(The Evening Standard (Manawatu,
New Zealand))
Schoolyard homophobia has damaging effect
BYLINE: BIRNIE Lindsey
EDITION: 2
SECTION: NEWS:NATIONAL
HOMOPHOBIA was protecting masculinity and stigmatising alternatives
to macho behaviour, a conference
in Palmerston North has been told.
"Homophobia is much more than a narrow prejudice against homosexuals
-- it has a much more important social function," associate Professor
David Plummer told the New Zealand Venereological Society conference
on Thursday. "It stigmatises men from being gentle. If people step
out of that typical role people say `what are you'?
"People say you are a poofter. The implication is you are a bit of
a poof or a ponce."
Prof Plummer, of the school of public and community health at the
University of New England in northern New South Wales, has an interest
in marginalisation and sexual health.
Cliches like `real men not eating quiche' were still around, but there
were also more subtle messages emerging.
One example was a TV ad. "With a certain healthy breakfast, where
they trick a guy into eating it because they tell him it's not healthy
-- it's very subtle."
Homophobia was a particular problem
for young men and boys at school.
"For us adults it's getting much more tame but to get to the adult
world kids have to go to the jungle called school. Many of the descriptions
I get make school sound more like a prison than a safe haven to grow
up in.
"The thing about homophobia there is that words like poofter start
circulation in primary school before puberty, before they know what
homosexuality means. When you ask them it doesn't mean anything but
it rates up the top (of swear words) -- they can handle wanker, they
can handle dickhead, all that."
Prof Plummer, who spoke about his interview-based research, said it
was often a very damaging time.
"No-one wins. The kid who gets targeted goes through a very isolated
process. No-one can afford to be his friend and by definition poofters,
and once you are marginalised you stay there.
"The kids who are the bullies in the short term enjoy a great deal
of prestige and power at school in the peer group but there's a disincentive
to get an education -- they can be left with nothing.
"If there's a group bullying, no kid in the bully group can say `I
think he's had enough'. It pushes kids into that more dangerous violent
spectrum."
Society needed to look at strategies in schools to identify danger
areas -- one in particular was the sports field.
"Schools value physical achievement and undervalue academic achievement.
You have got is this idea that only sooks read books, you have schools
where rugby league is the pinnacle of achievement. Kids who want to
do well academically are up against these forces."
Team sports were often very hard for anyone singled out, and anyone
with an alternative interest was at risk.
"One guy I spoke to was interested in aerobics -- he was a `fairy
in tights'. Some things you can't do in schools because they are not
providing space for them to explore their differences."
Teachers and parents should intervene
more often, Prof Plummer said.
"People say it's character building. It's not. More often that not
we don't say anything, we don't
advocate for kids that are different.
"Some parents and politicians have their own agenda which isn't always
the comfort of the kids. We should advocate and reinforce our kids
-- not reinforce the scaremongering."
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CAPTION:
Picture: FAITH SIDES Australian academic David Plummer _ homophobia
more than a narrow prejudice
KEYWORDS: HUMAN RIGHTS-GENERAL SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR
BIRNIE Lindsey, Schoolyard homophobia
has damaging effect. , The Evening Standard (Manawatu, New Zealand), 10-21-2000,
pp 4.