Music to Our Ears: Using a Queer Folk Song Pedagogy to do Gender and Sexuality Education by Katharine A. Cherry-Reid A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Katharine A. Cherry-Reid 2020 Music to Our Ears: Using a Queer Folk Song Pedagogy to do Gender and Sexuality Education Katharine A. Cherry-Reid Doctor of Philosophy Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning University of Toronto 2020 Abstract This study is situated in current social-political conversations in Canada about how to do gender and sexuality education, and what content should and should not be included in Ontario’s Health and Physical Education curriculum. This research documents a 2 and a ½ month study in which a queer folk song pedagogy was used to conduct gender and sexuality education with 13 students, ages 16-20 years old, in an alternative secondary school classroom in Ontario. Using a practitioner research methodology, the students, the classroom teacher, and the researcher listened to a set of queer folk songs previously composed from interviews with LGBTQ2S+ families and queerspawn; wrote journal reflection responses to each song; and then participated in sustained, engaged dialogue with one another about a wide range of subject matter related to gender and sexuality. Analysis focused on three main themes. The first key theme was that LGBTQ2S+ individuals and queerspawn are often not expected in certain spaces and have to explain their identities, bodies, and relationships to others. The second key theme was that LGBTQ2S+ individuals often begin making sense of and orient toward their own queer identities in relation to queer and trans others they encounter. The third key theme was that LGBTQ2S+ individuals also make sense of themselves and navigate their own identities in relation to various ii discourses about gender, sexuality, bodies, and relationships, whether this discourse is positive or harmful. Overarching conclusions from this study include the following: a queer folk song pedagogy opens up generative dialogic spaces creating an effective learning environment; students seek and construct much of the knowledge they have related to gender and sexuality outside of schools; queer teachers make a difference in delivering queer pedagogy; and queer curriculum and pedagogy can help orient LGBTQ2S+ students and queerspawn in schools. This research makes a case for listening as an important pedagogical strategy in classrooms, and a queer folk song pedagogy as an example of queer caring that has the potential to move students toward alternate possibilities for learning, relating, and living. iii Acknowledgments To my supervisor, Dr. Tara Goldstein: your skill at recognizing and building on students’ strengths, and your ability to support students successfully through graduate school is unmatched. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and work with and alongside you; to have been a part of your important and innovative research; and in general, to have had the pleasure to get to know you. You provided me with creative research opportunities that I could not have imagined when I first arrived at OISE. Having you as my supervisor made all the difference for me, Tara. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for guiding me through this degree: I would not be here if not for you. To my other committee members: Dr. Rob Simon and Dr. Leslie Stewart Rose: I am grateful to have been able to draw from your wealth of knowledge and expertise, and I felt buoyed by your support throughout this process. Rob, I so appreciate your kind, enthusiastic, and down-to-earth nature. You make time for your students and you care about them deeply: I experienced this from you every time we met. Leslie, I so appreciate your enthusiasm for my project and your expertise in the field of music and music education that deeply enhanced this work. Between you both and Tara, I have had the dream committee! To the students who participated in this study—Angel, Archie, Buttercup, Daminoes, Gaiman, Jae, Kay Miami, Mom, Prince, Princess, Six, Unicorn— you are at the heart of this work. Your contributions to this research, to my thinking, and to my practice as an artist and educator have made an indelible impact on me. The moments of laughter, tears, difficulty, and insightfulness we shared during our time together were unlike any other classroom experience. I am grateful to each of you for the unique perspectives you brought to this work; you make me strive to be better at what I do and this research would not have been what it was without you. To Daniel: working with you on this research was an incredible gift. You came to mind immediately when I first imagined this project. I learned so much from you: your deeply caring approach with your students, your consummate skills in pedagogy, your passion for social justice, your sense of humour, and your grace. Thank you for welcoming me into your classroom and for engaging so deeply in this research. iv To the LGBTQ Families Speak Out team at OISE—Austen Koecher, Pam Baer, Jenny Salisbury, benjamin lee hicks, Edil Ga’al, Yasmin Owis, Ty Walkland, Braden Kenny—your work and presence has had a profound impact on me as an artist, educator, and human being. This research, my creative practice, and my thinking has been made better by being able to engage with each of you over the past 4 years. I am grateful to have had the privilege to work and create with and alongside each of you. To the numerous grad student friends who sustained me in different ways throughout this work: Franco Saccucci, Doug Friesen, Sherry Bie, Nancy Cardwell, Gus Moura, Lindsay Cavanaugh, Jake DesRoches, Leanne Letourneau, Rachel Rhoades, Ben Gallagher, j wallace skelton, Adam Davies. I am grateful for the different ways you have influenced my academic work, and me. I am changed by knowing each of you. To Bronwyn Parks of Feisty Creative, art director and graphic designer extraordinaire: thank you for sticking with me all these years and for making The Queer Across Canada Resource Kit look amazing. It has been a pleasure and joy to be able to work with you over the years. To Barb Steden, Joss DeRosa, Raynefyre Grace, JT Beck, Michelle Rosenberg, Claire Robson, and the late Joy Butler—each of you cheered me on from the sidelines. My relationship and connection with each of you is vital to how I think, how I create, how I work, how I play, and how I live this life. I cherish each of you deeply. To my family: I am grateful for each of you and for your profound and loving influence in my life. In particular, to my mother Nancy, my stepfather Ralph, and my Uncle Hugh: your unwavering support, enthusiasm, and love was critical in seeing me through my doctoral studies. Thank you for all of the ways you support what I do and who I am. To my partner, Lori Herteis: thank you for being present with me through this journey; I deeply value your unremitting support. You are a steady, kind, gentle, and thoughtful human being, and you have brought great joy, calm, and clarity to my life. I revel in our shared history, and our mutual love for music, the outdoors, and for being better educators. I carry you in my heart and v in this work. Finally, to the people who listen to my music and attend my performances: your support and interest in what I do has meant the world to me. I endeavor to improve my practice for you and because of you. Without you, I would not have dreamed of being here. This research took place on the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation; the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Attawandaron of the Anishnaabek Peoples; and the Ojibway First Nation. All of these lands are covered by the Upper Canada Treaties. As a White settler, I am aware of how I came to be born on this land, and I stand in debt to Indigenous people across Turtle Island. How my ancestors came to be here was not done in good faith and it was done violently, and because of this terrible history of which I am a part, I also stand in solidarity with Indigenous People in relation to activism involving land and land claims. I am grateful to be able to work, play, create, love, and live on this land. vi Dedication This research is dedicated to all of the LGBTQ2S+ families I interviewed for the Queer Across Canada album many years ago. Thank-you for welcoming me into your lives and sharing your incredible stories with me. This research is also dedicated to all of the folks who gave me insightful feedback on earlier versions of The Queer Across Canada Education Kit. In particular, I would like to extend deep gratitude to an extraordinary teacher, Valdine Ciwko. Thank you, Valdine, for your precious time, energy, and creativity, and for believing that these songs would be pedagogically useful in classrooms. vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................