Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE December 2016 Free to Be: One Charter School's Approach to Supporting Gender and Sexual Minority Students Katherine Sieger Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Sieger, Katherine, "Free to Be: One Charter School's Approach to Supporting Gender and Sexual Minority Students" (2016). Dissertations - ALL. 594. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/594 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT This dissertation presents three and a half years of ethnographic data from an “LGBT” charter school. It explores how gender and sexuality appear within educational spaces and how providing students an anti-heteronormative inclusive education impacts a student’s sense of self. I show how critical pedagogy is deployed as an anti-heteronormative approach to supporting all students. The term anti-heteronormative is used to express an explicit rejection of heterosexism and genderism, acknowledging the complex oppressive factors that develop given the normative expectations of gender and sexuality and the impact such expectations have on all bodies and all students. Findings reveal how the juxtaposition of the inclusive space provided by the school and the heteronormative expectations of the outside world collide in complex ways for students. Bullying and challenges to inclusion persist. Critical pedagogy serves to help students assess the meaning bullying has for themselves and others. Likewise the critical pedagogy of the school supports a flexible curriculum and informal spaces that provide students opportunities to explore how they want heteronormativity to impact their lives. The anti-heteronormative approach of the school leads some students to find new ways of being – literally, new ways to exist – in the world. FREE TO BE: ONE CHARTER SCHOOL’S APPROACH TO SUPPORTING GENDER AND SEXUAL MINORITY STUDENTS by Katherine Suzanne Sieger B.A. Mount Mary University, 2002 M.A. University of Cincinnati, 2007 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Cultural Foundations of Education Syracuse University December 2016 Copyright © Katherine Suzanne Sieger 2016 All rights reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I reflect on the journey that has been these past seven and a half years of my life I think of joy and sorrow, and the countless number of supportive relationships that helped to bring meaning to it all. First and foremost I would like to thank the students, faculty, and staff of Unity High for allowing me into your school and your lives. None of this would be possible without your patience, acceptance, and interest. You have all touched my life in unique ways and I am genuinely grateful. I am indebted to my committee – Dalia Rodriguez, Barbara Applebaum, and Chase Catalano – for ushering me through some challenging times. The last few years of my program were filled with unexpected family strife that threatened to permanently throw me off balance. Your patience and understanding have been immeasurable. Dalia, I am grateful you were willing and able to step in after the unexpected passing of Sari. Her presence in the final results of this project is greatly missed. However, it has been your determination to help me finish strong that allowed me to pull through. Barbara, you have always been like a mother to CFE. Your calm demeanor and nurturing personality was a comfort during stressful times and I thank you. Chase I will feel forever thankful you were able to join this committee. Your constant support allowed me to believe this moment would indeed arrive. Your questions and suggestions served to push my scholarship further than I thought was possible. I honestly believe I never could have done this without you. I am also indebted to Maryann Barker, the amazing woman who is somehow able to hold everything in the department together. Your diligence and organization have never failed me. I no doubt would have submitted something incorrectly if it hadn’t been for you. Thank you! iv There have been numerous friends and colleagues along the way who have never stopped believing in me or in the importance of this work. Donna Strayer, Molly Lancelot, Jennifer Andreshak, Wendy Jackson, book club girls and MATC sociology department thank you for always asking questions and showing interest in my research. Thank you also for showing signs of disappointment when I got off track, and words of encouragement for me to get back to work! To my SU friends and fellow scholars – thank you Heidi Pitzer, Ashley Taylor, Rebecca Johnson, Lauren Shallish, Fernanda Orsati, Melissa Smith, Heather Crate and Julie Silipo. It