Jamey Rodemeyer, Jamie Hubley

Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 years-old,
from Buffalo and 15-year-old Jamie
Hubley from Ottawa share something
very tragic in common: they both
committed suicide due to extreme
forms of bullying at school.

Rodemeyer had just begun high
school in September when he ended
his life later that month. Hubley, the
son of Ottawa city councilor Allan
Hubley, was in the 10th grade and
sought suicide as a means to an end
on October 21st.

Lady Gaga, whom the teenage boys
were fans, tweeted: “Bullying must
become illegal. It is hate crime.” For-
eign Affairs Minister John Baird ad-
dressed the House of Commons and
said, “There is no place in schools for
bullying.” A campaign called It Gets
Better Project (itgetsbetter.org), has
become a global movement that in-
spires hope for LGBT (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgendered) youth facing
harassment.

Why were these teenage boys bul-
lied to the point they felt suicide was
the only remedy?

I have written on tragic events and
stories related to LGBT issues in the
past and had hoped that I wouldn’t

have to again- not because I don’t care
to (opposite in fact)- but because my
wish is that extreme forms of bullying
against LGBT would come to an end.
How many lives do we have to lose?

Rodemeyer and Hubley represent
a large proportion of gay adolescence
across the globe that are often ridi-
culed, tormented and teased because
of their public sexuality or “differ-
ence” in mannerisms that perhaps
imply an LGBT orientation.

These are just a couple examples
that surface within the media’s spot-
light. Tragically, there is a staggering
number of LGBT youth who have
and will commit suicide in hopes for
a “way out” of the hatred-based vio-
lence that often go unreported. Last
Fall I wrote an article in a different
paper about LGBT youth who will
spend the holidays in shelters across
the US and Canada. People have ter-
rorized and discarded them as “un-
tamed or unnatural” and therefore not
welcomed or acknowledged within
different family, community and cul-
tural units. Many LGBT youth will
resort to shelters or centers for differ-
ent reasons and some of those include
their environment as being unsafe and

E HAVE

disrespectful.

I was bullied when I was younger.
I do not identify myself as a LBGTQ
individual, yet, like so many others, I
was bullied because I was a vulner-
able target before I really knew how
to strategically really use my voice
and take a strong position. Rarely do
I ever talk about such events that hap-
pened long, long ago. They have been
suppressed deep within my memory
museum, yet I hope that by shedding
light on my situation, others can re-
late. Like those who fall victim to the
toxic harassment of bullies, I was par-
ticularly cyber bullied. My mom re-
calls her experience of being bullied
as a young girl when a group of school
children pushed her to the ground. My
step-dad recalls his moment of being
bullied because his family was new in
his neighbourhood and the only Euro-
pean immigrants who migrated to an
“all Canadian” small town in On-
tario called Kleinburg. He physically
fought anyone who dared attackving
him and quickly made evident that he
wasn’t the kid to mess with. I have
touched on parallels between gender
and bullying yet the discussion about
different forms of bullying is an im-

A GENTLE REMINDER 10
RUB YOUR BREASTS

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

LAURA BEVACQUA
FEATURES EDITOR

All women (and men) to take a
few minutes out of the day and check
your breasts. No, This isn’t a joke nor
is it a reason to engage in seductive
foreplay - you can save that for Sat-
urday night.

October is breast cancer awareness
month and surely, for many of us, the
month flew by without realizing the
important medical cogitation.

According to the Canadian Cancer
Society, estimates of 23,200 women
in Canada will be diagnosed with
breast cancer and 5,300 will die from
it this year. Although breast cancer is
commonly found in women, men are
at risk and many do not realize that
they too can fall victim in developing
breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society de-
scribes breast cancer as a malignant
tumour that starts from cells of the

breast. Men, like women, have breast
tissue and if the cancer cells grow
and spread into the lymph nodes of
the breast, there is a chance that the
cells could flow into the blood stream
and affect other areas of the body.
Breast duct cells are less developed
in men compared to those in women
and although their breast cells are not
always exposed to the growth-promo-
ting effects of female hormones, it is
important that men recognize and feel
for lumps around their chest.

