The commentary below is written by Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld, Associate Professor of Multicultural and International Curriculum Studies at Iowa State University. He is co-editor of "Readings for Diversity and Social Justice and Investigating Christian Privilege and Religious Oppression in the United States."

What can clearly be referred to as a continuing epidemic, within only the past few weeks, a number of gay young men have taken their lives by all indications as a result of the unrelenting homophobic taunts, harassment, and attacks they had to endure by their peers: Seth Walsh, 13, hung himself from a tree outside his California home; Billy Lucas, 15, hung himself in Indiana; Asher Brown, 13, from Texas shot himself in the head; Tyler Clementi, 18, first-year student from Rutgers University took his life by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. And though we are not yet certain of the precipitating factors, now we hear of the tragic suicide of gay student, Raymond Chase, 19, from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island.

Throughout the past week, I have attempted to monitor the media to determine any themes in the way they have represented these tragic incidents. For many of the news outlets, it appears they are portraying these events as some sort of new trend they have deftly unearthed.

In reality, however, the media and our society generally suffers from a collective memory loss. This issue has arisen numerous times over the decades, but then appears in the media from time to time as if it were a unique and previously unrecorded development.

Back in 1989, for example, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its "Report on the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide," which found that "A majority of suicide attempts by homosexuals occur during their youth, and gay youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people. They may comprise up to 30 percent of (the estimated 5,000) completed youth suicides annually.” [U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Gay Male and Lesbian Youth Suicide," by Paul Gibson, in Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide, ed. Marcia R. Feinleib, Washington, DC, January 1989.]

The report recommended that "mental health and youth service agencies can provide acceptance and support for young homosexuals, train their personnel on gay issues, and provide appropriate gay adult role models; schools can protect gay youth from abuse from their peers and provide accurate information about homosexuality in health curricula; families should accept their child and work toward educating themselves about the development and nature of homosexuality"

The causes for these suicides have also been known and documented for decades as well. For example, Kevin Berrill, Director of the Anti-Violence Project of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force at the time of the 1989 report’s release stated correctly pinpointed the societal impact: "The increased risk of suicide facing these youth is linked to growing up in a society that teaches them to hide and to hate themselves.”

Initially, however, the report was suppressed by the George Herbert Walker Bush administration under pressure from right-wing groups and by conservatives in Congress. After the findings, William Dannemeyer, who was at the time a conservative Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California, called for then-president Bush to "dismiss from public service all persons still employed who concocted this homosexual pledge of allegiance and sealed the lid on these misjudgments for good." HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan wrote in a letter to Dannemeyer that the study "undermined the institution of the family." [Quoted in Chris Bull, "Suicidal Tendencies," The Advocate, April 5, 1994, p. 37.]

The findings of the report, however, were leaked to the press and finally released.

Other studies confirmed these findings. Gary Remafedi, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, and author of Death by Denial: Studies of Attempted and Completed Suicide in Gay and Lesbian and Bisexual Youth, found in a 1991 study of 150 gay and lesbian youths in Minneapolis, more than 30% said they had attempted suicide at least once as a teenager.

“The youths who are at the greatest risk for suicide are the ones who are least likely to reveal their sexual orientation to anyone. Suicide may be a way of making sure that no one ever knows. It's homophobia that's killing these kids.” [Gary Remafedi, quoted in Bull, Chris, "Suicidal Tendencies," The Advocate, April 5, 1994, p. 38.]

Some media recently have labeled the high profile suicide of Tyler Clementi as a national “wake up call” to the problem of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender suicide.

Don’t blame me if I’m cynical, but didn’t we hear the same warning back in 1998 after the brutal homophobic murder of Matthew Shepard. Hundreds, maybe thousands of LGBT people have suffered vicious attacks, many ending in murder since 1998. Why then do the media not continually cover these incidents. If they did, our nation would not need a “wake up call.” We as a society might remain awake and vigilant.

I suspect in a week or so, even as the suicides and homophobic assaults continue, the media will move onto its next so-called “trend.” In a few years, maybe ten or so, they will issue yet another “wake up call” and (re)discover homophobia and its impact on the lives of our youth all over again.

Instead, we as a society must not depend on the media to alert us to the realities. As a society, we must take responsibility for the consequences for our inaction. More importantly, we must take responsibility for eliminating the stigma and the stereotyping of anyone and any group along the complete spectrum of human diversity.

Photo by DRB62, via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons.

There is going to be an LGBTQ march on Washington on October 10-11, 2009—officially named the National Equality March. The premise is a simple one: “Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” Arguments have been made by movement figureheads in favor of the March. David Mixner, Sherry Wolf, Cleve Jones, and several others have provided other terrific arguments. I feel no real need to restate them in full.

I’ve got something a little different to say to student leaders.

I graduated from college a little over a year ago, but I plan on going back to school before too long—I consider myself something of a student on hiatus. In any case, people still in school are of my generation. And it was in my later years of college that my activist self started peeking out, feeling proud. It was a little bit of college activism that eventually led me to volunteer with the DC Host Committee (and its the Student Outreach Subcommittee) of the National Equality March. And it’s students, people learning about the world and themselves, that I tend to focus my thinking on.

The opportunity to volunteer at Trevor came to me at the end of a quest for something that would have a deep and lasting meaning for me and for others. I was seeking an enriching experience that would be of use to those who are in need. I was looking for an outlet and a source of nourishment for the nurturing side of my personality – an aspect that finds little employment in my line of work. Besides, I wanted to be in the company of people who are sincere believers in a worthwhile cause; who are warm, passionate, and compassionate; who are able to suspend their needs - even just for a few hours to take care of the needs of others. After 20 or so shifts over the last few months, I still cannot believe my good fortune at having found all this at The Trevor Project.

The week of September 6 through 12 marks National Suicide Prevention Week, a time when all of us should confront a taboo subject that has impacted the lives of more people than many of us care to acknowledge. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential helpline (866.4.U.TREVOR), in-school workshops, educational materials, online resources and public policy advocacy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, and the third leading cause of death among all people ages 15 to 24. Additionally, research has shown that LGBTQ youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers – a tragic outcome of the way so many young people are treated in their homes, schools, communities and religious institutions. Consider this brief story about a college student who reached out to The Trevor Helpline a few months ago: