City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2009 Resisting Regulation: LGBTQ Teens and Discourses of Sexuality and Gender in High Schools Darla Linville Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1406 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] RESISTING REGULATION: LGBTQ TEENS AND DISCOURSES OF SEXUALITY AND GENDER IN HIGH SCHOOLS by DARLA LINVILLE A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Urban Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2009 This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Urban Education in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Jean Anyon Date Chair of Examining Committee Anthony Picciano Date Executive Officer Carmen Mercado Victoria Pitts David Lee Carlson Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK ii Abstract RESISTING REGULATION: LGBTQ TEENS AND DISCOURSES OF SEXUALITY AND GENDER IN HIGH SCHOOLS by Darla Linville Adviser: Professor Jean Anyon This dissertation documents a participatory action research project designed to understand discourses of sexuality and gender in New York City high schools. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual high school students participated as co-researchers in documenting discourses in popular culture, news reports, youth development reports, and through writing exercises about their own experiences. Together researchers created a modified Q sort (the Queer Q Sort) and surveyed a snowball sample of 21 lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) high school students about the discourses of sexuality and gender they encounter in their schools and the ways that they accept or reject discourses as they form their identities. In order to imagine other frameworks for understanding sexuality and gender beyond the discourses of safety, victimization, disease and raging hormones, researchers wrote counter-narratives of their experiences that challenge discourses that reference mental health, physical health, pedagogy and morality. Youth researchers created spatial representations of the ways discourses work I the spaces of their schools by drawing maps showing how the movement and behaviors of bodies are regulated. My analysis triangulates the findings of the Queer Q Sorts, the maps and the discussions and writings of the youth researchers to show that young people create alternatives to the official discourses of sex education materials and much of the media coverage of young people and sexuality. I show that young people make ethical decisions about becoming sexual and fashioning their bodies in certain ways to reflect the iii gender identity and sexual subjectivity they wish to inhabit. Students advocate for queering schools by creating curriculum and pedagogical practices that allow critical analyses of gender and heteronormativity with the goal of helping their peers understand that binary categories are not givens, but rather social constructions we are often forced to perform. Using Foucault’s theory and methods, the researchers challenged assumptions about teens as victimized, rebellious, promiscuous or innocent in conversations about sexuality and gender in schools. iv Acknowledgements The work presented in this dissertation was created through an incredible effort on the part of eight teens in New York City and myself. Without the help, advice, knowledge and expertise that the teens brought to our work, I would not have been able to understand their experiences in the way I have been allowed to. Thank you so much to Mikey, Sankofa, Ali, Yajaira, Dylan, Sally, Tayla, and Jake (all pseudonyms). You shared so much of your time with me, and worked so hard. I will always be grateful and count you all among my friends. In addition, my committee helped me shape this research and provided me with the tools I needed along the way to figure out just how to do it. Dr. Jean Anyon believed in my questions and encouraged me to pursue the research, Dr. David Lee Carlson taught me (and continues to teach me) to use Foucault in revolutionary ways, Dr. Carmen Mercado helped me to see the connections between my work and other activist scholarship and Dr. Victoria Pitts encouraged me to question myself and my claims. They each taught me so much during my process and nurtured my scholarship. I also need to thank Dr. Michelle Fine, who consulted with me on the method several times during the data gathering and analysis. During the years I pursued the doctorate, I was accompanied by three amazing scholars and colleagues who became friends. Mayida Zaal, Patricia Krueger and Jessica Ruglis, who clarified my writing, complicated my thinking and challenged my assumptions. They are all excellent scholars and people. Too many other Graduate Center colleagues to mention also contributed so much to the ways I think about research and teaching, and listening to the wisdom of young people. You know who you are! Thank you. Thanks to my family for supporting and believing in me, for asking about my work, for tolerating the ever-present laptop for the last five years. And thanks to my partner Robin, who has made sure I keep laughing and going out into the sunshine, who shares her knowledge, and who challenges me to confront my fears. v Table of Contents List of Figures.................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................... 1 Why Study Sexuality and Gender in Schools? ................................................................... 1 The Current National and Local Setting ......................................................................... 7 Anti-gay Bullying and Heterosexism.......................................................................... 7 Pilot Study................................................................................................................. 11 History of Sexuality and Gender in Schools................................................................. 15 Gender and Sexuality Changes: 1850 to 1930.......................................................... 16 Fear of the Homosexual: 1920 to present ................................................................. 20 Sexuality Education .................................................................................................. 24 Sexual and Gender Identity Development .................................................................... 29 Sexual Identity Development Among Teens ............................................................ 30 Contextualizing Adolescent Sexual and Gender Choices......................................... 34 CHAPTER 2 ..................................................................................................................... 38 Methods: Understanding Discourses of Sexuality and Gender in High Schools.............. 38 Participatory Action Research ...................................................................................... 41 Theory of PAR.......................................................................................................... 42 Creating Our PAR: Recruiting the Team.................................................................. 44 Team Members ......................................................................................................... 45 Developing the Team................................................................................................ 52 Writing ...................................................................................................................... 53 Activities................................................................................................................... 54 Reading and Text Analysis ....................................................................................... 57 Critical Decisions/Critical Dilemmas ....................................................................... 59 Method of Analysis of PAR Work............................................................................ 61 Creating Our Survey Instrument................................................................................... 62 Theory of Q methodology......................................................................................... 64 Our Q Methodology.................................................................................................. 65 Method of Analysis of the Queer Q Sorts................................................................. 70 Mapping School Spaces................................................................................................ 73 Theory of Sexuality and Space ................................................................................. 74 Method of Analysis: Reading the Maps.................................................................... 75 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................