Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Encyclopedia
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN, icon) is an organization in the United States
that seeks to end discrimination
, harassment
, and bullying based on sexual orientation
, gender identity
and gender expression in K-12
schools. GLSEN is headquartered in New York City
and the District of Columbia. , there are forty chapters across the country representing cities, states, or regions.
GLSEN supports Gay-straight alliance
s along with sponsoring the annual National Day of Silence
and No Name-Calling Week and providing resources for teachers on how to support LGBT
students, such as "Safe Schools" training. It also sponsors and participates in a host of other "Days of Action", including TransAction! Day, Ally Week
and the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Organizing Weekend.
s (GSAs) in the nation, only one state with policy in place to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, and a general lack of awareness of the needs of LGBT students. There were few, if any, resources available for teachers to discuss LGBT issues. However, groups of concerned individuals began to establish chapters across the country, advocating locally and regionally for safe schools for students who were, or were perceived to be, LGBT.
In 1995, GLSTN became a national organization and hired its first full time staff person, GLSEN’s founder and Executive Director Kevin Jennings
. In 1997, GLSTN staged its first national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in response to the legislature’s effort to prevent the formation of GSAs in the state by banning all student groups. In 1997 GLSTN changed its name to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in order to attract broader support.
More than 3,600 GSAs have registered with GLSEN, which has approximately forty full time staff, a governing board of twenty members and two advisory committees at the national level. In addition, nearly forty Chapters are affiliated with GLSEN on local levels. GLSEN has hosted more than 8 national conferences to bring together student leaders, educators, chapter leaders and activists. Students from more than 5,000 middle and high schools registered with GLSEN as 2007 Day of Silence participants.
released The Think Before You Speak Campaign, designed to end homophobic vocabulary among youth, through the use of television, radio, print, and outdoor ads.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN, icon) is an organization in the United States
that seeks to end discrimination
, harassment
, and bullying based on sexual orientation
, gender identity
and gender expression in K-12
schools. GLSEN is headquartered in New York City
and the District of Columbia. , there are forty chapters across the country representing cities, states, or regions.
GLSEN supports Gay-straight alliance
s along with sponsoring the annual National Day of Silence
and No Name-Calling Week and providing resources for teachers on how to support LGBT
students, such as "Safe Schools" training. It also sponsors and participates in a host of other "Days of Action", including TransAction! Day, Ally Week
and the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Organizing Weekend.
s (GSAs) in the nation, only one state with policy in place to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, and a general lack of awareness of the needs of LGBT students. There were few, if any, resources available for teachers to discuss LGBT issues. However, groups of concerned individuals began to establish chapters across the country, advocating locally and regionally for safe schools for students who were, or were perceived to be, LGBT.
In 1995, GLSTN became a national organization and hired its first full time staff person, GLSEN’s founder and Executive Director Kevin Jennings
. In 1997, GLSTN staged its first national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in response to the legislature’s effort to prevent the formation of GSAs in the state by banning all student groups. In 1997 GLSTN changed its name to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in order to attract broader support.
More than 3,600 GSAs have registered with GLSEN, which has approximately forty full time staff, a governing board of twenty members and two advisory committees at the national level. In addition, nearly forty Chapters are affiliated with GLSEN on local levels. GLSEN has hosted more than 8 national conferences to bring together student leaders, educators, chapter leaders and activists. Students from more than 5,000 middle and high schools registered with GLSEN as 2007 Day of Silence participants.
released The Think Before You Speak Campaign, designed to end homophobic vocabulary among youth, through the use of television, radio, print, and outdoor ads.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN, icon) is an organization in the United States
that seeks to end discrimination
, harassment
, and bullying based on sexual orientation
, gender identity
and gender expression in K-12
schools. GLSEN is headquartered in New York City
and the District of Columbia. , there are forty chapters across the country representing cities, states, or regions.
GLSEN supports Gay-straight alliance
s along with sponsoring the annual National Day of Silence
and No Name-Calling Week and providing resources for teachers on how to support LGBT
students, such as "Safe Schools" training. It also sponsors and participates in a host of other "Days of Action", including TransAction! Day, Ally Week
and the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Organizing Weekend.
s (GSAs) in the nation, only one state with policy in place to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, and a general lack of awareness of the needs of LGBT students. There were few, if any, resources available for teachers to discuss LGBT issues. However, groups of concerned individuals began to establish chapters across the country, advocating locally and regionally for safe schools for students who were, or were perceived to be, LGBT.
In 1995, GLSTN became a national organization and hired its first full time staff person, GLSEN’s founder and Executive Director Kevin Jennings
. In 1997, GLSTN staged its first national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in response to the legislature’s effort to prevent the formation of GSAs in the state by banning all student groups. In 1997 GLSTN changed its name to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in order to attract broader support.
