The news of this legislation came right on the heels of a policy proposal out of Texas in February that essentially labeled the act of providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender and nonbinary teenagers an act worthy of being investigated for “child abuse.”
Jonah DeChants, PhD, a research scientist at The Trevor Project, told Healthline that policies like this bill out of Florida “are already taking a toll on the mental health of LGBTQ young people.”
“It’s crucial to note that Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill is also a ‘Don’t Say Trans’ bill — as it effectively bans classroom instruction on both sexual orientation and gender identity. This is part of a sweeping effort we’re seeing from misguided politicians across the country who are using LGBTQ youth, and transgender youth in particular, to try and score political points,” he added.
He cited a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of The Trevor Project that found that 85 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth, along with two-thirds of all LGBTQ youth, say “recent debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health.”
DeChants added that the cloud of social stigma kicked up by bills like this can play a disproportionate role in fostering feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and depression in a young person.
He cited that LGBTQIA+ youth face higher risks for bullying, depression, and suicide in comparison to their cisgender and heterosexual peers.
“This is not because LGBTQ youth are somehow more prone to these risks because of their identity, but rather, they are placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized by society,” he said. “Bills like ‘Don’t Say Gay/Trans’ only add to the stigma that fuels these disparities.”
From a pediatrician’s perspective, Nagata added that along with the reduced self-esteem, sense of hope, difficulties with social relationships at school, and poorer mental health outcomes, young people affected by this kind of legislation — and the stigma that stems from it — “report more social isolation, bullying, and reluctance to seek help or treatment.”
In essence, bills like this one can force a child, who might be out and visible in their LGBTQIA+ identity, might still be unsure of where they fit on the gender and sexuality spectrums, or who come from LGBTQIA+ families, into a position where they feel excised from the school community and “mainstream” culture as a whole.
What some might view as a political position that makes sense in upholding their own ideologies (and support from specific constituencies) can create a negative cascade of adverse physical and mental health outcomes for vulnerable young people.
Zayde said she keeps wrestling with the talking point that kindergarteners to third graders are “too young” to be thinking about sexuality or gender identity. She said that talking point is a myth.
“There is a huge percentage of people, of children who do come out that young. I believe 4 in 10 gay men report they knew they were gay before they turned 10 years old, some know as soon as kindergarten,” she said. “The talking point of ‘oh, these children are so young’ — that’s irrelevant. Inclusion needs to start from birth, basically.”
Zayde also pointed to the statistic that “LGBTQ students who learned about LGBTQ issues or LGBTQ people in classes in school were 23 percent less likely to attempt suicide in the past year.”
“That is such a tremendous number, so if we can really apply that to what is happening here, to take that away results in mental health problems on a grand scale,” Zayde said. “Mental health interventions in this country are definitely not as good as they could be, so we have to do everything in our power to bring these numbers down as best as we can.”
When asked what educators can do, Zayde said, in a state like Florida, bills like this make it hard for teachers who might see themselves as natural allies to young charges who pass through their classrooms.
“I think it’s challenging because effectively there’s a gag order against them, a lot of teachers have to be worried about their job safety,” she stressed. “There are ways they can communicate to kids that ‘we care about you, we care about who you are, we care about your family.’ That is an immensely important thing to have. The worry, though, is because of these bills, teachers’ hands are tied.”
She added that “teachers play a tremendous role in the lives of children,” especially those who are part of the greater LGBTQIA+ community.
“If you talk to a group of LGBTQ children, they’ll say often the allies they’ve had in their life, the adults that made them feel accepted and included, were educators and school counselors,” Zayde explained. “Some people come out in school way before they come out to their family, so when we take this away from them, we take away huge support systems and structures.”
This content was originally published here.