The Tyee just ran a fantastic article on Rebecca Haskell and Brian Burtch’s Get That Freak.
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Pop quiz: Can you name three gay people you learned about in high school? What about books you studied with positive homosexual characters? Did sex education cover safe homosexual sex?
Chances are, if you went to school in this province, the answer is no, and queer advocates say this lack of education doesn’t just result in an ignorant population, but puts homosexual, bisexual and transgendered people at risk.
There have been a number of high profile gay teen suicides this year as the result of bullying at school, and though it isn’t uncommon in Canada, it was the deaths of seven American teenage boys in recent months that spurred an online video campaign by sex columnist Dan Savage called the It Gets Better Project, where celebrities and everyday people post YouTube videos telling queer teens to hold on, life gets better after high school.
Click here to read the whole thing.
Also, Brian and Rebecca are doing some guest blogging over at FEDCAN. Be sure to read what they have to say about the homophobia, transphobia, bullying and suicide in high schools.
If that weren’t enough, About.com has just published a sparkling, snappy review of Get That Freak, so if you still aren’t convinced of the importance of this book, read the review, and then read the book.