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Non-Normative Gender and Sexual Identities in Schools

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Non-Normative Gender and Sexual Identities in Schools NNoonn--NNoorrmmaattiivvee GGeennddeerr aanndd SSeexxuuaall IIddeennttiittiieess iinn SScchhoooollss:: An Exploration of the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (and (Transgender) Individuals in British Schools Amy MacMillan September 2008 Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the requirement of the MA Gender Sexuality and Queer Theory NNoonn--NNoorrmmaattiivvee GGeennddeerr aanndd SSeexxuuaall IIddeennttiittiieess iinn SScchhoooollss:: An Exploration of the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (and Transgender1) Individuals in British Schools 1 This research set out to include analyses of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals within school environments and all calls for participants indicated this. In actuality none of my respondents identified as transgender. However, I decided not to exclude transgender from the title, as I do address transphobia throughout the literature review and where relevant in the discussion. Contents Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv Abstract 1 Introduction 2 1. Literature Review Sexuality, Gender and Young People: An Introduction to the inescapability of femininities, masculinities and heteronormativity 4 Schools, Queerphobia and Heteronormativity: Where have we come from, where are we going? 8 Addressing Queerphobia and Heteronormativity in Schools: Policies and Legislation 16 2. Methodology Research Context 28 Methods, Ethics and Research Question 29 Epistemological Concerns and Theoretical Framework 37 3. Discussion 41 Queerphobia, Heteronormativity and Schools: The Reality for LGBT young people 41 Teachers, Queerphobia and Heteronormativity: A Complex Relationship 50 4. Conclusion 63 References 66 Appendices 83 Dedication This research is dedicated to the memory of Paul Patrick who died aged 57 on 22nd May 2008 after a long battle with a chronic lung condition. Paul came out in 1969 only 2 years after homosexuality was legalised. He was the first openly gay teacher not to lose his job. He dedicated his life to both teaching and fighting for the rights of LGBT people in education. He co-founded The Gay Teachers Group in 1974 which went on to become Schools Out in 1981, which he Co-Chaired from 2002 until his death, and he was part of the driving force behind LGBT History Month. I had the pleasure to meet Paul a few months before his death and like many others I was overwhelmed by his passion and commitment to LGBT equality in education, even during such ill health. Paul demanded those with the power listened and his tireless efforts went a long way to changing both policies and attitudes. We continue to be inspired by you Paul, by your passion, by your commitment and by your wonderful persona ~ you will be forever missed. Acknowledgements The completion of this project and my MA would not have been possible without a number of people…. I would like to extend thanks to… Sarah Whitelaw and Robert Vanderbeck for your advice in the early stages, upon which my research developed; Sally and Shirley for supporting and advising me throughout and allowing me such flexibility with my work, I would not have made it without you both; Sally Carr for organising the young people in my focus group; all my research participants; Samantha, Silver and the young people at LGYM, and particularly Chris Gibbons and Sue Sanders who as well as participating in my research also gave invaluable, expertise and advice; Jamie, for your constant support and advice, for proofreading tens of thousands of words and for keeping my head above water when I was sinking; Sheila and Liz simply for listening and understanding when I didn’t even understand myself; Dario and Fiona for contributing to a fantastic working environment over the last couple of months and helping me find the words on many occasions; Gianna, for also being part of that environment and particularly for proofing and adding your expertise to my work, thank you, you are a star; Rita, for your ever-present support and understanding, I feel privileged to have found you, we have helped each other through the year and made each other proud; Geoff, for your ongoing insights, advice, ideas, technical support, invigorating conversation and invaluable friendship, I am going to miss you; Nic, my Saturday night msn buddy, you stood by my side and held my hand through my first degree and you’ve held my hand from a far through this one, I would not be here today without you, I love you hun; ‘Hotel Stacy and Pete’, for providing me with a bed, great research food and of course King Barnaby Bob and Stack, your daily Facebook motivational words often kept me going; Alex, Carol and Vix, what can I say, I love you; and Nomi, for simply being you, there are no words! Special Thanks to… Ruth ~ for your ongoing support and advice, without which submission of this project and completion of my MA would not have been possible. You have gone above and beyond to help keep