More than 3,600 GSAs have registered with GLSEN, which has approximately forty full time staff, a governing board of twenty members and two advisory committees at the national level. In addition, nearly forty Chapters are affiliated with GLSEN on local levels. GLSEN has hosted more than 8 national conferences to bring together student leaders, educators, chapter leaders and activists. Students from more than 5,000 middle and high schools registered with GLSEN as 2007 Day of Silence participants.
released The Think Before You Speak Campaign, designed to end homophobic vocabulary among youth, through the use of television, radio, print, and outdoor ads.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that seeks to end discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
, harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
, and bullying based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
and gender expression in K-12
K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
schools. GLSEN is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the District of Columbia. , there are forty chapters across the country representing cities, states, or regions.
GLSEN supports Gay-straight alliance
Gay-straight alliance
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
s along with sponsoring the annual National Day of Silence
Day of Silence
The Day of Silence is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's annual day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and their supporters...
and No Name-Calling Week and providing resources for teachers on how to support LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
students, such as "Safe Schools" training. It also sponsors and participates in a host of other "Days of Action", including TransAction! Day, Ally Week
Ally Week
Ally Week is a national youth-led effort empowering students to be allies against anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling in K-12 schools, it is also used in some colleges. It was created by Joe Montana and other youth members of the Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network GLSEN National...
and the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
Organizing Weekend.
History
Founded as the Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teachers Network (GLSTN) in 1990, the organization began as a local volunteer group of 70 gay and lesbian educators. At that time, there were two Gay-Straight AllianceGay-straight alliance
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
s (GSAs) in the nation, only one state with policy in place to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, and a general lack of awareness of the needs of LGBT students. There were few, if any, resources available for teachers to discuss LGBT issues. However, groups of concerned individuals began to establish chapters across the country, advocating locally and regionally for safe schools for students who were, or were perceived to be, LGBT.
In 1995, GLSTN became a national organization and hired its first full time staff person, GLSEN’s founder and Executive Director Kevin Jennings
Kevin Jennings
Kevin Brett Jennings is an American educator, author, and administrator. He was the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education from 2009-11...
. In 1997, GLSTN staged its first national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in response to the legislature’s effort to prevent the formation of GSAs in the state by banning all student groups. In 1997 GLSTN changed its name to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in order to attract broader support.
More than 3,600 GSAs have registered with GLSEN, which has approximately forty full time staff, a governing board of twenty members and two advisory committees at the national level. In addition, nearly forty Chapters are affiliated with GLSEN on local levels. GLSEN has hosted more than 8 national conferences to bring together student leaders, educators, chapter leaders and activists. Students from more than 5,000 middle and high schools registered with GLSEN as 2007 Day of Silence participants.
Think Before You Speak campaign
On October 8, 2008, GLSEN and Ad CouncilAd Council
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including non-profit organizations and agencies of the United States government....
released The Think Before You Speak Campaign, designed to end homophobic vocabulary among youth, through the use of television, radio, print, and outdoor ads.
Fistgate controversy
In 2000, the leader of the conservative Parents' Rights Coalition of Massachusetts secretly taped one of the fifty workshops in "Teachout 2000", titled "What They Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class: Workshop for Youth Only, Ages 14-21" . Students discussed sex in a workshop "billed as a safe place for youths to get their questions about their sexuality answered" in the session's Q&A section.The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN, icon) is an organization in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that seeks to end discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
, harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
, and bullying based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
and gender expression in K-12
K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
schools. GLSEN is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the District of Columbia. , there are forty chapters across the country representing cities, states, or regions.
GLSEN supports Gay-straight alliance
Gay-straight alliance
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
s along with sponsoring the annual National Day of Silence
Day of Silence
The Day of Silence is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's annual day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and their supporters...
and No Name-Calling Week and providing resources for teachers on how to support LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
students, such as "Safe Schools" training. It also sponsors and participates in a host of other "Days of Action", including TransAction! Day, Ally Week
Ally Week
Ally Week is a national youth-led effort empowering students to be allies against anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling in K-12 schools, it is also used in some colleges. It was created by Joe Montana and other youth members of the Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network GLSEN National...
and the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
Organizing Weekend.
History
Founded as the Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teachers Network (GLSTN) in 1990, the organization began as a local volunteer group of 70 gay and lesbian educators. At that time, there were two Gay-Straight AllianceGay-straight alliance
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
s (GSAs) in the nation, only one state with policy in place to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, and a general lack of awareness of the needs of LGBT students. There were few, if any, resources available for teachers to discuss LGBT issues. However, groups of concerned individuals began to establish chapters across the country, advocating locally and regionally for safe schools for students who were, or were perceived to be, LGBT.
In 1995, GLSTN became a national organization and hired its first full time staff person, GLSEN’s founder and Executive Director Kevin Jennings
Kevin Jennings
Kevin Brett Jennings is an American educator, author, and administrator. He was the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education from 2009-11...
