July 2 1999

Coming out in the halls of high school Documentary brings the lives of Cincinnati lesbian teens to the screen

by Candi Lace

Cincinnati-In spite of the advancement and praise that queer filmmaking has achieved in the last decade, the subject of queer youth has just begun to be explored, not yet adequately.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teens have simply not been heard by the mainstream other than in camp films depicting them as either confused or psychotic. And traditionally in documentaries, adults of another generation relay what they endured in grade school and later at the senior prom, but the issues that teens are concerned with in the '90s have been only slightly addressed until recently.

While completing a master's degree, University of Cincinnati graduate Norah Salmon didn't aspire for her documentary on gay youth to be nationally admired and exhibited on big screens. She did, however, aspire to encourage gay youth to develop their own voices and speak out about their convictions on a video that just may have been used as a teaching tool in and around Cincinnati.

To her astonishment, Salmon's film Lesbian Teenagers in High School has not only been implemented in educational programs across the country, but was showcased last week at the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

Along with premières by acclaimed Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan and the everpopular Annie Sprinkle, Salmon's 23-minute documentary was selected from over 500 entries to be part of the prestigious event.

Salmon, who is a board member of Stonewall Cincinnati and the co-chair facilitator of the Cincinnati Youth Group, expresses unflinchingly, "I made the film after asking myself what I could do to change the world. Then I asked myself what I could do to change homophobia."

Through mentoring gay youth for over a year, she got the impression that most of them had never talked to an adult about their sexuality.

"I remembered my own isolation and depression as a teenager," Salmon says. "And I remembered the 15-year-old boy next door who hung himself because he couldn't talk to his parents about being gay."

She decided that video would be the best medium to expand on this topic because of the "power that film has to communicate what someone is saying through their facial expressions and the actions of their bodies while speaking."

Through a grant made possible by the Friends of Women's Studies, Salmon was able to take an introductory video class, gain access to equipment, and produce the documentary.

After the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educators Network (GLSEN), the Louisville, Ky. and Jacksonville, Fla. branches of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and the University of Cincinnati library bought copies of the video, Salmon was encouraged by U.C. associate director of women's studies Catherine Raissiguier to submit it to the film festival.

"I found Norah's video worthy of the widest audience possible, not just the queer community," affirms Raissiguier. “It is rare that we hear from young lesbians, so I wanted anyone and everyone to see it.”

In Lesbian Teenagers in High School, five young women, ages 15 to 19 years old, give testimony about the many issues surrounding their lives as a gay teenager in Cincinnati-a city where lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people are not legally protected in discrimination laws.

The film also includes a brief interview, with Betsy Shank, a teacher and the advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance, a student sup port group at Walnut Hills High School.

Each teen elaborates on their experiences with homophobic classmates and teachers as well as the heterosexist climate in their

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And I remembered the 15-year-old boy next door who hung himself because he couldn't talk to his parents about being gay."

individual schools. The youths, two black and three white, come from different economic backgrounds and family circumstances. But it's apparent in the film that all of them share the need to be accepted and emotionally supported.

For example, one of the students in the film reflects on being teased every day by others because of the assumption that she was a lesbian: "People saw me as a thing and not a human being. I was finally emotionally exhausted, and when I walked through the halls, everything became a haze."

Another reveals writing on her arm that reads, "I will survive," which she once carved to keep from killing herself.

Kathy Laufman of GLSEN (which recently included the film in their national book and video catalogue) sternly declares that more educational resources like Salmon's are needed at "all educational levels" in order to alleviate some of the pain and despair that these kids suffer.

Laufman also points out that today, teachers and administrators are eager to demonstrate a more inclusive learning environment but continue to "tread softly because they are afraid of losing their jobs and reputations for opposing a biased parent.”

"We are now offering resources such as videos at the teacher training level to remind them of their responsibilities to each child while they are in the classroom," she says.

"Gay issues must be talked about in the classroom because we can all help kids reduce the time they spend in the closet and in stagnation," she adds, "and then they can live

up to their fantastic potentials."

While expanding on the bad that has surrounded them, the youths also smile and talk about positive teachers in their lives, their political activism concerning other interests, such as race equality, and their crushes. Issues about sex are also spoken about openly and honestly.

One of the teens expressed her frustration and discomfort, for instance, that dental dams were never distributed along with condoms in health class.

Salmon says that she didn't have particular questions planned prior to interviewing the youths, and that she was surprised how candid and open each was with her about issues such as contraception. Again, she emphasizes, that the primary topic she wanted them to talk about was their knowledge of homophobia.

"I was probably more nervous than my subjects," Salmon illustrates. "I was under the impression right away that each of them was incredibly strong and willing now, if never before, to speak up about these issues."

As far as having the film viewed in San Francisco's 23rd International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, the videographer jokes that she is still, after a few weeks of cherishing the acceptance letter, "re-examining it to make sure it's valid." Salmon plans to explore more filmmaking but is currently making music instead-she plays bass guitar in the band Hemline.

Candi Lace is a freelance writer living in Cincinnati.