OWL 7-9 Sessions 8 and 9: Sexual Orientation

• Coming out in Middle School - NY Times, 9/23/2009
• Coming Out, Coming In: Nurturing the Well-Being & Inclusion of Gay Youth in Mainstream Society (2008), by Linda Goldman. Routledge: NY. Linda is a social worker who gives talks on issues of LGBT youth.
• An Overview of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

Update from Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte

Objective: To use visual media to discuss teen homosexuality.

Recommendation: Use the Guided Fantasy activity first; the surprise in it is what provides the most emotional reflective value. Proceed to the Lecturettes, and then do the Match the Identity activity. Finally consider watching the Degrassi (Canadian television series about teens, at degrassi.tv) episode “Pride”, it takes about 20 minutes to run and depicts many aspects of teen homosexuality. Take time to reflect on how we may unintentionally use degrading language and how we might not be able to be a good listener depending on our own beliefs. Prepare for the guest panel with the fresh processing you have just accomplished.

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