Many writers have shown that our current gender system only makes sense in the context of an assumed natural heterosexuality. Adrienne Rich coined the term ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ to capture this, while Judith Butler has talked about the ‘heterosexual matrix’. Gender and sexuality are thus intimately linked.
However, there are also specific issues that relate to the issues that concern lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people within education. Because ‘education’ is a huge social arena encompassing children, adults, paid employees, volunteers, formal and informal spaces and compulsory and voluntary participation, there are many issues to be considered when thinking about the place, role, understandings and experiences of sexuality within education. The second-wave feminist project of ‘personalising the political’ has been furthered by poststructuralist feminist and queer theorists who view gender not as something one is, i.e. masculine or feminine, but see it rather as something one is made or learns to be through a range of available practices and dominant ways of thinking. The discursive practices therefore help not only to shape how we think about the gendered social world but also contribute to the ways in which we think about our own identities. It can be argued that this process of becoming gendered begins at birth where girls are dressed in pink and boys blue and continues into childhood and adolescence through play, language use and behaviours and are rehearsed within both private and public social spaces.
These practices actively connect gender to sexuality and it is through our gendered bodies and the way that they perform that, it can be argued, we become socially validated. In other words the discursive practices such as gendered play (e.g. kiss chase), language (e.g. “boys don’t cry”) and behaviour (e.g. masculinity is only appropriate for males) act to construct a particular type of male and female that is dualistic, hegemonic and heterosexual. The intertwined identity categories of gender and sexuality are, within this paradigm, positioned as being fixed, unchangeable and set at a particular life-stage – usually understood to be adolescence. Non-heterosexualities are therefore largely understood to be ‘other’. Queer theorists have labelled this way of understanding the social world heteronormativity.
The picture above shows the cover of a book for primary school age children that depicts gay parenting amongst penguins. It is vital that sexuality education in schools address young people’s engagements with their own sexuality, as well as challenging homophobia and sexual harassment in schools.
Useful Links
LGBT Rights: Amnesty International Resources
Department for Schools, Children & Families (2008) Safe to Learn: UK Government resources on embedding anti-bullying work in primary schools.
Ollis, D., Walsh, J. T., Mitchell, A. E., Hillier, L. and Watson, J. (2001). Safety in Our Schools: Strategies for Responding to Homophobia: Australian-based research, booklet for schools.
The Albert Kennedy Trust: providing support for homeless LGBT young people.
Courage Campaign: California-based campaign group.
Del LaGrace Volcano: a gender variant artist who explores gender identity within his work.
Education Action Challenging Homophobia: UK based organisation that provides consultancy and training.
Australian-based support materials to assist teachers and school staff in designing and developing a school’s sexuality education program.
Gay Straight Alliance Network: providing information on how to set up a gay/straight alliance within your school.
Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby: Australian-based campaign group.
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation: US based campaign group.
May 17th is IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia, find out how to promote IDAHO in your context here.
It Gets Better Project: US-based project set up in response to teen suicides precipitated by homophobic bullying.
LGBTI Health Alliance: Australian-based campaign group.
February is LGBT History Month, this website provides resources and assembly ideas.
No Outsiders: Researching sexualities equality education in primary schools.
Press for Change: UK based campaign group for transgender people.
Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL), a curriculum resource to help primary schools develop children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills. It includes assemblies and follow-up ideas for work in class.
Stonewall: UK campaigning group’s education resources.
Hey Hetero: Australia and NZ-based public art project run by Deborah Kelly and Tina Fiveash
Further Reading
Berlant, L. & Warner, M. (1998) Sex in Public. Critical Inquiry, 24 ( 2): 547-566.
Bornstein, K. (1994) Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women & the Rest of Us. New York, Routledge.
Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble. London, Routledge.
DePalma, R. and Atkinson, E. (2008) Invisible Boundaries: Addressing Sexualities Equality in Children’s Worlds. Stoke-on-Trent, Trentham.
Epstein, D. and Johnson, R. (1998) Schooling sexualities. Buckingham, Open University Press.
Kehily, M. J. (2002) Sexuality, gender and schooling: shifting agendas in social learning. London, Routledge Falmer.
Martino, W. and Pallotta-Chiarolli, M. (2005) Being Normal is the Only Way to Be: Adolescent perspectives on gender & school. Sydney, University of New South Wales Press.
Paechter, C. (2007) Being Boys, Being Girls: Learning masculinities and femininities. Maidenhead, McGraw-Hill.
Renold, E. (2005) Girls, Boys & Junior Sexualities: Exploring children’s gender & sexual relations in the primary school. London & New York, Routledge.
Rich, A. (1984). Compulsory Heterosexuality & Lesbian Existence. London, Onlywomen Press.
Steinberg, D. L., Epstein, D. and Johnson, R. (Eds) (1997) Border patrols: Policing the boundaries of heterosexuality. London, Cassell.
Page author: Emily Gray
