The Dangers of Hazing LGBTQ+ Students
by Christine Kinori
In a heteronormative society, LGBTQ+ people face a mixture of rejection, ridicule and discrimination in various ways. One of these inhumane acts against the community is hazing. In this case, hazing refers to the deliberate harassment and embarrassment of new teammates in order to initiate them into the group. While hazing has always been dismissed as a harmless tradition meant to build character, its negative effects have increasingly come under the spotlight. LGBTQ+ students have a comparatively worse reaction to hazing based on their minority position and overall sensitive nature.
Hazing can lead to physical, emotional and mental deterioration of LGBTQ+ students. Queer students will, on average, face much more bullying than their straight colleagues. Hazing is likely to have longer-lasting effects on LGBTQ+ students’ mental health. The result is low self-esteem and depression which can cause the victims to lose interest in basic human needs like food and sleep. Physically, the students often begin to lose weight while emotionally they become drained. The result is distraught individuals wondering what they ever did to deserve such cruelty from life.
Additionally, hazing can harm LGBTQ+ students’ academic and extracurricular performance. The traumatic experience is sure to stick in the students’ mind long after going back to class. The experience of hazing is usually marked by derogatory remarks and demeaning actions carried out regardless of the victims’ opinions. LGBTQ+ student athletes could also be shaken by the hazing experience to the point of lowered sports performances. Part of the reason for low performance is the detachment they feel from fellow students and teammates.
Furthermore, hazing creates alienation among the already unwelcome LGBTQ+ students. Ideally, the perpetrators of hazing claim that the experience serves to strengthen the victims’ resolve and solidify the team bond. However, hazing LGBTQ+ students risks pushing them farther away from social circles in school and back inside their heads. It is dangerous to alienate LGBTQ+ students since they can almost only find real support and understanding from fellow queers. Hazing can cause the victims to turn to drug abuse or even suicide. The experience which is meant to belittle the new students and glorify the seniors may push LGBTQ+ students off the proverbial cliff.
Moreover, relationships with friends and families are destroyed through hazing. The harrowing experience may lead to the bullied students withdrawal back into their “shells.” Consequently, these students may find it even more challenging to form and maintain social connections with friends and family members. Most LGBTQ+ students have faced rejection at home and among friends; the fragile connections may well be completely severed after the experience of hazing.
In conclusion, hazing has been a mainstay in school and sports culture for the longest time. However, the negative effects of this practice have brought attention to its usefulness in the first place. The concern shown over this issue is neither undue nor unwarranted because of the adverse effects on students. Currently, 38 states have adopted anti-hazing laws in a bid to protect students; LGBTQ+ students have a higher risk of losing their way due to this “harmless” experience.
About the Author:
Christine Siamanta Kinori grew up in a little village in Kenya known as Loitoktok near the border of Kenya and Tanzania. All she wanted to do when she grew up was to explore the world. Her curiosity led her to join Nairobi University to pursue a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She later got a job with an amazing travel magazine Nomad Africa which gave her the opportunity to explore Africa. She also writes for numerous travel websites about Africa and tries to create a new narrative in the media about our aesthetic continent.
Christine claims to have somewhat unhealthy addiction to TV and reading, as it is a fun way to keep herself occupied during the long journeys for her travel writing. She is also a believer of letting people be their beautiful selves. To her, love is love and it is the greatest gift we have as humans.
