Growing up queer in a society where religious conservatism is so widespread can be challenging. Dylan Young* was raised in a small rural community near Banbridge, county Down, which strongly supports the DUP. As a child, he endured homophobic rants from his father at the breakfast table and church sermons that described homosexuality as an abomination. “As I grew up we were constantly reminded that being gay was morally futile,” he explains.
After a friend outed him at school, Dylan was bullied relentlessly. He still remembers reading graffiti calling him a “bender”, a “dirty queer” and a “faggot” scrawled across the school grounds. Dylan’s parents offered him little support during this time, and were appalled when he came out. Sadly, their beliefs haven’t changed. “I know there will be no contact between us once I meet someone and consider settling down,” he admits. “I wish things could change with my parents, but I’m not going to tell them what they want to hear.”
Thankfully this level of parental rejection is no longer the norm, but Dylan’s experience of homophobic bullying in school is still infuriatingly common. With politicians and religious figures spouting such hateful rhetoric, it’s no surprise that a culture of systemic homophobia exists within the Northern Irish school system. A report by Belfast-based LGBTQ+ charity The Rainbow Project concluded that homophobic bullying; combined with a lack of LGBTQ+ inclusive education and teacher training, creates an environment that discriminately and illegally disadvantages LGBTQ+ people. After all, queer teens still have to study and sit exams, just like everyone else.
Bullying is too often ignored or condoned by people in positions of power. A staggering 75 per cent of LGBTQ+ young people in Northern Ireland who reported bullying claim that their school did nothing to help. 24-year-old Kyle Greene* went to school in Larne, county Antrim, where he felt pressured to conform to the hyper-masculine and competitive culture. After he was outed, Kyle was taken aside by his rugby coach. “My coach said: ‘Kyle, I don't care what sort of sin you get up to outside of school, but it can’t be brought in here. Everyone on the team would be a lot more comfortable if you left, quietly,’” he explains. “I'm still angry at myself for not being less of a coward and standing up to this.” Read more via Dazed