When Arabs & LGBT Youth Mix

*I could not find the original article I wrote about here. Sorry in advance!*

The article I chose is about the LGBT community in the Arab Empire. The School Experience of Arab LGBT Students in Israel teachers tends to respond by ignoring the insults voiced toward gay and lesbians or the acts of violence committed against them (Ajai).

There is a high frequency of harassment and violence against students with same-sex orientation. For instance, the expression 'homo' is intended to be derogatory and shameful and is frequently used to indicate something not desired, negative, different, and deviant from the norm (Green).

Moreover, students with a same-sex orientation reported that often, even the teachers themselves make comments that foster a hostile environment that encourages bullying and violence against them. Schools that teach Arabic are more accepting of LGBT than students in traditional Arabic schools.

The present research study is intended to shed light on the school experience of gay students and lesbian students, as this is perceived and experienced in their eyes by Western society.

It should be noted few research studies have been performed among gay & lesbian youths in Israel, and regarding Arab society in Israel, a research study has not been performed that examined the school experience for LGBT youths in schools that belong to the Arab sector (Grossman).

It's been known to history that people in Arab society have had the worst time adjusting to & accepting the LGBT community. To have their children come out as gay and then be forced into traditional roles such as the husband or wife to people they don't love; that's hard.

In some parts of the country, people are stoned to death because they didn't follow a "rule". Simply someone (typically a woman) didn't do what a man told them to do. No matter how outlandish or impossible, they are punished for being different, except that here, they are punished for nature.

The study conducted took fifty-one LGBT students that went to Israeli-taught schools with a questionnaire that asked them twelve questions about their school life and how they were taught. They measured how happy Arab students were in the school system because they were LGBT.

They also studied how other societies felt about the treatment as well. This research study found the graduates of a private Christian high school and the graduates of a high school located in a mixed city agreed the educational counselor in the Arab sector is loyal to Arab society and culture (Gudy).

The research study also found that graduates from a private Christian high school and graduates of a high school from a mixed city agreed that educational counselors in the Arab sector were influenced by traditional Arab society and culture. The research study found the graduates of the high school located in a mixed city agreed more with the statement that sexual orientation influences their performance as a student from a social perspective (Kosciw).

In conclusion, the students in both environments accept LGBT youth in the school systems. Both types of students are also happily able to accept LGBT students from an Arab background. Lastly, both agree that schools need to do more for LGBT Arabs.

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Works Cited

Al-Haj M., Social research on family lifestyles among Arabs in Israel, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 1989, 20, pp. 175–195.

Green D., Counseling in the process of the formation of the sexual identity during adolescence, Counseling in the school in a changing society, eds. R. Arharad, A. Klingman, Ramot, Tel Aviv 2004, pp. 181–207. The School Experience of Arab LGBT Students in Israel

Grossman A.H., Haney A.P., Edwards P., Alessi E.J., Ardon M., Howell T.J., Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth talk about experiencing and coping with school violence: A qualitative study, "Journal of LGBT Youth", 2009, 6(1), pp. 24–46.

Gudykunst W. B., Ting-Toomey S. T., Chuna E., Culture and interpersonal communication., Stage, Newbury, CA 1988.

Kosciw J.G., Diaz E.M., Greytak E.A., 2007 National School Climate Survey: The school-related experiences of our nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in our nation's schools, GLSEN, New York 2008.

Kosciw J.G., The 2003 National School Climate Survey: The school-related experiences of our nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, GLSEN, New York, 2004.