::sidebar:: That’s a little trick that advertisers have known for years! Air Jordans, much?

That’s why it’s so important that professional athletes are starting to talk about the concerns and pressures felt by youth who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. I feel like I’m overstating the obvious by saying that one of the most pressing concerns for LGBT youth is anti-gay bullying and harassment.

::sidebar:: Meanwhile, let’s call anti-gay bullying and harassment what it really is – sexual harassment.

If you need some convincing of the severity of this type of harassment, here are some statistics from the It Gets Better Project.

• 9 out of 10 LGBT students have experienced harassment at school.
• LGBT teens are bullied 2 to 3 times as much as straight teens.
• More than 1/3 of LGBT kids have attempted suicide.
• LGBT kids are 4 times as likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers.
• LGBT youth with “highly rejecting” families are 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than those whose families accept them.

The final statistic on the list emphasizes the importance of acceptance for LGBT youth. Sometimes just the slightest sign of support can make a huge difference for someone who’s being bullied and harassed – maybe the difference between life and death. Nearly all of us have heard someone make harassing comments to or about people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Remember that you can make a difference by speaking up against hateful language and behavior.

Check out these videos to see messages of support from a couple of Major League Baseball teams.

The Seattle Mariners

The Boston Red Sox

The Baltimore Orioles

The San Francisco Giants

The Chicago Cubs

Which team do you feel created the most impact with their video? What might you have done differently if you’d made an It Gets Better video? Please share your thoughts.

For more information: http://www.itgetsbetter.org/

22-year-old Yanti described the situation to BBC News. “Sometimes on the train there are men who bump and push into us on purpose, and they take advantage of the cramped conditions on the trains.”

Break the silence. Let your voice be heard!

Is separating the men from the women the best way to stop sexual harassment? Could it cause more problems?



What you may not know is that this whole scenario was a clever hoax dreamt up by The Chive. “Jenny” is actually an actress named Elyse Porterfield. Even though this particular story is fictional, couldn’t it easily have been based on real life events? Isn’t it still an important story to tell?

Talkback: Even though the story of “Jenny” was a hoax, was it still important for people to see?

For more information:

thechive.com

Elyse Porterfield, HOPA Dry Erase Girl Exclusive Interview [Video]

Your Opinion Counts: What do you think about the "My Strength is Not for Hurting" posters?

www.cyberbullyhelp.com

Cyber bullying is aggressive online behavior that involves posting harmful material or sending hurtful messages.  Like traditional bullying, cyber bullying is typically repeated over time and involves an imbalance of power that makes it difficult for the targeted person to defend him or herself.  Examples of the imbalance of power online may be due to the offender hiding his or her identity, a group targeting one person, a more popular student targeting another, or a person with better computer skills impersonating someone online or altering an individual’s profile information.

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with a group of high school leaders about their use of technology and the issue of cyber bullying.  These students confirmed how critically important technology is to their social world.  When asked how they would feel if they lost access to technology, the youth responded with the following words: 

• Depressed
• Sad
• Angry
• Disconnected
• Isolated
• Lonely
• Lost

As increasing numbers of young people socialize through technology, it makes sense that bullying and peer conflict are also occurring online – often to wide audiences.  The high school leaders I spoke with confirmed that online bullying was a big problem, and they expressed concerns that cyber bullying can be even more destructive than face-to-face bullying.  One of the students discussed how much easier it is to be mean online when you are removed physically from the person you are targeting.  The students were also in agreement that technology can escalate and intensify the social drama of school.  

But the teens also pointed out that technology can be a very effective tool for supporting one other.  One student shared how it can be easier to help a peer who is being bullied through technology by offering private messages of support or by posting positive comments about peers who are being targeted on social networking sites or public forums.  They cautioned however, that youth should avoid escalating abusive behavior with public comments that are also aggressive. They felt that in many cases the private messages of support would be most effective in helping targeted peers.

I would really appreciate hearing from other teens about what steps we can take to reduce online abuse, and how we can encourage youth to avoid using technology to hurt others or escalate conflict.  We all need to work together to ensure that socializing online occurs in a supportive rather than a destructive manner.

About the author: Dr. Agatston, co-author of Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age, was involved in some of the earliest research into cyber bullying. Her expertise has been showcased at both national and international conferences and featured in noted publications such as Time Magazine, The Washington Post, and CNET News. With over twenty years of experience as a counselor and prevention specialist, Dr. Agatston is also a two-time recipient of the Coalition for Child Abuse Prevention’s VIP award. For helpful resources or to schedule a presentation, visit www.cyberbullyhelp.com.

Dr. Agatston agreed to write this guest blog entry to help celebrate our first full year of education through blogging! We need your help too. Use the comments section below to offer your ideas on how to reduce cyber bullying. Your feedback could be used in Dr. Agatston’s upcoming book.

