Peer Contexts for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students: Reducing Stigma, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Peer relationships are a vital part of adolescents’ lives. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth, whether these relationships are supportive and positive, or filled with stigma, prejudice, and discrimination rests, to some degree, on their heterosexual peers’ attitudes and beliefs about homosexuality. For while LGBT youth may experience the negative consequences from anti-gay harassment, bullying, and exclusion, it is their heterosexual peers who are most likely engaging in these harmful behaviors.

When those who work with youth understand how heterosexual students think about sexuality-related identities and expression, as well as the treatment of LGBT youth, they may more effectively influence these attitudes and behaviors thus creating a more positive peer group context. This article highlights strategies for creating more positive peer context for LGBT students within the school environment.