In an online survey conducted by Iowa State University researchers “of 444 junior high, high school and college students between the ages of 11 and 22 — including 350 self-identified non-heterosexual subjects — 54 percent of the LGBT and allied youth reported being victims of cyberbullying in the 30 days prior to the survey. Cyberbullying includes attacks such as electronic distribution of humiliating photos, dissemination of false or private information, or targeting victims in cruel online polls. Among the non-heterosexual respondents, 45 percent reported feeling depressed as a result of being cyberbullied, 38 percent felt embarrassed, and 28 percent felt anxious about attending school. More than a quarter (26 percent) had suicidal thoughts.” [ISU]
Lukesaysmoo
Frankly when I was in high school being called fag, faggot, or gay was a favored standard of verbal bullying to anyone (of course, no one was out at my high school during that time so it was just stereotyping by the bad guys). The late 90’s was a time to call everyone gay when you wanted use a slur.
terrwill
Actually bit of good news for the Gay kids being tortured. For the scumbags who ply their evil deeds at least there is an electronic trail to follow. Rather than days past where the taunts were verbal. Hopefully these kids are empowered enough to report the abuse and the culprits punished………..
Lukas P.
The words “fag” and “gay” are among the most commonly used on YouTube,Twitter and in highschool locker rooms!
The first two examples are real, the third is from conjecture. Look at the comments section on any YouTube vid and you’ll find the grammatical stylings of the under 19 crowd:
**thats so gay
**your a fagg
**dont b such a fag
Cyberbullies are stupid, because everything they post on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, message boards, hatepages is potentially traceable. Duh!
No doubt, the gay kids and gender non-conforming ones see those comments all too often, but those slurs are used across the board for anyone who anyone dislikes, anyone who doesn’t fit in.
That doesn’t mean they’re appropriate, it just means that they’re ubiquitous — or “everywhere”, which is a word I can spell more reliably!
The effect on a gay teen is, I’ll bet, more devestating than on a str8 one, but it’s one more sign that cyberbullies repeat what they hear from the adults in their lives, the radio, the church and the street.