“I hate the word homophobia.
It's not a phobia.
You're not scared.
You're an [butt]hole."
~Morgan Freeman
Schools always have that one incentive, that one rule, that one must. No bullying. The question is, is it followed? Although most schools are  trying to be more diverse, they are making students more and more hateful to the LGBTQ+, letting students make inappropriate comments, and directly commenting on one's specific gender/sexuality, either saying it is not real, or just calling them names, and possibly telling their parents that may be homophobic themselves. What are the people doing,  bullying, and the ?effects of this bullying?  The bullying is bad, but the effects are much worse, leading to a higher rate in suicides/suicide attempts, self harm, and depression and anxiety.
With all the bullying going around, much of it is focused on people in the LGBTQ+ community. According to the article What Is The Homophobic Bias Anyways? Defining and Recognizing Microaggressions and Harassment of LGBTQ Youth, in a survey conducted on school psychologists they had found, “43% of participants reported hearing epithets such as “that’s so gay” among students once a month or more frequently”, but in addition to that shocking and saddening fact, they had also found, “8% and 45% of respondents reported that these epithets were spoken by other staff members at least once a month or once a year, respectively.” The participants had responded to direct insults, but had let the ones not directed at anyone in particular slide. If students hear these comments, and they hear them at home, they start to think that it is okay to say these things, and that is okay to make fun of LGBTQ+ others. That was only one study, and that study only covered that particular piece of the hypothetical pie.
Many people don’t understand what the bullying is like for these kids. It is not only physical, but mental. And even though this is not necessarily bullying, the comments that students and even teachers make can be much more harmful to the students than the bullying is. Gay Bullying Statistics states that nine out of ten LGBTQ+ teens have reported bullying within the past year. And half of those students reported being physically harassed, and even physically assaulted. One of the biggest problems with this, is not the bullying itself, but the effects, and the fact that most students who have been harassed do not tell anyone in fear of making everything worse for these students.
The effects of this bullying are insane, and so are the statistics. “Students who also fall into the gay, bisexual, lesbian or transgendered identity groups report being five times as more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe after being bullied due to their sexual orientation.” Gay Bullying Statistics states. With this rise in homophobia, what are the other effects? The answer to that would be, that LGBTQ+ students are 2 ½ times more likely to self harm, and 4 times more likely to self harm according to Bullying and LGBT Youth. This hate is taught  not born, but fear is drawn from within us after the worse happens to us.
In the episode The Real Match (season two episode 7) of The Real O’Neals, one of the kids on the school's wrestling team gets mono, so Kenny’s brother asks him to fill in so that their school can win the championship. In the show, Kenny is the first openly gay kid at his school, and all of the people at his school are extremely supportive of him. Kenny soon decides to help out, and his sister decides to write an article about him. Skipping to the big match, Kenny wins his first match, then as he goes up to his next one, his opponent, forfeits the match before they even start. Kenny is at first confused, and so is the referee, who asks why he forfeits, the unnamed opponent goes on to say, “He know why. We all know why. We read the article. I am not going to fight someone like you.” Kenny then goes back to his seat, telling his brother what happened. His brother then forfeits the match, along with the entire team, because if they won’t fight his brother because he is gay, they won't fight them.
I have had past experiences with these, in sixth and seventh grade I had finally realized who I was, but hearing everything that people were saying about LGBTQ+ people, I was terrified to come out, and tell people who I was in fear that I would be shunned, bullied, and hurt. These fears had caused me to harm myself, and even try to end my life. But eventually I had come to accept myself. By eighth grade, I was prepared to come out, and reveal my true self. Not everyone had ‘heard the news’, and when they did, that's when the bullying had started. That year had caused a rebound of self harm. But I soon realized, once I had gotten a girlfriend that I am okay the way I am. She had helped me through everything, and made me happy, and reminded me everyday that I am okay.
You are okay, and we are all okay.
“We’re sick of hearing people say, “That band is so gay,” or “Those guys are fags.”
Gay is not a synonym for [crappy].
If you wanna say something’s [crappy], say it’s [crappy].
Stop being such homophobic [butt]holes.”
~Pete Wentz, Fall Out Boy
    “I think the fact that you are actually seeing homophobia, shows that it is going down. And that in itself is good.”
        ~Mrs.Merritt

Sources
Savage, Todd A., and G. Thomas Schanding, Jr. "Journal of School Violence." Creating and Maintaining Safe and Responsive Schools for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youths: Introduction to the Special Issue: Journal of School Violence: Vol 12, No 1. N.p., 05 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

@TeenHelpcom. "Gay Bullying Statistics - Bullying Statistics." Bullying Statistics. N.p., 07 July 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

McCABE, Paul C., Eliza A. DRAGOWSKI, and FLORENCE RUBINSON. "What Is Homophobic Bias Anyway? Defining and Recognizing Microaggressions and Harassment of LGBTQ Youth." N.p., n.d. Web.

"Bullying and LGBT Youth." Mental Health America. Mental Health America, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2016