Don’t be offended if a friend or colleague chooses not to speak to you today.
Friday marks the National Day of Silence, which recognizes the lack of discussion about the bullying of the LGBTQ community, particularly in high schools, but also in college and everyday life.
To participate in Day of Silence, people stay silent for the entire day, said Julia Keleher, University of Idaho LGBTQA Office coordinator. If asked why they’re not speaking, participants have cards they hand out to explain struggles faced by the LGBTQ community.
Keleher said in conjunction with the Day of Silence, the LGBTQA Office is offering a free touring experience open to the public called Boxes and Walls. The event started off with a tour Thursday, and tours are offered today and tomorrow from 4-8 p.m. Nine UI student organizations and one community organization set up rooms that participants are led through, representing different groups of people regularly oppressed. Room themes include cases of interpersonal violence, unequal work opportunities based on race and even include profiles of UI students oppressed in their lifetime.
Keleher said Day of Silence primarily focuses on the bullying of LGBTQ students in high school, because gender norms are so strict there and enforced through the cruel means of harassment. She recalled her own experience, and said if any student, gay or straight, doesn’t conform to the ideal male or female stereotype, they are usually singled out.
“Even though I wasn’t out, I was bullied pretty hard in high school for my perceived gender identity and it made my high school miserable,” Keleher said.
Keleher said LGBTQ students experience both physical and verbal bullying in high school and both types deserve equal attention. She said physical bullying is dangerous, because it can seriously hurt the student or even kill them. Physical bullying probably wouldn’t be around if the verbal aspect of bullying didn’t exist with it, she said.
“When you think about hate, there’s a pyramid,” Keleher said. “The bottom part is the biggest part, and that’s bias. That’s making jokes … or calling someone a name. That’s the biggest thing that supports that physical violence.”
Keleher said though verbal bullying is just as important to address as physical bullying, many schools spend more time attempting to prevent physical bullying because it’s easier to see. She said verbal bullying is harder to be aware of, and many victims even hide what they’re dealing with because they feel ashamed.
The Day of Silence is something many UI students observe. Keleher said it’s important it stays popular, because there is still a long way to go in regard to the issue. She said although the people in Western cultures are rapidly changing their views on the subject, the LGBTQ demographic doesn’t only exist there. Keleher referred to the LGBT community as the “invisible minority.”
“There’s LGBT people in every race, every religion, every class, every gender,” Keleher said. “Any other identity you can think of, every culture and community, there’s LGBTQ people.”
Erin Bamer
can be reached at [email protected]