Nine-year-old boy bullied for being gay dies by suicide
Image: Image: KVDR.
The mother of nine-year-old Jamel Myles says her son died by suicide last week after experiencing vicious bullying due to his sexuality.
Leia Pierce has spoken out about her son’s death in order to shine a light on the ongoing struggle of young LGBTI people in schools, KVDR reported.
Jamel had recently started grade four after coming out to his mother during the summer break.
“And he looked so scared when he told me. He was like, ‘Mom I’m gay.’ And I thought he was playing, so I looked back because I was driving, and he was all curled up, so scared. And I said, ‘I still love you.'”
Pierce said Jamel wanted to come out to his classmates as well, and that he wanted to start wearing more feminine clothes.
“He went to school and said he was gonna tell people he’s gay because he’s proud of himself,” she said.
“He goes, ‘Can I be honest with you?’ And I was like sure, and he’s like, ‘I know you buy me boy stuff because I’m a boy, but I’d rather dress like a girl.'”
Last Thursday, Pierce discovered Jamel had died by suicide in their home in Denver, Colorado.
“Four days is all it took at school. I could just imagine what they said to him,” she said.
“My son told my oldest daughter the kids at school told him to kill himself. I’m just sad he didn’t come to me.
“I’m so upset that he thought that was his option,” Pierce said.
“We should have accountability for bullying. I think the child should. Because the child knows it’s wrong.
“The child wouldn’t want someone to do it to them. I think the parent should be held because obviously the parents are either teaching them to be like that, or they’re treating them like that,” she said.
Pierce said Jamel was a fan of wearing dresses with a tiara and high heels, as well as Pokémon cards, music and robots.
“I’m dead inside,” she said. “He was beautiful. He was magic. I lost my greatest gift.”
The Denver coroner’s office confirmed Jamel’s death was a suicide.
The school district has made crisis counsellors available to students and anyone else affected.
Earlier this year, 12 year old Matthew Leach, who identified as bisexual, was found dead by his parents in their Mississippi home having taken his own life.
If you or someone close to you is struggling and needs someone to speak to, you can contact one of these services:
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Beyond Blue 1300 224 636
Switchboard: 1800 184 527
Lifeline: 13 11 14
How can these publishers make such awful assumptions that a (9 year old was Gay so wrong that age kids don’t have any characteristics of showing what they will grow up to be so WRONG!
Many children know they are gay when they are four – I did!
I knew I was a boy who liked boys when I was 3 years old but I didn’t understand I was “gay” or what the term meant until I was in my teens. I had no exposure to LGBQTI+ in any positive or even open way until I discovered Stephen Carrington on Dynasty late one night.
Such a sad story. Counselling is available to the students now, but who was there for this poor little boy when he needed? Hopefully the bullies use it as a very hard learning experience and amend their ways.
The same way someone knows they are straight at 9 years of age?
This is sad.
But how does a child know they are gay at 9 years of age?
Sometimes you just do. If there can be 9 year old boys looking at girls in their class then there can be 9 year old boys looking at other boys in the same class. The understanding is the same just at a level that is approriate for their age and development.