I decided to do research on LGBT and GSA’s in high schools because at my internship at Hartford High School, they have their first transgendered student. Also another reason is another intern and I are assisting a senior who is interested in bringing back the schools GSA for his capstone project. For this paper the term GSA stands for Gay- Straight- Alliance. The article I chose was titled Gay–Straight Alliances: Understanding Their Impact on the Academic and Social Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning High School Students. This study focused on the importance of GSA’s in high schools and how that impacts LGBT youth. In the article McCormick states that sexual minority youth are at a higher risk of victimization. Some studies …show more content…
GSA’s also assisted students with how to address certain issues such as homophobia and transphobia. The study conducted had a range of students ages 15-18, and were interviewed for 45-60 minutes by individuals who regularly work with LGBT people. The results of the study were that there are a number of reoccurring themes that transpired from the students and their experiences with GSA’s. The themes varied from academic themes to social support themes. One important part of the social support theme is Normalizing Thoughts, Feelings and Experiences ( McCormick). This process can help LGBT students feel less isolated since they meet other youths who may feel the same way as them. The study that was conducted in this article showed that GSA’s can be helpful to LGBT students by making them feel supported and accepted, while increasing their self esteem and helping students learn to be activists, along with improving their attendance records as