Gay–straight alliance
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Membership
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At least 4000 chapters |
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Gay–straight alliances are school/student-led or community based organizations, found primarily in North American high schools, colleges and universities, that are intended to provide a safe, supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth (or those who are perceived as such) and their straight allies.
In some locations, the name of the GSA has been changed from "Gay Straight Alliance" to "Gender and Sexuality Alliance" in order to include bisexual and transgender individuals.
The goal of most gay–straight alliances is to make their school community safe, facilitate activism on campus, and create a welcoming environment for LGBT students. They are part of the LGBT student movement and participate in national campaigns to raise awareness, such as the Day of Silence, National Coming Out Day, No Name Calling Week,Transgender Day of Remembrance, Harvey Milk Day, GSA day or locally organized campaigns, such as Take It Back: Anti-Slur Campaign, Beyond the Binary, LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum and others. Many GSAs work with local chapters of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) or Gay–Straight Alliance Network, a national organization supporting youth leadership. The registered number of GSAs with GLSEN is over 4000, as of 2008. In California, there are over 900 GSAs registered with GSA Network, representing over half of California's high schools. Over half the states in the United States have one or more statewide groups that work with GSAs. Many of these state based groups and local chapters of GLSEN participate in the National Association of GSA Networks. GSA Networks have been formed to help local area students to network and connect to local resources, provide training for youth leaders, and sponsor local GSA efforts.
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