A self-examination in checking for
lumps should not be restricted to just
October’s breast cancer awareness
timeframe. Feeling for and being ‘in
tune’ with your body should become a
lifestyle approach in developing con-
scious ways to prevent or mitigate the
onset of medical challenges. Seldom
do youth and students have the pres-

sure or face the worries associated
with breast cancer or similar disturb-
ances, yet it is never too early to start
making the effort to schedule annual
physical examinations with an MD.
Taking the steps now in preparing
and educating ourselves, and efforts
in leading a healthy and balanced
lifestyle as best as possible with the
means available, are steps that will
help toward building mindful ap-
proaches in sustaining a productive
and healthy life.

It may be November but it’s not too
late to perform a breast self-examina-
tion or book a physical with an MD
before the year’s end. Do yourself and
your breasts a favour and give them
some TLC: Touch, Look and Check
with a doctor. Rub your breasts will

ya!

LAURA BEVA
FEATURES EL

CRED.BUFFALONEWS.COM, HUFFINGTONPOST.CA

portant one that should be considered
and perhaps in a different capacity
within another article.

As a pre-teen, I found myself be-
ing alienated from almost all of my
friends and classmates. It got so bad
that my mom and step-dad went to the
Principal’s office and the police de-
partment and demanded a restraint or-
der against my main bullier after she
spread death threats across the Inter-
net. My entire psyche and well-being
was affected. I walked around school
with my head low and often ate lunch
in a bathroom stall or stayed in the
classroom during break hours. I cried
every day after school for months.
Life as I knew it was horrible but the
turmoil subsided, things got better
and I have been soaring ever since.

Thankfully many contemporary so-
cieties have come to a tolerance and
even better, an acceptance of human
and legal rights in how one chooses
to associate and engage their sexual
identity. Yet, hatred-based acts of cal-
lous and despicable violence against
same sex unions or the freedom to
pursue life as an identified LGBTQ
individual fail to exist in what has
been termed as ‘progressive’ and

‘forward-thinking’ Western societies.
This makes me question the notion of
‘modern’ and what it entails and who
defines it.

Each November marks the Trans-
gender Day of Remembrance to me-
morialize those who have been killed
out of prejudice or have committed
suicide because of their ambiguous or
specific sexual identity. The plague of
hatred-based violence is a testament
of how human civilization has, and
continues to marginalize those that
are “different;” whatever that means.
It is understandable that commun-
ities and cultures may be hesitant and
critical toward embracing particular
gender-based identities and behav-
iours. However outcasting, ignoring,
tormenting and pushing LBGTQ indi-
viduals to the brink of suicide is vile
and not acceptable.

May Jamey Rodemeyer and Jamie
Hubley have found serenity and bliss
wherever they now exist in whatever
form that might be. May their bulliers
and bullies of the world sleep rest-
lessly and may their day of judgment
be ghastly inexcusable.

= Living Life Fully

Make a short film about healthy
living and you could win $500!

- If you’re aged 13-29 living in the Northern Region,

you can enter!

- Need inspiration? Topics we suggest are: healthy
eating, physical health, mental health, and healthy

environment.

- Submissions will be judged on originality,
creativity, impact, and quality of video.
- Films should be under 10 minutes long.

Deadline for submissions:
November 15, 2011

This project is led and driven by youth volunteers from the Canadian
Cancer Society, funded by the Public Health Association, and lead by BC
Healthy Communities. Winners will be revealed at our Film Festival in
Prince George on December 3, 2011.

For more information, please visit: |If-filmfest.com
or call Kerensa Medhurst
200.564.0880 ext. 113, toll free 1.800.811.5666 ext. 13