LGBT Policy Discourse and Prevention of Homophobic Bullying.

Abstract

* Abbreviations: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics LGBT — : lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender The past 20 years have been characterized by pronounced political progress and pushback surrounding the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans. During this time, several public campaigns promoting LGBT stigma have gained momentum, including campaigns supporting the introduction of “bathroom bills” to restrict access to bathrooms and other facilities on the basis of sex assigned at birth, “no promo homo” laws to prohibit the discussion of LGBT topics within health and sexuality education classes in schools, and state constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage.1 It has been theorized that public campaigns that promote stigma act as contextual and ecological factors that drive bias-based bullying among youth,2 which, evidence reveals, results in lasting psychological and physical harm.3 Yet to date, research on associations between these public campaigns that promote stigma and rates of bias-based bullying has been limited. In their innovative article, “Proposition 8 and Homophobic Bullying in California,” Hatzenbuehler et al4 address this critical gap in the literature. They examine changes in rates of homophobic bullying spanning the introduction and passing of Proposition 8 (a voter … Address correspondence to Valerie A. Earnshaw, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware, 111 Alison Hall West, Newark, DE 19716. E-mail: earnshaw{at}udel.edu