Lesbian Teen Reveals She Was Forced To Use Boys' Locker Room, Rest Room In British LGBT Youth Clip (VIDEO)

LGBT teens are revealing some of their most painful experiences -- from being subjected to schoolyard bullying to being forced to use opposite-sex locker rooms -- as part of a new British advocacy video.

"When I was in P.E., I couldn’t get changed in the girls' toilets or the locker room or anything, so I had to get changed with the lads," one girl says. “My P.E. teacher said, 'You're not attracted to lads, so you have to go and get changed there,'"

Posted by LGBT Youth North West, the video is intended as an opportunity to have an open discussion, according to Pink News.

"I really hated school, because every day was just constant insults and the teachers told you to just get over it," another boy explains in the clip.

Need help? Visit The Trevor Project's website or call them at 1-866-488-7386. In the U.S. you can also call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or visit stopbullying.gov.

You can also visit Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) website for more resources.

Comments

[rexy640421]

05:19 PM on 02/07/2012

Here's a though:

WHY is it that Bullying has become a section of its OWN on the Huffington post?

What does that say about us America? What does that say?

What happened?

[Christina-Xena]

12:45 AM on 01/26/2012

One key "revealing" type question here is whether the coach would have required a transgender girl to use the girl's locker room (assume they too are a "straight girl)? ....given that would be the preferred locker room for the trans-girl instead of the boys one.

My guess is NO!

Why?...because the objective of the coach is to make the GLB or T students as UNCOMFORTABLE as possible, in order to humiliate them, or force them to go underground with their sexual or gender identities.

However, I don't believe these humiliation tactics would get very far in the US, as we are more prone to turn to lawsuits, not to mention involving civil rights legal aid.

[rexy640421]

05:18 PM on 02/07/2012

You may be on to something.....

[edtastic]

09:25 PM on 01/25/2012

For those accusing the boys of being a threat to her, please stop viewing our boys as a general threat to women. They really don't deserve that kind of suspicion or bigotry. It's the same kind of thinking that drives discrimination against LGBT in the first place. Fear of other whole groups of people based on their sexuality hetero or gay, male or female who have not done anything to anyone really needs to stop.

I bet boys and girls could change in the same locker room and survive the experience violence free. Our hetero boys are not born predators out to harm women. They are for the most part good guys just like the girls are for the most part good girls regardless of their sexual orientation.

[Cassandra Holly]

02:53 PM on 01/26/2012

And though I agree with you in general, in particular to the point of having a single locker room for all genders, there has been a significant number of attacks on homosexual kids by their heterosexual peers. These kids have been bullied, physically harmed, even raped by other students because of their sexual orientation. Honestly, I think most kids would be fine if we did away with the separated bathrooms and locker rooms, but because this was a single child being forced into the locker room of the opposite sex, she was already being spotlighted to her peers as being different and regardless of what the difference is, children who are different are consistently picked on and bullied. As a youth, I wasn't out about being gay and I did whatever I could to fit in for a long time. I was still bullied for every difference my peers could find, whether it be understanding the material in a difficult class, enjoying reading or not picking on people who were different, any time something different about me was noticed, I was picked on by my classmates. Highlighting that this girl was different was setting her up to be bullied further.

[edtastic]

09:16 PM on 01/26/2012

Let's be honest most of the people who are bullies are not for reasons of sexual orientation. It's power hungry sadistic people versus whoever they can exploit to demonstrate dominance of other human beings. In that case we need to look out for that skinny straight kid without a lot of friends in that locker room. We should not confuse the excuse used by a bully with the real goals of bullies. Some parents will buy their kids nice clothes to keep them from being picked on. Some will tell their kids to make more friends in the hopes they would be a less appealing target. Even if they did not harass them for being gay there is nothing stopping them for saying they are too fat, ugly, homely, unpopular, stupid, smart, or just plain different thus subject to being declared "The Other".

[Professor Wagstaff]

05:26 PM on 01/25/2012

Coach must not have been too butch

[rewith85man]

05:21 PM on 01/25/2012

If you want to be a male, you'll be treated like one.

I guess that is what the teachers believe.

[Mindy Czech]

11:25 PM on 01/25/2012

Who said she wanted to be a male? She's a lesbian teen, not a transgender teen.

[Cassandra Holly]

02:54 PM on 01/26/2012

She didn't want to be male. Very, very few lesbians would ever want to be male.

[DianePVK]

05:19 PM on 01/25/2012

So the school is implying that because she is attracted to women that A) She is automatically attracted to ALL females and B) She will not be able to control herself and somehow rape or attack the other girls in the restroom or locker room?!?! WTF?
What about the straight boys in the locker room that are now watching a GIRL changer her clothes?? HELLO!

[edtastic]

08:59 PM on 01/25/2012

Why don't we just have one locker room for everybody? These ideas are new territory in a culture that took non attraction between like sexes for granted. The pessimist says it's harder to regulate sexual activity by segregating sexes. The optimist says sexual activity between like sexes don't result in pregnancy. The realist says there have been gay boys and girls in our locker rooms ever since there were locker rooms. The only difference is their being open about their sexuality.

[Cassandra Holly]

02:55 PM on 01/26/2012

And while I agree with your stance, keep in mind that many use that same logic to support there being a male and female locker room in the first place.

[DianePVK]

03:59 PM on 01/26/2012

I think that's a bit of a stretch.

[dancingbones]

12:35 PM on 01/25/2012

And, what's so WRONG about attraction, whichever way it flows?

