Non-Fiction, Adolescents, Kids, Teens, Homophobia, Christianity, Coming Out, Mental Health, North American 

Recognize the homophobia and anti-gay violence in a respected institution!

The only study of its kind, Being Gay and Lesbian in a Catholic High School: Beyond the Uniform offers compelling evidence to Catholic educators, clergy, and laypeople that their superb academic institutions are not fulfilling the clear mandate of the Church on inclusive loving behavior toward sexual minorities. Yet the facts presented in Being Gay and Lesbian in a Catholic High School prove that too often they encourage or allow stereotyping, homophobia, and anti-gay violence.

The experiences recounted in this disturbing book range from feeling differenct and being pressured to date the opposite sex to suffering life-changing violence. Virtually all the students, even the most deeply closeted, felt the negative effects of anti-gay jokes and verbal harassment. The most tragic experience in Being Gay and Lesbian in a Catholic High School is the story of a boy who was called "Sodomy" by his classmates. In his affluent suburban Catholic high school, he was routinely mocked, tormented, and physically assaulted--all with the knowledge of the teachers and administration. Driven to several suicide attempts, he was hospitalized for depression and finally dropped out.