me going when often it looked as though I may not be able to continue. You have shown me how to think outside the box and to question the normative - you have opened my eyes to numerous possibilities and directions and inspired me to go on in more ways than ways than you can know, thank you. Mum, Laura and Grandad ~ this past 18 months have been the hardest of our lives, but amongst the pain their has been constant courage and love. We have shown that there is success and hope and together we are making it through and making Nanny proud, this is for her and for you, I love you always. And finally, Kiri ~ for your ever present love and support, for listening daily to, and advising me on, every up and down of this project and of my life, for helping me through the darkest times and most of all for making me smile, I love you. Abstract This paper interrogates the current epidemic of homo/bi/transphobia (what I term queerphobia) in British schools and the effect of this on non-normative sexual and gender identity development. Attempts to address queerphobic bullying within schools are investigated and I suggest reasons why successful strategies are not being universally employed. I explore the effects of queerphobic bullying in schools on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teachers, and on young LGBT people. Furthermore, I ask how the heteronormative environments of schools are affecting LGBT teachers and are contributing towards identity negotiation for LGBT young people. I conclude that the current situation for LGBT people in education is extremely problematic and that in order for progress to be made in schools, we need to challenge queerphobia and heteronormative in multiple ways, from multiple platforms across the whole of society. Introduction Bullying in schools on the grounds of one’s sexual and/or gender orientation is nothing new. However, a significant amount of work still needs to be done in the UK to support LGBT pupils and staff in education. Research on the implementation of policies and the effect of queerphobia2 in schools is minimal. Furthermore, it is perhaps the case that rather than looking at overt discrimination of LGBT people we need closer focus on addressing heteronormativity, as queerphobia could in fact be a result of this underlying social relation. I use the term ‘heteronormativity’, first used by Warner (1991), throughout this work to signify everyday practices of society, which are implicitly heterosexual, marginalizing LGBT people. Within schools and throughout society, heterosexuality appears as the default position of social relations. This imbues compulsory heterosexuality (Rich 1980), whereby heterosexuality takes precedence as the only legitimate relationship type. Heteronormativity, and thus compulsory heterosexuality, are the outcomes of institutional attitudes to sexuality and gender (see Foucault, 1990) and the school, which is the primary concern of this paper, is one of the first of those institutions we encounter.3 Therefore, experiences at school may influence us for the rest of our lives, perhaps contributing to queerphobic attitudes. 2 In this work I use ‘queerphobia’ to encompass homo, bi, and transphobia or any combination thereof. The lack of focus in current policy on transphobic bullying, means that whilst I refer to homo, bi and transphobic bullying, under the term queerphobia, when trans and/or bi issues are neglected, it is because the research I refer to has not acknowledged these issues as separate. Where the term homophobia is used rather than queerphobia it is because I am referring to homophobia only. Note however, that the meaning of 'queer' itself is highly contested and that by using it in my work as an umbrella term to encompass LGBT, I am restricting ‘queer’ to particular identities (See Jagose, 1996; Sullivan, 2003; Whaley, 2008). I recognise that this is not ideal and agree with Whaley (2008) that where possible queer should not be restricted in this way. However, for the purpose of this work I decided that 'queer' would mean lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. 3 The hospital and family are perhaps the first instances where the institutionalization of sexuality and gender occur (Warner, 1993) and thus queerphobic development could begin here. My research interrogates how schools are approaching queerphobia and addressing heteronormativity and the success of policies and guidance in addressing these issues. I speak to young people who identify, or who are beginning to identify, as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) about their experiences at school and to a lesser extent I look at LGBT identified or perceived teachers, how the school environment affects them and how all teachers contribute to the well-being of LGBT pupils. I show that there continues to be little opportunity for LGBT teachers to be openly visible and that there are major barriers for LGBT pupils to negotiate their identities. Furthermore, I highlight some of the devastating effects that queerphobia and heteronormativity can have on LGBT young people and teachers.
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