Morganna, the “Kissing Bandit,” was famous for running out onto baseball fields and kissing the players. Her first kiss was delivered, on a “dirty double dare,” to Pete Rose. As time went on, her “resume” read like an All-Star lineup: Johnny Bench; Nolan Ryan; George Brett; Don Mattingly; Steve Garvey; Cal Ripken Jr. Morganna even claimed to have All-Star numbers of her own. “I’m 60-23-39. Those are my baseball stats.”

An incident at Houston’s Astrodome, where Morganna was charged with criminal trespassing, led to an interesting argument by her defense attorney. “We won the case on the gravity defense,” she said. “I just leaned over the fence and gravity took its toll… Who’s gonna argue with Isaac Newton?”

Here’s Morganna on an episode of To Tell the Truth.

Major League Baseball both embraced and admonished her. She was arrested on trespassing charges about 20 times but also asked to participate in the TV special “Baseball’s All-Star Comedy Classic ’88.” How did players react to being kissed? Nolan Ryan knelt down in anticipation of her arrival while Steve Garvey made a dash in the opposite direction. For the “Kissing Bandit,” it was all in fun.  

Talkback: Could Morganna’s actions be seen as sexual harassment? Share your thoughts!

To learn more:

Gravity Did It

An All-Star Memory Sealed with a Kiss

Morganna Kissing Bandit’s goal to strike every field

Don’t give out your personal information online

Don’t meet online friends unless you know them in real life

Don’t click on the “you’re the millionth visitor” pop-up

Here’s an excellent video, created by the same folks who won our Break the Silence PSA Contest, that shows why it’s important to think about what you post online.

There are a lot of important rules about internet safety. Wouldn't it be nice if we had one rule that could make the others obsolete? Maybe we do. Have you ever heard of branding? No, not the kind of branding where you take a hot iron to the backside of a cow. I’m talking about the branding that businesses do.

Here’s an example. If I ask you to think of a company that makes soft drinks, the majority of you will think of Coke or Pepsi. Coke and Pepsi are both brands (or brand names).

So, why do we think of these brands? It isn’t just about the number of commercials they’ve run. Coke, for example, has specific trademarks…

 logo:

slogan:

Spokesperson:

Public profile:

http://www.facebook.com/cocacola

You may not have a fancy logo all your own, a catchy slogan, or a celebrity spokesperson but you are just as much in the public eye as Coca-Cola because your public profile is on Facebook just like theirs. Coke has to think long and hard about each image, each video, and each comment they post online. Since Facebook users can post freely to the fan page, they even have a disclaimer that states, “Please understand that comments posted to this Page do not represent the opinions of The Coca-Cola Company.”

Do you have to put a disclaimer like that on your own Facebook page? Of course not. But here’s something to think about; college recruiters and potential bosses are looking at your online profile and making decisions based on what they see. With that in mind I would encourage you to think of yourself as a brand name. And think of your Facebook/MySpace/etc. page as a place to advertise your brand. As a matter of fact, I dare you to create your own logo and slogan and share your ideas here!

Does branding take some work and some creativity? Sure it does, but if you don’t control your public profile someone might get the wrong message…

Professor Garfield origin story

The resulting website is an interactive learning experience that takes Garfield and his friends through a series of animated adventures. Topics covered include online safety, cyber bullying, and media literacy.

::sidebar:: The media literacy piece is especially ironic, as the “Online Safety” lesson also serves as an advertising vehicle for the movie Garfield’s Pet Force.

In spite of my sidebar, I think this is a wonderful way to help engage students in a very important topic. The animation is colorful, the characters are fun, and the stories are engaging. The information provided is excellent. Lessons allow multiple opportunities to answer questions and reinforce learning. Print materials like a classroom poster and certificate of completion for each student are, as Garfield would say, a “nice touch.”

For more information:

"Internet Safety and You"

The Professor Garfield Foundation

Several weeks ago, someone in my family attended a talk about Alzheimer’s. One of the stories told was that of an elderly man who didn’t like to shower. The problem came on quite suddenly one day while he was in Alzheimer care. As far as anyone knew, the man had never had any problems showering before. As days continued on, the man continued to fight his shower routine. Of course, all sorts of questions arose! What was causing this sudden change? Staff and doctors worked through a myriad of possible explanations until finally stumbling upon the answer. That elderly man had suffered from childhood sexual abuse. The abuse had taken place in the shower. As his Alzheimer’s progressed, and he regressed, the memories of his abuse came back into focus.

Here is a PSA that illustrates the point perfectly:

With time, staff members were able to ease the man’s fears. Littering the bathroom with images of things he enjoyed (cars), helped create a positive atmosphere. Thanks to an amazing amount of insight, things did improve for this man. There are others, however, who will regress and continue to suffer just as they did when they were children.

Let’s not forget the impact that childhood sexual abuse can have on a life. The pain can, truly, last a lifetime...