Once viewed as an inevitable if unpleasant part of growing up,
bullying is now recognized as a real threat to students' physical
and psychological well-being -- particularly in light of recent teen
suicides linked with homophobia in schools. Despite a shift in public
attitudes and legislative responses to the problem, bullying remains a
constant reality for many queer youth in Canadian schools.
In ""Don't Be So Gay " Queers, Bullying, and
Making Schools Safe, " Donn Short considers the effectiveness of
anti-harassment policies and safe-school legislation to address the
problem of homophobic bullying. After spending several months in ten
Toronto-area high schools interviewing queer youth and their allies,
Short concludes that current legislation and its approach to school
safety and homophobia is generally more responsive than proactive and
transformative. "Don't Be So Gay " suggests that
while effective legislation is vital to establishing a safe space for
queer students, other influences -- including religion, family beliefs,
and peer pressure -- may be more powerful. Drawing on students'
own experiences and thoughts on how safety is pursued in their schools
and how their understandings and definitions of safety might be
translated into law and policy reform, this book offers a fresh
perspective on a hotly debated issue.Donn Short is an assistant professor of law at Robson
Hall Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba and the founding
editor of the "Canadian Journal of Human Rights."

A principal forbids same-sex prom dates. A community group tries to prohibit gender-neutral bathrooms. Despite growing acceptance of 2SLGBTQ+ rights, schools still regularly become battlegrounds in clashes between the expression of gender or sexual identity and a perceived threat to religious identity or values. Making the Case explains the position of Canadian law. It demonstrates that Canadians have rights to both religion and rights to gender expression or sexual orientation. It then provides evidence from case law to show that sexual minority rights do not undermine rights to religious freedom. This book is an important tool for anyone working to create an inclusive school environment or respond to rights-based conflicts within the school system.

A principal forbids same-sex prom dates. A community group tries to prohibit gender-neutral bathrooms. Despite growing acceptance of 2SLGBTQ+ rights, schools still regularly become battlegrounds in clashes between the expression of gender or sexual identity and a perceived threat to religious identity or values. Making the Case explains the position of Canadian law. It demonstrates that Canadians have rights to both religion and rights to gender expression or sexual orientation. It then provides evidence from case law to show that sexual minority rights do not undermine rights to religious freedom. This book is an important tool for anyone working to create an inclusive school environment or respond to rights-based conflicts within the school system.

"Am I safe here?" LGBTQ students ask this question every day within the school system. In this book, Donn Short treats students as the experts, asking them to shine a light on the marginalization and bullying faced by LGBTQ youth. They insightfully identify that safety comes from a culture that values equity and social justice, not just security cameras, and they envision a future in which LGBTQ youth are an expected, respected, and celebrated part of school life. Am I Safe Here? offers a path to creating equitable and inclusive schools, drawing on the spontaneous and timely words of LGBTQ students to show that nothing less than a total culture change is needed.