Harass this!

They had many reasons for being there: the mother dressed Tinky Winky who had supported her daughter's efforts to start a gay-straight alliance; the gay student who conducts workshops for middle-school students because his own middle-school experience was so horrible; the straight teen who attended his prom in a dress in spite of his classmates' derision.

All of them joined in for a chant:

"Give me a G! Give me an S! Give me an A! What's that spell?"

"Fabulous!"

They were among the thousands of young people, teachers, and parents marching to honor gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students and their allies at May's Youth Pride celebration in Boston. As the current and the former directors of the Massachusetts Department of Education's Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students, we proudly joined students and colleagues in carrying a single rainbow flag composed of panels designed by half of the 200 GSAs from across the state. That evening the festivities continued at a prom held in City Hall, sponsored by the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Youth.

Massachusetts is one of a handful of states with educational antidiscrimination laws that protect gay and lesbian students, and it is the first to fund--at $1.5 million a year--a program to support gay and lesbian youth.

We often hear people say, "This could never happen where I live," but we firmly believe that progress to support GLBT students can happen anywhere. We know of a priest in Ukraine who provides support for young gay men in a shelter for homeless adolescents; students in New Zealand who've started GSAs; a teacher from a small town in Alabama who put up a gay, lesbian, and bisexual "safe zone" sticker, risking the loss of her job.

While our work has taught us the many ways that GLBT students are harassed on a daily basis, we also have learned that things can improve. It is possible to talk about GLBT people in a positive way in schools. It is possible for schools and students' lives to be changed for the better. Perhaps most important, it's possible for GLBT students to feel powerful and good about themselves.

We were reminded of this as we were planning and running a recent workshop for over 100 students and GSA advisers. The night before, we were on the phone with each other constantly: Did we have enough fabric paints to make the rainbow flags? Who needed rides? Was one workshop leader, who sounded like she had pneumonia, really well enough to go?

Despite our long night, once the GSA members started arriving, we began to feel energized. In strolled one boy who came out to his classmates three years ago at another Safe Schools workshop. This rime he wore a sparkling shirt and had glitter eye makeup. We couldn't help smiling.

The day just kept getting better. The students shared ways they have seen support--and lack of support--for GLBT students. One girl talked about standing up to boys who harassed her gay brother. Two girls spoke about fighting to go to their prom together after being told same-sex couples could not attend.

The students created skits about these kinds of situations. One in particular stood out: Two students put up signs announcing a GSA meeting. A small group of students followed, scrawling FAGGOT and DYKE on it. One of the pen wielders was a lanky young gay man who played his part with passion, especially as he said, "I can't stand those faggots." The words that most likely had been directed at him seemed to have lost some of their power as they came out of his mouth.

A second group of students then walked by, expressed disgust at the GSAE and ripped the defaced sign off the wall. They were surprised to be greeted with another sign that had been carefully placed beneath the original one. In large block letters, it read, HATE IS EASY. LOVE TAKES COURAGE.

The skit brought down the house! We were moved by these students who took a common negative experience and turned it around with courage and creativity--and we remembered why we do this work.

Perrotti and Westheimer are the authors of When the Drama Club Is Not Enough: Lessons From the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students (Beacon Press, 2001).