. In 1997, GLSTN staged its first national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in response to the legislature’s effort to prevent the formation of GSAs in the state by banning all student groups. In 1997 GLSTN changed its name to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in order to attract broader support.
More than 3,600 GSAs have registered with GLSEN, which has approximately forty full time staff, a governing board of twenty members and two advisory committees at the national level. In addition, nearly forty Chapters are affiliated with GLSEN on local levels. GLSEN has hosted more than 8 national conferences to bring together student leaders, educators, chapter leaders and activists. Students from more than 5,000 middle and high schools registered with GLSEN as 2007 Day of Silence participants.
Think Before You Speak campaign
On October 8, 2008, GLSEN and Ad CouncilAd Council
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including non-profit organizations and agencies of the United States government....
released The Think Before You Speak Campaign, designed to end homophobic vocabulary among youth, through the use of television, radio, print, and outdoor ads.
Fistgate controversy
In 2000, the leader of the conservative Parents' Rights Coalition of Massachusetts secretly taped one of the fifty workshops in "Teachout 2000", titled "What They Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class: Workshop for Youth Only, Ages 14-21" . Students discussed sex in a workshop "billed as a safe place for youths to get their questions about their sexuality answered" in the session's Q&A section.The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN, icon) is an organization in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that seeks to end discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
, harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
, and bullying based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
and gender expression in K-12
K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
schools. GLSEN is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the District of Columbia. , there are forty chapters across the country representing cities, states, or regions.
GLSEN supports Gay-straight alliance
Gay-straight alliance
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
s along with sponsoring the annual National Day of Silence
Day of Silence
The Day of Silence is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's annual day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and their supporters...
and No Name-Calling Week and providing resources for teachers on how to support LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
students, such as "Safe Schools" training. It also sponsors and participates in a host of other "Days of Action", including TransAction! Day, Ally Week
Ally Week
Ally Week is a national youth-led effort empowering students to be allies against anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling in K-12 schools, it is also used in some colleges. It was created by Joe Montana and other youth members of the Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network GLSEN National...
and the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
Organizing Weekend.
History
Founded as the Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teachers Network (GLSTN) in 1990, the organization began as a local volunteer group of 70 gay and lesbian educators. At that time, there were two Gay-Straight AllianceGay-straight alliance
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
s (GSAs) in the nation, only one state with policy in place to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, and a general lack of awareness of the needs of LGBT students. There were few, if any, resources available for teachers to discuss LGBT issues. However, groups of concerned individuals began to establish chapters across the country, advocating locally and regionally for safe schools for students who were, or were perceived to be, LGBT.
In 1995, GLSTN became a national organization and hired its first full time staff person, GLSEN’s founder and Executive Director Kevin Jennings
Kevin Jennings
Kevin Brett Jennings is an American educator, author, and administrator. He was the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education from 2009-11...
. In 1997, GLSTN staged its first national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in response to the legislature’s effort to prevent the formation of GSAs in the state by banning all student groups. In 1997 GLSTN changed its name to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in order to attract broader support.
More than 3,600 GSAs have registered with GLSEN, which has approximately forty full time staff, a governing board of twenty members and two advisory committees at the national level. In addition, nearly forty Chapters are affiliated with GLSEN on local levels. GLSEN has hosted more than 8 national conferences to bring together student leaders, educators, chapter leaders and activists. Students from more than 5,000 middle and high schools registered with GLSEN as 2007 Day of Silence participants.
Think Before You Speak campaign
On October 8, 2008, GLSEN and Ad CouncilAd Council
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including non-profit organizations and agencies of the United States government....
released The Think Before You Speak Campaign, designed to end homophobic vocabulary among youth, through the use of television, radio, print, and outdoor ads.
Fistgate controversy
In 2000, the leader of the conservative Parents' Rights Coalition of Massachusetts secretly taped one of the fifty workshops in "Teachout 2000", titled "What They Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class: Workshop for Youth Only, Ages 14-21" . Students discussed sex in a workshop "billed as a safe place for youths to get their questions about their sexuality answered" in the session's Q&A section."Critics contend safe-sex forum far too graphic." archived copy Union-News (Springfield MA), May 17, 2000, page A8; from staff and wire reports. Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll angrily pledged to investigate the role of two Department of Education staffers and a consultant who hosted workshops that he deemed were of a "prurient nature, and not educational, and what we heard suggests that the discussion contributed absolutely nothing to the students' understanding of how to avoid AIDS and HIV." The tapes generated a firestorm of controversy when they were broadcast over radio, and critics pointed out legal prohibition of taping of people without their permission. Although the conference was privately funded, the workshop itself was facilitated by Department of Education staffers rather than GLSEN. Furthermore, there is no evidence that GLSEN encouraged frank discussion beyond age-appropriate information.See also
- LGBT rights in United States
- List of LGBT rights organizations