[dancingbones]

12:34 PM on 01/25/2012

Locker rooms and toilets are designed for folk of different PARTS, not different orientations, for heaven's sake! And, in any boys' locker room, a goodly number of the 'lads' are attracted to the other lads...should they be forced to change in the girls' lockers?? What absurdity!!

[girlwild]

04:22 PM on 01/25/2012

Fanned and faved for telling the truth. Butch girls are still girls and they don't belong in the boys' locker and bath rooms.

[Christina-Xena]

01:05 AM on 01/26/2012

I can see narrow segeration in locker rooms based on body parts (or if the GBLT person is uncomfortable than a private changing room could be offered), but in general bathrooms I see no problem with transgender folks using the toilets of their gender identity.

The rest is as you say .....absurd.

[Erin84]

12:17 PM on 01/25/2012

So they threw her into the boys locker room, so boys could watch her change instead of letting her change with other girls who had the exact same parts as her? How humiliating and degrading. What is with this ridiculous idea that being attracted to our own sex means we're going to oggle everyone we see. In middle school and high school, I opened my gym locker and looked into it or down at the floor when I changed. I never came out and admitted I was a lesbian is school, but I still got made fun of because other kids could tell by looking at my appearance and mannerisms. I made damn sure not to even accidentally look at another girl in the locker room, lest I get something else said to me that would ruin my day. We gays know we're forever trying to over come the ignorant association people make with us to oversexualized deviants or some nonsense like that. If anyone is NOT going to look at other people in a shower or locker room, it's us.

[JPaulNorton]

06:50 PM on 01/25/2012

Erin, I am not trying to beat a dead horse here, but I have shown this picture to five people, all agree that this is a boy. SO, I think this entire article is deliberately misleading people. A teacher told a boy, who thinks he's a girl and identifies as a lesbian to change with other boys. This is not wrong. The writer purposely left the true gender of this child vague in order to illicit response. If the teacher did what you claim, they would be serving prison time.

[rsg007]

07:39 PM on 01/25/2012

You're kidding, right? The writer didn't leave the child's gender ambiguous--the article clearly states she's a girl. Just because she may look more like a boy doesn't mean she is one, wants to be one, or should have to change with them.

[Mirame Emor]

11:49 AM on 01/25/2012

Why can't they just TRUST her not to be doing anything inappropriate? Instead of worrying about WHAT she is, they should see WHO she is, and teach their students to do the same.

[Brianna Cole]

07:42 AM on 01/25/2012

If they were SO worried about it, have her change in the bathroom NOT in the locker room. Have her go, with a teacher, and change in the bathroom in the hallway and then go straight to the gym. I get that they are worried she might be "looking" at the other ladies, I get it... If they can't find a way around that, have a teacher take her to the bathroom to change.... Geeze... The ignorance of some people. To put a woman in such a dangerous position..........

[DianePVK]

05:20 PM on 01/25/2012

I think you only *half* get it.

[Brianna Cole]

11:58 PM on 01/25/2012

Ok, let me explain it this way There are 2 sides here: the viewer, and the view-ees. If I was a view-ee, being watched by either man or woman as I changed. I would feel uncomfortable and ask for a change of situation. As a woman, I would also not feel comfortable having men change in front of me (making me the viewer) as I know that I am attracted to them and that it isn't appropriate. Sexual orientation doesn't mean this girl lacks sensible capabilities. She can understand that being in there might make some people nervous about being watched, and I would hope she wouldn't be creepy and want to watch them. (not saying she would, just making both sides of the argument). So YES, I get all of it. And I understand it from both sides. Regardless of sexual orientation, you should not be permitted to view naked bodies you find attractive in a school setting, nor should others feel you are being thrust upon them.

[10ADP]

06:52 AM on 01/25/2012

But the boys might be attracted to HER.... this is really sad.

[Cassandra Holly]

01:47 AM on 01/25/2012

Isn't the whole idea behind changing in front of people of the same sex that they have the same parts so you're not seeing something you don't already have? I guess I couldn't be allowed in either locker room since I'm attracted to men and women.

[NotEvenAmerican]

02:30 AM on 01/25/2012

Thank you for pointing out why some people on this thread are being a little silly....

[DovS]

12:13 PM on 01/25/2012

I suppose they could provide a third locker room for you but... wait... what if there were TWO bisexuals in the same P.E. class? You might be attracted to each other so they'd need an additional locker room for each bisexual student. Hmmm... didn't the Kinsey report suggest that about 80% of all people are bisexual to some degree? I guess they should provide a separate locker room for every single student. That seems sensible.

[Cassandra Holly]

02:58 AM on 01/27/2012

Yes! Give us all our own personal locker rooms! At least then you never have to worry about someone taking your clothes and hiding them (yeah, that actually happened to me.)

[campcranston]

03:53 PM on 01/24/2012

Okay okay, now where are all the people that want to shoot down trans rights? They should all be furious about this. If the girls were so uncomfortable about having a gay woman in the locker room, they can change in a stall. The amount of abuse and physical danger this school put this poor girl in danger of is unbelievable. I hope she sues the pants off of this school.

[Kym Lewis]

03:39 PM on 01/24/2012

If you're attracted to girls why should they change in front of you.

[DessieRandom]

05:01 PM on 01/24/2012

And, following that logic, why should a female student be sent into a locker room filled with (probably mostly) heterosexual males?

[Matt Filippini]

05:07 PM on 01/24/2012

Are you talking about the lesbian girl or the straight boys who also have a girl changing in front of them?

[Kym Lewis]

05:57 PM on 01/24/2012

I was referring to the ''girl'' that looked like a straight guy.