Post by Ayla on Feb 20, 2016 12:05:27 GMT 8
A tightly knit LGBT community in and around San Diego weathered a string of suicides by transgender youth in 2015. Emmet Castle's death in October was the fourth; he was just 14 when he died.
Experts are always quick to remind media that there’s never one reason for a suicide. The story of what’s happened can’t be boiled down into an easy-to-understand narrative. At the same time, the problem can’t be ignored as too complex.
The Advocate spoke to Max Disposti, executive director at North County LGBTQ Resource Center in Oceanside, a seaside town 25 minutes north of downtown San Diego, about why this California region in particular suffered so much loss. Several of the youth actually used the center’s services before their deaths.
One theory he and other LGBT leaders are considering says that acceptance of transgender identity in some echelons of this progressive-leaning region has grown quickly, while still lagging in other groups.
That dichotomy of societal tension may have created a perfect storm where trans teens are emboldened to be themselves by supportive clusters, expecting more acceptance in the broader community than may exist.
"I think there's merit in the theory transgender teens in the region feel supported by friends, family, counselors and many parts of the community, including the LGBTQ Center, so they feel comfortable being who they are as trans people," says Disposti. "But then when they experience bullying in the community, they can feel devastated by it."
Disposti says there's still a disturbing amount of transphobia in the San Diego region. Transphobic bullying was blamed ...
www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/2/19/last-year-was-deadly-trans-youth-san-diego
Experts are always quick to remind media that there’s never one reason for a suicide. The story of what’s happened can’t be boiled down into an easy-to-understand narrative. At the same time, the problem can’t be ignored as too complex.
The Advocate spoke to Max Disposti, executive director at North County LGBTQ Resource Center in Oceanside, a seaside town 25 minutes north of downtown San Diego, about why this California region in particular suffered so much loss. Several of the youth actually used the center’s services before their deaths.
One theory he and other LGBT leaders are considering says that acceptance of transgender identity in some echelons of this progressive-leaning region has grown quickly, while still lagging in other groups.
That dichotomy of societal tension may have created a perfect storm where trans teens are emboldened to be themselves by supportive clusters, expecting more acceptance in the broader community than may exist.
"I think there's merit in the theory transgender teens in the region feel supported by friends, family, counselors and many parts of the community, including the LGBTQ Center, so they feel comfortable being who they are as trans people," says Disposti. "But then when they experience bullying in the community, they can feel devastated by it."
Disposti says there's still a disturbing amount of transphobia in the San Diego region. Transphobic bullying was blamed ...
www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/2/19/last-year-was-deadly-trans-youth-san-diego