The Regulation of Inclusion: An Exploration of School Culture, Pride Narratives, and the Limits of Queer in the National Imaginary by Jillian Stagg A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Social Justice Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Jillian Stagg 2019 The Regulation of Inclusion: An Exploration of School Culture, Pride Narratives, and the Limits of Queer in the National Imaginary Jillian Stagg Master of Arts Social Justice Education University of Toronto 2019 Abstract The following study provides a critical examination of the current landscape of 2SLGBTQ+ (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) inclusion for high school students in several major Canadian provinces. In order to locate particular strengths and limitations within the predominant framework of inclusion, this study uses a comparative analysis to highlight the (dis)connections between institutional narratives of inclusion (i.e., school policies; school climate surveys; political discourse; and mainstream Pride narratives) and individual accounts of inclusion in school (i.e., 2SLGBTQ+ perspectives and experiences). Findings highlight the various ways in which the prevailing framework of inclusion remains heavily influenced by heteronormative, colonial, and ableist standards of belonging, which consequently, continues to exclude 2SLGBTQ+ voices and lived experiences. The included perspectives from 2SLGBTQ+ youth, families, and educators offer unique opportunities to both re-examine and reconceptualize how prevalent notions of ‘inclusion’ and ‘well-being’ are being reproduced, operationalized, and experienced by all students in school. ii Acknowledgments I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to recognize and give thanks to the wonderful, inspiring, and endlessly supportive people in my life. To my ever-growing family, all of whom dreamed my dreams alongside of me, and provided me the inspiration, the courage, and support that I needed, every step of the way. To the person who I have been co-creating with in the tiny apartment that we’ve made a home, my laydee, my love, and my light, Rebecca Rose. Also, to our weird, curious, hyper, beautiful kitten, who always keeps us laughing and always makes us feel whole. To my supervisor, Dr. Gillian Parekh, and co-supervisor, Dr. Vannina Sztainbok, your genuine interest and encouragement is the spark that makes me and this work feel boundless. To the student walkouts; Black Lives Matter Toronto; the incredible, and tremendously formative professors at OISE and Saint Mary’s University, I am so lucky to have shared space and ideas with you. To the youth I have had the privilege to work with, and learn from, at Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE) and the Youth Project in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who continually push for a better world and ways of living in it. Further, to the entrance bursary I received at the beginning of this momentous program, the incredible support of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), and the Keith A. MacLeod Bursary. The following forms of financial support made the constant practice of writing and researching more possible. Ultimately, this study is for the students in school we have lost, and are currently losing, to bullying, discrimination, and systemic exclusion. Student voices, in particular, queer, trans, and two-spirit voices need to be both heard and fundamental to our understandings and efforts in building more equitable, inclusive, and affirming schooling environments. We have so much to learn and unlearn about community, inclusion, acceptance, and leadership from the voices of students living and learning today. iii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv A Note on Language and Land ........................................................................................................v Introduction Queer Encounters and a Sense of One’s Place...................................................... viii Methodology ..................................................................................................................................xv Chapter 1 Contextualizing School Climate and Culture ................................................................1 1.1 Access, Acceptance, and Attitudinal Belonging ...................................................................1 Chapter 2 Situating the Pride Movement in this Study ..................................................................7 2.1 The Pride Effect: Unsettling the Politics, Performances, and Perceptions of Inclusion .......7 2.2 Pride (Dis)Orientations as Incentive for In-School Research .............................................22 Chapter 3 The Dilemma of Queer in School and Society ............................................................33 3.1 Inclusion, Intent, and the Politics of Belonging ..................................................................33 3.2 School Policy and the Limits of Queer in the National Imaginary .....................................45 Chapter 4 Student and School Accounts of Gender and Sexual Diversity ..................................62 4.1 Narrative Preservation in School Climate Surveys: Examining Institutional Accounts of Belonging ..................................................................................................................................62 4.2 First-hand Accounts of School Climate and the 2SLGBTQ+ Experience ..............................76 Summary ........................................................................................................................................93 Findings and Recommendations ....................................................................................................99 Future Directions: Queering Measures of Inclusion ....................................................................106 Developing an Anonymous Survey Tool: Implications for Future Practice................................111 Works Cited .................................................................................................................................113 Appendices: (Appendix A) Anonymous Student Survey Tool....................................................134 iv A Note on Language and Land To begin, I would like to acknowledge the land that I have been able to write, work, and live upon over the past 3 years. I would also like to respectfully recognize the many Indigenous peoples and nations who are immersed in a longstanding fight to be acknowledged and valued on their own lands, and within their own cultural practices and languages. The place of which I am currently writing, known as Tkaronto (Toronto), has been and continues to be cared for by the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Huron- Wendat. It is home to many Indigenous peoples and nations. I would also like to acknowledge the current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. This territory is also subject to the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement to peaceably share and care for the Great Lakes region. As a white settler of Scottish and English heritage, whose ancestors predominantly settled in Newfoundland and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (where the bulk of my family currently resides), I carry with me a sentiment from Solidarity Halifax, an active community group in K’jipuktuk (Halifax) where I moved to Tkaronto from, and where Peace and Friendship Treaties cover the unceded territories of the Mi’kmaq and the Wabanaki Confederacy. The group reflected that: To say that we are on unceded Mi’kmaq territory is a simple affirmation. Yet, it seems for many to affirm a complex and confusing reality. All of us in K’jipuktuk (Halifax) are standing or sitting, reading, talking, living and going about our daily routines on unceded Mi’kmaq territory. [But] What does that mean? What does that mean for whom? And what do we do about it? The following sentiment is something that echoes throughout this study, and continues to move me towards new understandings, responsibilities, actions, and continuing the work of social justice from a place that resists ongoing colonization, which continually seeks to position whiteness as fundamental to conceptions of inclusion, acceptance, equality, and wellness. Therefore, the following study seeks to bring forward various ongoing accounts and lived experiences that illustrate the ways in which our educational systems continue to replicate old v patterns, behaviors, and ideological frameworks that deny Indigenous and two-spirit people recognition, rights, respect, justice, and equitable access to inclusion and belonging. Ultimately, it is crucial that my work, as a settler of this land, upholds this acknowledgment by continuing to show up and call-out colonial celebrations, and hold accountable colonial systems that contribute to the ongoing violence and dispossession experienced by Indigenous peoples, their communities, their knowledges, and their lands. ……… I would also like to note that when speaking to the 2SLGBTQ+ community, I have intentionally chosen to use the language ‘queer, two-spirit, trans,