Exploratory Essay

Kaitlin Presnell

English 2 – Block 2

Ms. McKoy

11 September 2013

Suicide after Gay Bashing

I have multiple friends who are homosexual. Although none of them have really experienced full depth bullying, they have had their struggles of non-acceptance from society, family, and friends. My Uncle Craig is homosexual and has a partner named Yong. They have both had their fair share of uncomfortable situations when dealing with being gay. They know what it’s like to be unaccepted and referred to as a “menace” in society. My uncle did not “come out” until he was out of high school, because he was too afraid of being bullied and labeled an outcast. I have a friend named Ryan who is homosexual. He just recently started “coming out” to more and more people, but he’s still afraid to tell his family that he’s gay. His mom suspects he is, but he hasn’t confirmed her suspicions just yet. He knows that doing that would cause his family to drift apart. He used to cut himself because the stress of it all was too much to bear and that was a release for him. He finally stopped a little after he got to high school, because he had some help from friends. Every now and then, he’ll have someone come along and state their beliefs to him about how he shouldn’t choose to be gay because it’s wrong. What some people don’t see is that homosexuality is not something you can turn on and off. You can’t choose what gender you like. No one can choose what they like or hate. It’s just something you have no control over. Homosexual teens shouldn't have to worry about being bullied, because it could drive them to harmful or suicidal behavior.

Most homosexual teens that are bullied either have suicidal thoughts, attempt suicide, or commit suicide. In the article, Adolescent Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk: Evidence from a National Study, Russell stated, “Studies show that LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) teens are two to three more times likely to commit suicide. They account up for 30% of the suicide rate. Between 48% and 76% have thought of suicide while between 29% and 42% have attempted suicide (Russell, Joyner).” These numbers are much higher than the statistics from studies for the general adolescent population. In the same article, he stated, “Those measurements are that between 19% and 29% having suicidal thoughts and between 7% and 13% having actually attempted suicide (Russell, Joyner).” It has been proven also that suicide rates are higher when dealing with “outed” homosexuals or teens who have made it known to everyone that they are gay in grades 9-12. Homosexual teens are more likely to kill themselves than the common teen, because they have to deal with being different from everyone and standing out no matter how hard they try to fit in. Some people believe that homosexuality is “contagious” so they have to stay away from gay or lesbian teens. Some people believe that if they have a homosexual friend that’s the same gender as them, their friend will develop a crush on them and flirt with them non-stop. Homosexual teens shouldn't have to hide their true self or worry about being bullied for it. They should be accepted for who they are.

Maybe none of my friends or family have been bullied so bad they got pushed to the brink of suicide but many people do every day. They decide that they are worthless because that’s what they keep hearing over and over from people their age, younger, and sometimes even older. It’s a sad thing to see and hear about. These teens start with just cutting themselves thinking it’s nothing and it’s enough to satisfy them. Someday though, that stops satisfying them. They get pushed really far one day by a bully and they decide to go a little further with it. They start slicing their wrists instead or start hooking belts around their necks. In the end, they either have suicidal thoughts, attempt suicide, or commit suicide. So my research question is this: How can we prevent the suicide of bullied homosexual teens? I want to be able to further research this topic so I can find an answer to my question. I want to look at different ways to help someone who may be struggling with their sexuality and bullies. I want to look at the different ways to help change someone’s life permanently.