Lesbian Teen Fights Bullying
Marina Belotserkovskaya knew she was a lesbian in sixth grade. But she wished it wasn’t true. After trying to date guys – including her best male friend – and suffering from panic attacks after being bullied in her public school in Marietta, Ga., the teen’s parents transfered her to a private Jewish school.
When she came out in her new school, everyone accepted her. And she even joined the school’s Anti-Defamation League chapter to help fight discrimination and educate others about sexual differences.
“People called me ‘Marina the man’ and … it was pretty bad,” she told WXIA News in Atlanta. “I don’t like to complain about it. I know a lot of other kids who committed suicide maybe had it worse than I did. But it was a lot of public humiliation.”
When as many as 10 students taunted her in a classroom, she says teachers never stepped in to stop the bullying. “It was mostly the popular kids,” she said. “I just kind of sat there and took it.” And while she admits that she feels as though she had gone through hell, “I want to show people that … as dark as things may seem, everything will get better. I really wanted to stress that. My story did have that happy ending.”
Watch her video here:
