'Growing up LGBT in America'

The groundbreaking HRC survey, titled "Growing up LGBT in America," found that LGBT youth "are twice as likely to say they have been physically assaulted, kicked or shoved at school. Ninety-two percent say they hear negative messages about being LGBT through school, the Internet and peers, while 42 percent say the community they live in is not accepting of LGBT people," the Huffington Post recently reported.

While it is not surprising that LGBT youth have markedly different answers to questions posed by the HRC survey about their lives than non-LGBT youth, it is nevertheless of grave concern.

When asked "to describe one thing in their lives they would like to change right now," non-LGBT youth ranked "money/debt/finances," personal "appearance/weight," and mental health issues, amongst their top three concerns; LGBT youth focused on "understanding/tolerance/hate," their parents and general "family situation", and "where [they] live/who [they] live with."

According to the survey, "Among those asked to describe the most important problem facing their lives right now," non-LGBT youth ranked "classes/exams/grades," college/career" and "financial pressures related to college or job" as their top three concerns. LGBT youth ranked "non-accepting families" as their number one concern, followed by "school/bullying problems," and "fear of being out or open."

The Human Rights Campaign, which surveyed more than 10,000 LGBT-identified youth ages 13-17 "from every region of the country, from urban, suburban and rural communities, and from a wide variety of social, cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds," "provides a stark picture of the difficulties they face," according to the survey's Summary page.

"The survey measured key factors that impact the daily lives of LGBT youth, including":

• "A sense of being accepted by family, peers, and the larger community - in sports leagues, clubs, places of worship, school, work, online, and more"

• "Access to LGBT affirmative support and services"

• "Negative experiences such as verbal harassment, cyber-bullying, exclusion from activities"

• "Connection to a welcoming religious or spiritual community"

• "Level of optimism about the future and the ability to live a happy life as an `out' LGBT person"

"No one would say that growing up LGBT is easy, but this survey is a stark wake-up call to the daily toll that discrimination takes on vulnerable young people. We have a responsibility to change that, because we know all too well that there are real life consequences to inaction," said Human Rights Campaign incoming President, Chad Griffin.

'LGBT Youth in America's Schools'

In a recent interview on Wisconsin Public Radio's "Joy Cardin Show," Sean Cahill and Jason Cianciotto, co-authors of the new book, "LGBT Youth in America's Schools," discussed the shifting cultural landscape and difficulties LGBT youth face.

Cahill told Cardin's audience that despite the cultural shifts, LGBT teens still face major problems: "Young people are coming out at younger ages. Back in the 1980s, people came out maybe around age 20, 21. Today, we know that young gay, lesbian, bisexual people are coming out on average at age 15. We also know that our culture has changed a lot. There's a lot more cultural representations of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people on television and elsewhere, and we also have technology that has created new venues, both for communication and positive things, but also for bullying."

Cianciotto pointed out that studies show that "bullying is widespread." "Large majorities of students who either identify as LGBT or are perceived to be gay or lesbian report that they are harassed both verbally and physically at school on a regular basis. We know from these studies that this contributes to a number of physical and mental health issues, as well as negative educational outcomes, both in the short and long term."

Another recent report by the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and the California Safe Schools Coalition (CSSC) titled "Lessons That Matter: LGBTQ Inclusivity and School Safety," found that "when students have factual lessons that honestly reflect the world and the people around them, they are more likely to succeed and feel safe in school," said Carolyn Laub, Executive Director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

"This important research," added Laub, "supports emerging best practices on the school, district, and state level, including California's groundbreaking FAIR Education Act, which updates education guidelines to end the exclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from social studies lessons."

The Human Rights Campaign's survey is the "first in a series of reports analyzing the landscape for LGBT youth." The organization intends to offer "additional analysis that will provide a better understanding of the unique experiences of specific groups of youth, for example those living in conservative states, transgender youth, those of different races, religious traditions, and so on."

From fighting against gay/straight clubs in public schools to denying the reality of bullying, conservative Christian organizations have been waging a war on LGBT youth for decades. You can be sure that many of these groups will ignore, dismiss, decry, and/or trivialize the findings of the Human Rights Campaign survey.