including Italy. It has been confirmed in Italy by the rejection of DDL Zan – a law against homotransphobia – in the Senate and the declarations of extreme right-wing exponents who speak of the non-existence of homophobia in Italy. Despite the increase in episodes of homotransphobic violence.