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GLBTQ
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning

Exercise 5

Creating Safe Schools for Lesbian and Gay Students
 Count Your Losses
by Youth Pride, Inc

Although gay, lesbian and bisexual young people have different coming-out experiences, many go through losses described in this exercise.
Questions to guide your discussion:
How did it feel to do this exercise?
How did it feel to lose the things you did?
Were some things more difficult to lose than others?
• Have students take out a piece of paper and number from 1 to 5.
• Have them write down the name of their best friend after number 1.
• Have them write down where they like to hang out after number 2.
•
Next, have them write down the name of their closest family member after number 3.
•
Have them write down their favorite possession after number 4.
•
Finally, have the students write down their dream for the future after number.
In order to illustrate the point of this exercise, read to the students the following storyline or a variation, if you would prefer.
You are at your locker and your best friend comes up to you and confronts you with the rumors that you are gay. You feel uncomfortable, but you don't want to lie so you tell your best friend that the rumors are true. Your best friend tells you that he or she doesn't want to hang out with you anymore. He or she tells everybody at school that you are gay. Nobody at school wants anything to do with you.
At this point you have just lost your best friend. Please rip off your best friend from the list and crumple up the paper.
You decide to go to your favorite hangout spot and you find all your friends. They tell you that you are no longer welcome to hang out there, and you need to leave.
At this point you have just lost your favorite hangout spot. Please rip off and crumple up the paper.
You go home very upset and your favorite family member is there. You tell your favorite family member why you are upset, while coming out to him or her. When your closest family member has heard you, he or she tells you that he/she wants nothing to do with you and that you are crazy. She/he then tells your entire family about you being gay. Your parents tell you that you must move out.
At this point you have lost your closest family member, and you've lost a place to live. Please rip off and crumple up the paper.
As you are moving out of the house, you realize you can't take your most favorite possession with you as you don't even know where you are going.
At this point you have just lost your favorite possession. Please rip off and crumple up the paper.
You are now realizing that your dreams are being destroyed. Since you have no money or financial support, you now know that you won't be able to attend the school that you've always dreamed of attending.
You have just lost all of your hopes and dreams for the future. Please rip off and crumple up the paper.