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PBIS: Acceptance/Tolerance of Gender/Sexuality 95 Views


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Transcript

00:03

Acceptance of Gender and Sexuality... a la Shmoop.

00:07

Phew. Big topic. Important topic, too. So let’s check the jokes at the door for a

00:12

second and get right to it.

00:14

Gender and sexuality are two things that are very important to each and every person.

00:18

They’re also two things that, news flash, no one else is allowed to give you grief for.

00:24

So while you might think it's funny to tease Gail here because she just so happens to like

00:28

other gals, guess what: it’s not cool. It just makes you a grade A jerk.

00:33

But hey, keep laughing! It’ll still be funny when Gail feels like she doesn’t fit in

00:36

anywhere, and that she has no reason to live, right?

00:39

And it’ll be completely hilarious when she commits suicide, as so many LGBTQ youths end

00:45

up doing, because your stupid jokes made her feel like she was disgusting and wrong in

00:50

some way.

00:51

…Huh. So it’s not funny? Well, go figure.

00:53

What about when one of her friends decides to go postal on you with the uzi?

00:58

Or they pull up in a white van one day and you end up missing... just missing...

01:04

...under the basement there... being tortured for years until you beg for death.

01:08

Huh. Well maybe that's a little extreme.

01:09

Look. Being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered

01:12

might make someone different from you, but so does the fact that they like rollerblading,

01:17

or that they like ferrets, or that they like rollerblading ferrets.

01:22

And last time we checked, we didn’t make fun of people who liked ferrets or enjoyed

01:25

rollerblading.

01:26

So why be a di–– er…why be a jerk about something that’s

01:30

completely out of someone’s control?

01:32

Because whatever you happen to be? It’s not a choice. It’s just who you are.

01:35

It's how you were born. Tall, short, fat, skinny...

01:39

Look at it this way: we’re pretty sure you had no control over your eye color or your

01:43

height. They just happen to be what they are, right?

01:46

And gender and sexuality? Those just happen to be what they are, too.

01:50

And we know the place you live in may have a different opinion on what we’re saying.

01:54

Just because everyone around you holds the same belief, does that mean you have to as well?

01:58

We’re not saying that’s led to bad situations in the past, or anything but….

02:03

You get the point.

02:04

LGBTQ people have been abused, arrested, persecuted and even killed for years and years.

02:10

Let’s ignore the fact that that’s completely horrifying and oh so wrong…

02:14

And let’s focus on this instead: everyone in the world knows a Gail.

02:18

Whether or not you’re aware of it, chances are incredibly high that you know someone

02:22

who identifies as being LGBTQ.

02:25

Maybe they’re out, maybe they’re scared, but they exist in your life.

02:29

And maybe it’s all cool when you’re making fun of Gail, because hey, you barely know

02:33

her. She’s just the “weird lesbian girl,” right?

02:36

But what if it’s your little brother in the closet? And what if your comments have

02:39

made him terrified to come out and be who he is?

02:42

And what if instead of Gail taking her own life, it’s your brother?

02:46

How are you doing now?

02:48

We know that this is a heavy topic. But pretending this isn’t an issue? That’s just…..

02:52

No, there’s no other word for it. It’s just plain dumb.

02:54

A joke about someone's weird rollerblading ferret is one thing. A joke about their gender

02:58

or sexuality is another.

02:59

…the person who owns the ferret. Not the ferret itself.

03:02

Though don’t make fun of the ferret’s gender or sexuality, either.

03:05

That’s not cool.

03:07

Bottom line: don’t be a jerk. Someone else’s gender or sexuality has absolutely no bearing

03:11

on your life, so why even think about it?

03:14

Does it make you feel like a better person, a stronger more powerful person to make

03:18

fun of someone else?

03:20

You maybe have a latent leaning that way that you're afraid of?

03:23

That you don't want to come out about?

03:25

Your friends won't think you're cool?

03:28

Think more about that ferret. That is one talented ferret…

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