was certainly crucial I was able to depend on all of you for a little fun and relief, but even more important was how our friendships helped me learn what it means to be a smart, beautiful and brilliant “young” woman. Your continued support has been exceptional. I am also grateful to my UC colleagues from back in the day – especially Federica Gentile, Hara Basta, Samantha Casne, and my advisor Olga Sanmiguel-Valderrama. Each of you has such great strength and it always brought me strength. I grew so much in the years we spent together and believe I never would have had the confidence to pursue my Ph.D. without your support. And I certainly never would have gotten this far without the foundational support of amazing faculty at Mount Mary University. Jennifer Hockenbery and Jim Conlon allowed me to believe in myself, validated the importance of personal experience in scholarship, and pushed me to pursue a graduate degree. Thank you so much for your encouragement. Lastly I would like to thank my family. To my parents I would like to say thank you for nurturing the little feminist you saw in me so long ago (even when it meant trouble). Thank you dad for telling me I could be anything I wanted to be. Mom, thank you for showing me what a feminist looks like – for taking me to work with you, always being around for school trips, proofreading countless school papers, and always pushing me to do my best. Your interest, love, v and encouragement have inspired me to make it this far. I am overjoyed you are both able to see the completion of this project. Finally, to Ray – my best friend and partner – thank you for standing by me. Thank you for the endless supply of delicious home-cooked meals, empathetic hugs, and cheerful songs of inspiration. Thank you for showing interest, reminding me how significant this work is, and expressing your pride in me. I love you. And now it’s time to celebrate! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iv List of Illustrative Materials ix CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 Facing the Problem: How Schools Approach Gender and Sexual Minorities Impact on Gender and Sexual Minority Students Research Questions Looking for a Change: How Unity High is Different Chapter Outline CHAPTER 2: Literature Review 18 Theoretical Framework Identity And Subjectivity: Materializing In The Social World Heteronormativity: Power And Control Over Bodies Embodiment And Intersectionality: The Complex Construction Of Hetero-Gender Precarity Performing Self: Surviving On The Edge Of Precarity Learning To Survive: Gender And Sexuality Performances Adolescent Performative Acts Bodies In School Regulating Student Bodies Differing Regulation: Gender, Sexuality, Race, and Class “I Think They Were Just Teasing”: Bullying in School Regulating the Gender and Sexual Minority Student The Hyper-sexualized Pregnant Student Sissy Boys and Butch Gurrls The “Out” and Proud Student Considering Inclusion: The Power of Critical Pedagogy Conclusion CHAPTER 3: Methodology 87 Why Critical Ethnography A Note On Confidentiality Research Design And Site Participants Data Collection Data Analysis Critical Discourse Analysis Creating Snapshots: Portraiture, Vignettes and Composite Writing Constructing Snapshots Field Relations & Researcher’s Positionality Limitations CHAPTER 4: A Unique School: Foundations for Building Inclusion 132 Anti-heteronormative Principles Informal Educational Space Academic Autonomy: The Value of Giving Students Freedom Openness and Acceptance: Allowing Gender and Sexuality Into School vii Attending to the Whole Student Supporting the Emotional and Physical Needs of Students How Family Struggles Enter the Classroom How Personal Struggles Enter the Classroom Conclusion CHAPTER 5: “They’re Like My Family”: Familial Relationships Sustaining Heteronormativity in an Inclusive School 173 School as Family Parenting: The Significance of Teacher Influence Supporting Each Other: Students Looking Out for One Another Family as a Double-Edged Sword The Innocence of Joking and Teasing: Unintentional Regulations of Sex and Gender Appearance as a Significant Marker of Gender Compliance CHAPTER 6: Bullying: A Challenge to Unity 214 Bullying: Betraying the Family Framing the Acceptability of Bullying “I was only kidding” “They deserved it” Thinking Critically About Bullying Conclusion CHAPTER 7: Negotiating Values and Finding Self 246 Advocating Critical Thinking How Thought Provoking Projects Provide Students an Avenue for Understanding Self Working Through Life’s Challenges Representing Myself How Informal Spaces Get Students Thinking About Identity “I Can’t Believe You Just Said That!”: