Curriculum, Cultures, and (Homo)Sexualities Series – serie

In recent years, researchers have considerably expanded our understanding of the experiences of students of color and of students who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (ie. Queer). They have provided us with rich resources for addressing racism and heterosexism; however, few have examined the unique experiences of students who are both queer and of color, and few have examined the heterosexist or white-centered nature of anti-racist or anti-heterosexist education (respectively). What of the students and educators who live and teach at the intersection of race and sexuality? By combining autobiographical accounts with qualitative and quantitative research on queer students of different racial backgrounds, these essays not only trouble the ways we think about the intersections of race and sexuality, they also offer theoretical insights and educational strategies to educators committed to bringing about change.

In recent years, researchers have considerably expanded our understanding of the experiences of students of color and of students who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (ie. Queer). They have provided us with rich resources for addressing racism and heterosexism; however, few have examined the unique experiences of students who are both queer and of color, and few have examined the heterosexist or white-centered nature of anti-racist or anti-heterosexist education (respectively). What of the students and educators who live and teach at the intersection of race and sexuality? By combining autobiographical accounts with qualitative and quantitative research on queer students of different racial backgrounds, these essays not only trouble the ways we think about the intersections of race and sexuality, they also offer theoretical insights and educational strategies to educators committed to bringing about change.

The first book of its kind internationally, Border Sexualities, Border Families in Schools explores the experiences of bisexual students, mixed sexual orientation families, and polyamorous families in schools. For the first time, a book foregrounds the voices and experiences of these students and families who are "falling into the gaps" or on the borders of a school's gay/straight divide in anti-homophobia policies and programs, and schools recognizing families as meaning either heterosexual couples, or, increasingly, homosexual couples. Drawing from interviews and online research with students, parents, and teachers, as well as providing a comprehensive overview and analysis of international educational and health research, and media/popular cultural texts, this book addresses the following:· what are the problematic and/or empowering experiences and strategies of bisexual students, multisexual and polyamorous families in educational systems ?· what could schools be doing to promote healthy sexual, emotional and social relationships for bisexual students and multisexual/polyamorous families in school communities?· what recommendations/implementations do bisexual students and multisexual/polyamorous families suggest in regard to school curriculum, school policies, and student welfare in order to acknowledge and support family diversity in school communities?In particular, the research findings which are reported in this book show that "border sexualities" and "border families" use three types of strategies:· passing or normalization and assimilation in school settings;· bordering or negotiation and navigation between the private world of home and public world of school; and· polluting or non-compliance and resistance, thereby outing their sexualities and families within the school world.Within a social deconstructionist, multicultural, post-colonial, feminist, queer theoretical framework, this book spans health, education, sociology, psychology, gender, family, sexuality and cultural studies.

The first book of its kind internationally, Border Sexualities, Border Families in Schools explores the experiences of bisexual students, mixed sexual orientation families, and polyamorous families in schools. For the first time, a book foregrounds the voices and experiences of these students and families who are "falling into the gaps" or on the borders of a school's gay/straight divide in anti-homophobia policies and programs, and schools recognizing families as meaning either heterosexual couples, or, increasingly, homosexual couples. Drawing from interviews and online research with students, parents, and teachers, as well as providing a comprehensive overview and analysis of international educational and health research, and media/popular cultural texts, this book addresses the following:· what are the problematic and/or empowering experiences and strategies of bisexual students, multisexual and polyamorous families in educational systems ?· what could schools be doing to promote healthy sexual, emotional and social relationships for bisexual students and multisexual/polyamorous families in school communities?· what recommendations/implementations do bisexual students and multisexual/polyamorous families suggest in regard to school curriculum, school policies, and student welfare in order to acknowledge and support family diversity in school communities?In particular, the research findings which are reported in this book show that "border sexualities" and "border families" use three types of strategies:· passing or normalization and assimilation in school settings;· bordering or negotiation and navigation between the private world of home and public world of school; and· polluting or non-compliance and resistance, thereby outing their sexualities and families within the school world.Within a social deconstructionist, multicultural, post-colonial, feminist, queer theoretical framework, this book spans health, education, sociology, psychology, gender, family, sexuality and cultural studies.

This book argues that issues of sexual diversity are inextricably interwoven into the basic concerns of pre-service teacher education. How do we make our students aware of assumptions regarding masculinity, femininity, and sexuality that arise from what is presented, represented, or omitted from curricula and classroom practice? What do we say about homophobia and heterosexism as we anticipate the administrative hierarchies, school cultures, parent and community politics they will encounter as teachers? What special challenges might face a teacher (straight or gay) who discusses sexual orientation in a high school classroom, or responds to a homophobic remark in the hallway or the cafeteria? How should we prepare a teacher for a parent conference with two moms or two dads? The essays in this volume range from an analysis of gay stereotypes in teacher education textbooks, to a discussion of queer multiculturalism, to personal accounts by lesbian and gay teacher educators and heterosexual allies who are challenging homophobia and heterosexism in their own classrooms and programs. All agree that education for sexual diversity is as important as education about all other forms of difference, and that future teachers need to know how to create safe spaces for lesbian and gay students, along with the children of gay families who are increasingly a part of the classroom landscape.

Beyond Diversity Day is a handbook for teachers, counselors, administrators, policy makers, parents, and students who want to understand and affirm sexuality differences; promote and protect the well-being of all students; and reduce bigotry, self-hatred, and violence. In question-and-answer format, Arthur Lipkin offers advice on how to nurture positive relationships among glbt youth, their families, and the schools; welcome glbt families in the school community; support glbt educators; and incorporate sound and appropriate glbt-related curricula across disciplines. Written by a veteran high school and university teacher and staff developer, Beyond Diversity Day weaves sound scholarship with vivid real-world examples from classrooms and the media. It offers a compelling blueprint for working with diverse students and for improving schools.

Beyond Diversity Day is a handbook for teachers, counselors, administrators, policy makers, parents, and students who want to understand and affirm sexuality differences; promote and protect the well-being of all students; and reduce bigotry, self-hatred, and violence. In question-and-answer format, Arthur Lipkin offers advice on how to nurture positive relationships among glbt youth, their families, and the schools; welcome glbt families in the school community; support glbt educators; and incorporate sound and appropriate glbt-related curricula across disciplines. Written by a veteran high school and university teacher and staff developer, Beyond Diversity Day weaves sound scholarship with vivid real-world examples from classrooms and the media. It offers a compelling blueprint for working with diverse students and for improving schools.

This book helps the reader to understand and mediate the debates that arise when gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, intersex, and queer/questioning (GLBTIQ) students and their families ask for equal treatment from the schools and are opposed by conservative parents. Sexual Orientation and School Policy is a case study of one school districts' attempt to adopt and implement policies that include sexual orientation. This book describes the work of the Safe Schools Coalition who advocate and educate for equal rights for GLBTIQ students. Concerned Citizens, a group of conservative parents, opposed the inclusion of sexual orientation in the policies. The author highlights the factors that either facilitated or impeded the implementation of the policies as well as the strategies employed by the Safe Schools Coalition in educating opponents.

Sexuality remains a hotly debated subject, nowhere more so than in education. This perceptive and balanced book shows that discussions of sexuality and schooling can be simultaneously polarizing and democratizing. Disputing the Subject of Sex examines controversies over sex, AIDS, and gay-inclusive multicultural education, which offer especially fruitful opportunities to explore the claims of various identities, the social aims of public schools, and the relation between schools and the publics they serve. These controversies help to show the kind of confused tumble of discourses, seemingly nonsensical policy decisions, and student resistances that are born of arguments over sexuality and community membership. In part, disputes over sexuality are driven by conservative and anti-pluralist agendas that help communities draw strong lines around themselves in an effort to stave off what they perceive as threatening shifts in gender and sexual identity. However, these disputes are also democratizing, allowing a variety of constituents to argue their case in the public sphere. Rather than choosing between one of these two positions, this book uses case studies, interviews with queer youth, and analysis of curricular texts to help readers understand how power dynamics play out in educational controversies and how they can guide us to new ideas about students' abilities to learn and relate ethically to one another about the subject of sex.

A Radical Rethinking of Sexuality and Schooling: Status Quo or Status Queer? offers a startling and original critique of unexamined assumptions and liberal notions about sexuality and education in the United States. Professor and long-time community activist Eric Rofes argues that liberal approaches to gay issues and public schooling are inherently doomed to fail and that a radical approach is needed that addresses core issues of power in education in a meaningful way. Tackling issues ranging from anti-gay harassment in school to children's literature on gay themes, gender performances of teachers to HIV education, graduate school programs in education to gay men's sexual cultures, Rofes presents a compelling argument for the creation of a second generation of activism focused on queers, schools, and education, one that truly empowers young people and educators and one that has the potential to truly transform power relations in our nation.

Responding to wide-spread abuse of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning persons (LGBTQs) in education, Rethinking Sexual Identity in Education examines the heterosexism inherent in both educational theory and practice, conceptualizing as mis-educative compulsory heterosexuality's stigmatization of "out" LGBTQs as outsiders. Reflecting upon the Outsiders' Society Virginia Woolf envisioned in Three Guineas (1938) for daughters of educated men, this work re-names and re-conceives as Out-Siders those people who "side" with the "out" in order to mitigate compulsory heterosexuality's mis-educative effects. Examining how Out-Siders already bring theory and action to bear on sexual identity, Birden names and explicates six praxes used to educate about sexual identity. These Praxes in re Sexual Identity range from ignoring or denigrating non-heterosexuality to "queering discourse" by de-centering normative gender roles.The author utilizes autobiographical and qualitative-research narratives of LGBTQs' experiences in schooling, higher education, and community education to challenge the theoretical and practical weaknesses of these Praxes in re Sexual Identity. Finding each to be lacking to test the practicality of each praxis. Finding each to be lacking, Birden constructs an Out-Siders' Praxis. The significance of this proposed Out-Siders' Praxis lies in its educative resistance against cynicism and powerlessness that silence oppressed LGBTQ voices and in its theoretical soundness as a guide for developing curricula that Out-Siders can teach and learn in order to transform heterosexist practices and environments. Birden's Out-Siders' Praxis affirms ethical values of liberty, experimentation, and discourse across difference, while advocating that Out-Siders invent and intervene with the attitude of artists.

Queering Elementary Education is not about teaching kids to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or straight. It’s not part of a sinister stratagem in the “gay agenda.” Instead, these provocative and thoughtful essays advocate the creation of classrooms that challenge categorical thinking, promote interpersonal intelligence, and foster critical consciousness.Queer elementary classrooms are those where parents and educators care enough about their children to trust the human capacity for understanding and their educative abilities to foster insight into the human condition. Those who teach queerly refuse to participate in the great sexual sorting machine called schooling where diminutive GI Joes and Barbies become star quarterbacks and prom queens, while the Linuses and Tinky Winkies become wallflowers or human doormats.Queeering education means bracketing our simplest classroom activities in which we routinely equate sexual identities with sexual acts, privilege the heterosexual condition, and presume sexual destinies. Queer teachers are those who develop curriculum and pedagogy that afford every child dignity rooted in self-worth and esteem for others. In short, queering education happens when we look at schooling upside down and view childhood from the inside out. This groundbreaking volume demands we explore taken-for-granted assumptions about diversity, identities, childhood, and prejudice.