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And the Celebration of Queer Youth at One US “Misfits” and the Celebration of Queer Youth at one U.S. High School: Implications for Students, Educators, and Communities Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Nathan N. Taylor, M.A., M.Ed. College of Education and Human Ecology The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Binaya Subedi, Advisor Dr. Cynthia Tyson Dr. Mollie Blackburn ii Copyright by Nathan Neil Taylor 2012 iii Abstract This dissertation produces a reading of one U.S. high school’s approach to create an educational environment for its students that is inclusive and free of domination. This qualitative study, supported by queer theory and intersectionality, explores the pedagogical practices and school policies that the school uses to inform its model of inclusion. The study expands on the projects of queer theory and intersectionality by focusing on homonormativity, an appendage of heteronormativity, and the complication of identity categories and their usefulness in an educational setting. Specifically, I sought to investigate how the school’s model of inclusion promotes an inclusive, safe space for its students. How the school’s strategies of policing, resistance, and queering occur within this model of inclusion. And, how this model of inclusion acquiesce to and contests existing systems of oppression. The research occurred in a small charter school located in an urban, Midwestern city. My research suggests that the high school adopted policies and practices that build on the students’ identities and challenges the normative and material gaze of the larger society. The school achieves this by utilizing such strategies as policing, resistance, and queering in non-traditional ways. These strategies appear in such practices and policies ii as an enumerated no victimization policy, curricula inclusion, the promotion of self- expression, an “ethic of caring”, a narrative of social justice, and a critical worldview among others. While I have chosen to foreground LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, & queer) identities in this study, the school’s model of inclusion articulated in this study is translatable to groups not highlighted in this study. iii Dedication Dedicated to my mother and father for their unconditional love and support iv Acknowledgements An important note of thanks to my advisor Dr. Binaya Subedi, whose guidance and interests in all things theoretical, has opened me to seeing the world in a new, interesting, and complicated ways. Thank you. Dr. Cynthia Tyson thank you for your work on social justice and continuing to fight for the visibility of all those rendered invisible through inequitable practices and processes in our society. Dr. Mollie Blackburn, I value the insights you have given to me through your work in sexuality studies and education. I hope to carry that work with me in my future endeavors. To my family and friends who have consistently stayed with me even as I have traveled the globe in search of new horizons. I thank you for the support you have given to me over the years. I could not have had the adventures I had without you. Finally, to my partner Andrew, you have provided me with laughter and love; two qualities I would not want to do without. I am grateful to have you in my life. v Vita 1992…………………………………………………..............................……B.A. Georgia State University Sociology Atlanta, GA USA 2001-2004………………………..……………………...…………………………………..……….. English Teacher EWHA Language School Seoul, South Korea 2008…………………………………………..........................……M.A., M.Ed. Georgia State University Political Science; Social Studies Education Atlanta, GA USA 2008-2012……………………………………………………………Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant Social Studies and Global Education; Multicultural Education The Ohio State University Publications Taylor, N. (2012). Children’s picture books and the homonormative subject. Journal of LGBT Youth. 9 (2), 136-152. Merryield, M., Badang, G., Bragg, C., Kvasov, A., Taylor, N., Waliaula, A., & Yamaguchi, M. (2012).Web resources for teaching about human rights. Social Education, 76(5), 275–277. Major Field: Education Multicultural and Equity Studies in Education Social Studies and Global Education Sexuality Studies vi Table of Contents Dedication ................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................... v Vita ............................................................................................................................................ vi Publications ............................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. xi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................................... 1 The Need for Inclusion ............................................................................................................ 5 Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................................... 8 Homonormativity, heteronormativity, heterosexism, and homophobia ................................ 11 Research Questions............................................................................................................... 15 Methodology and Research Design ....................................................................................... 18 Participants and collecting data. ........................................................................................ 19 Data analyzed.................................................................................................................... 22 Significance of the Study ....................................................................................................... 23 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................................ 26 Terms in the Study ................................................................................................................ 28 Organization of the Remaining Chapters ............................................................................... 32 Endnotes: .............................................................................................................................. 33 Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................................. 34 Overview .............................................................................................................................. 38 Queer Political Attributes ...................................................................................................... 40 Historical Moments ............................................................................................................... 45 Epistemological Underpinnings of Queer Theory ................................................................... 48 Constructionism. ............................................................................................................... 49 vii The subject........................................................................................................................ 50 Power. .............................................................................................................................. 52 Inequality. ......................................................................................................................... 55 Queer Theory ........................................................................................................................ 59 Performativity. .................................................................................................................. 61 Post-queer Intersectionality. ............................................................................................. 63 Resistance. ........................................................................................................................ 66 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 71 Endnotes: .............................................................................................................................. 72 Chapter 3 .................................................................................................................................. 73 Origin Stories ........................................................................................................................ 77 The need for intersectionality............................................................................................ 77 Late second and early third-wave constructions of identity. .............................................. 78 Evolution of intersectionality as a theoretical and political construct. ................................ 80 Intersectionality: A Methodological Framework
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