She did it by wearing a gay pride T-shirt. She did, however, wear steel-toed boots that day just in case someone decided that her coming out was worth getting into a fight over. But the reaction of her peers was verbal, she said, rather than physical. Like Teddy, Thigpen said she, too, avoided the bathroom at Leon. During her lunch break, she would run out to a nearby gas station and use its bathroom, always careful to dodge the globs of chewing tobacco aimed down at her by some guys on the school's second floor.
Lockers are another area where harassment often takes place.
Moon said she didn't realize all the harassment her daughter had to put up with. When you're a parent, you want your kid to be liked and have friends, and I knew that was going to be difficult for Hannah. It's not easy coming out. The Family Tree community center sponsors a support group for gay and lesbian teens and teens who are confused about their sexual identity. The group meets at the Leon County Library.