Bullying in the LGBT Community

Stephen F Austin State University, Baker Pattillo Student Center, Twilight and Grand Ballrooms

Bullying is not a new trend, but something that has always existed. Different forms of bullying have evolved over time ranging from physical abuse to misuse of cyber activity. Within the past decade there has been a great influx of bullying in all forms in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This new phenomenon of targeting children and teens in the LGBT community has swept legislative and nationwide attention. Popular stories of suicide as the result of targeted bullying are provided. For children and teens who have suffered from such humility and hurt, generalist social workers are able to intervene on a micro, mezzo, and macro levels to promote, diversity, awareness, and dignity and worth of a person. Theories that guide the understanding as to why bullying exist are the ecological theory, social systems theory, and conflict theory. There theories give a snapshot of how the social environment, latent functions, and changes due to tentions in the community shape the framework of bullying.