The fight for full equality has been going on for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. People of color, the mentally and physically ill, and the disadvantaged have all fought for equal rights in the face of discrimination and, for the most part, they have won. Very few people today will see someone in a wheelchair and pretend that they are less of a person than someone who can stand. Yet there are people across the country, of every race, age and health status, who are still struggling today. These people are routinely beaten, alienated, and humiliated because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or a combination of both. One of the most saddening aspects of this situation is that much of this hateful behavior occurs or is reinforced by the K-12 school environment. Young children called “sissies” on the playground go through puberty and receive the new nickname “faggot.” Hate speech is particularly prevalent in high school, where the word gay is now considered synonymous with stupid or unfair. Student discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity affects K-12 students of all ages by reinforcing shame and hatred of a natural function, and can be addressed through adjustments in sex education and individual open-mindedness. Gender identity and sexuality come in many forms. different spectra and are not always recognizable at first glance. Sexual orientation, or the type of person someone is sexually interested in, can essentially be seen in terms of heterosexuality and homosexuality: those who are only attracted to the opposite sex are heterosexual, those who are only attracted to the same sex are homosexual and those who are only attracted to the opposite sex are heterosexual. those who are attracted to both the same and the opposite sex are bisexual. However, ...... middle of paper ...... Influence. " World & I 17.7 (2002): 58. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. February 28, 2011. McKay, Alexander. "American adolescents' sexual behaviors became more cautious between 1991 and 2005." Canadian Review of Human Sexuality 15.2 (2006): 115-116. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Web February 28, 2011. “Pakistan allows transsexuals to have their own gender category. " Host Aleem Maqbool. BBC News. BBC Online, April 26, 2011. Web, April 29, 2011. “Statistics”. TransWhat? • Glossary of terms." TransWhat?: A Guide Towards Allyship. Np, nd Web. April 29, 2011. Walley, Shane. “LGBT Vocabulary 101.” University of Texas, October 7, 2008. Web. April 29, 2011. Yoshino, Kenji and Michael Kavey. “GAY LAW FOR BEGINNERS.” » Advocate 985 (2007): 28. MasterFILE Web February 28.. 2011.