November Post - Bullying

Mallory Clark 
November Blog Post 
Bullying 


       In week 11 we talked about bullying and how its an omnipresent issue in everyday cultural and relational lives. We focused in bullying in families mostly which is something almost every person has experience with. The article we read, "Family Bullies" by Berry and Adams discussed a few different family bullying situations. Now when we think of bullying in a family context we usually imagine a bickering brother and sister, although that is a popular issue in families it is not the only way bullying exists in families. Cousins, step siblings, and even parents can be bullies. I think it's harder to escape bullying in families because you are constantly with each other, there's no real escape as opposed to leaving school and your bullies go home. It's also hard because when you spend a lot of time with someone you know all the bad qualities/habits that person has which can lead to arguments/disagreements and then fighting or bullying. It can rip families apart and lead people to depression, anxiety, low self esteem and many other issues. But it exists in every other corner of the world, its impossible to avoid being bullied all your life. 
        Different cultures experience different kind of bullying as well. One that comes to mind specifically when I think of specific groups of people that are targets of bullying are those in the gay community. According to bullyingstatistics.org gay and lesbian teens are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than any other youths. About 30% of all completed suicides have been related to sexual identity crisis. Students who also fall into the gay, bisexual, lesbian or transgendered identity groups report being five times as more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe after being bullied due to their sexual orientation. This is where the majority of the bullying occurs, that and online. Because those in the gay community go against what is perceived as "normal" by a majority of the population they are critisied and put down. In a 2005 survey about gay bullying statistics, teens reported that the number two reason they are bullied is because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender expression, the number one reason reported was because of appearance. In fact, about 9 out of 10 LGBT teens have reported being bullied at school within the past year because of their sexual orientation. The fact that these people are being bullied not only because of their sexual orientation but because of the way they look is absolutely heartbreaking, and it's not only those in the gay community that are bullying because of the way they look. For those in the gay community is mostly because they push the boundaries within gender norms, for others it could be something as simple as their hairstyle or the fact that they have their natural hair style. It's important to realize the things we say, even if it's a joke because it can be perceived a completely different way by someone else and hurt them. We need to protect those around us and make sure we stand up for those who can't on their own. There are too many suicides related to bullying, people need to understand that it's not a joke, and it's not okay to bully anyone for any reason. These articles helped me see even the subtle jokes I say to my brother constitute as bullying and I need to stop. The only way to make things better is to be aware.