Course:EDCP333/LGBTQ

Background Knowledge

Definitions

The term, “LGBTQ” refers to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer” people. This term has evolved from the phrases LGB and “Gay Community” in the 1980’s. The term itself is designed to be as inclusive as possible and the addition of “Queer” to the LGBT term specifically is aimed to include those individuals who are unsure or questioning their sexuality. While this term is commonly used within the international community, disagreement exists on the categorical organization of individuals into these categories. The argument persists that this term places individuals in inflexible categories. Overall, it is important to understand that definitions are constantly changing and evolving. (Jen)

History

A Chronology of Advances in LGBT Rights in Canada, and in BC (Sonia)

BCTF Social Justice

Since 1969, there have been many changes in the state of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality rights across Canada. This review provides a brief summary of some legal and legislative developments in Canada, and then a summary of similar developments in British Columbia

Statistics

(Sonia)

National Climate Survey (Sonia)

"The lack of a solid Canadian evidence base has been a major impediment faced by educators and administrators who need to understand the situation of LGBTQ students in order to respond appropriately and to assure their school communities that homophobic and transphobic bullying are neither rare nor harmless, but are major problems that schools need to address"

Every Class in Every School

Current Events

POLICY 5.45 SEXUAL ORIENTATION/GENDER IDENTITY (Lisa)

In May 2009, The Burnaby school district receive a request from support staff to form a group to address homophobic harassment and bullying within the school. It wad developed over a two year period to support the school District’s commitment to provide a safe and caring education environment. As of June 14, 2011 the policy was approved.

Policy:

To ensure that all members of the school community work together in an atmosphere of respect and safety regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, the board of education will adopt appropriate administrative regulations and strategies that promote respect for human rights, support diversity and address discrimination.

Objectives:

A) Support inclusion of all students and employees in all aspects of school life, irrespective of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

B) Improve understanding of the lives of LGBTQ+ people and their positive contributions to society.

C) Define appropriate terms, behaviours and actions to promote greater awareness of, and responsiveness to, the deleterious effects of homophobia, transphobia, anti-gay harassment and exclusion.

D) Provide effective procedures to respond to complaints of homophobic, transphobic and heterosexist behaviours including discrimination, harassment and exclusion.

E) Promote a systemic response through staff and professional development which strives to identify and address educational practices, policies, and procedures that perpetuate homophobia, transphobia and heterosexism..

F) Make resources and support services available and visible for LGBTQ+ students and staff throughout schools.

G) Act collectively to reduce homophobia, transphobia and other systemic barriers that are faced by LGBTQ+ students and staff who are ‘in the closet’ and feel they must hide their true identities.

H) Commit to ongoing, constructive and open dialogue with communities who identify themselves on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity to increase co-operation and collaboration among home, school and the community.

Opposition

There have been some outrage by Parent’s voice, a group of district parents launched numerous protests against Policy 5.45. They argued that the policy is not necessary because the district’s code of conduct already included sexual orientation as a protected right. Furthermore, Parent’s voice claimed that the sexual orientation/gender identity policy was a hidden political agenda which aims were to indoctrinate students.

THE CORRENS (Jen)

Peter and Murray Corren are LGBT-Q activists, whose complaint before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal led to an agreement on behalf of the Ministry of Education that pertained to ways in which those individuals of queer or alternate sexuality can be incorporated into the curriculum as a means of ensuring the most inclusive environment possible can be achieved for these students and teachers. The Corren’s are based in Vancouver and are responsible for crucial additions to the B.C. curriculum.

This process began with Murray Corren’s filing a complaint with the B.C Human Rights Tribunal in 1997, over the lack of materials available in the classroom depicting individuals of alternative sexualities. In addition, he was very involved with the Chamberlain vs. Surrey School Board case in response to the lack of inclusion of reading materials in Elementary School Classrooms that depicted same sex parents. The case was eventually dropped by the Human Rights Tribunal however the agreement was that “Social Justice 12” would be added to the curriculum as a mechanism for educating students on a number of key social issues, with LGBT-Q education being one of the cores.

This settlement continues to propagate controversy due to the fact that B.C. Public Schools are grounded in a secular and non-sectariat foundation. The argument persists in B.C. that these key social issues bring factors such as morals and religion into play creating a difficult tension.

ABBOTSFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 12 (Jen)

A rally took place on December 6, 2008 in response to the Abbotsford School District’s choice to drop Social Justice 12 from the course offerings at W.J. Mouat Secondary. Hundreds of students and members of the community aligned forced to protest this decision. This decision was made as a means to adhere to the advocated desire by a number of parents in the community in addition to being a response to the tensions created through the inclusion of these sensitive issues within the curriculum. Eventually the course was reinstated as a legitimate course offering in 2009 and parental consent is mandatory within this school district.

CALIFORNIA FAIR EDUCATION ACT (SB48) (Sonia)

April 2010

The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act is introduced and passed in California. It calls for instruction to include the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans in the social sciences. This legislation adds LGBT to the existing list of underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups (such as Mexicans, Asians, Africans, Aboriginal, etc.). The bill is to go into effect in 2012. Textbook updates delayed to 2015 due to budgetary considerations. The purpose of the bill is to help ensure students get a fair and accurate picture of the people and events that have shaped society. Studies have also shown there is greater student safety and lower rates of bullying when LGBT content is included in the instruction.

Opposition

The bill is opposed by the state Republican Party and social & religious conservative organizations such as the Capitol Resource Institute. In July 2011, they received approval from the State to circulate petitions for a referendum on the June 2012 ballot that asks voters to overturn SB 48.

What the Opposition said:

rescueyourchild

-SB 48 sexualizes history.

-Gay indoctrination. They are trying to “queer” the schools.

- The main issue opponents raise centers on the fact that California law does not allow parents to remove their children from selected lessons and therefore parents will not be able to prevent their children learning LGBT history when it comes up in the syllabus.

The group had until October 2011 to collect more than 504,000 signatures to qualify the measure for the June 2012 ballot. That was the date for the Primary in California. They were not successful in collecting enough signatures for the issue to be placed on a referendum in June 2012. November 2011 update: Anti-gay groups are continuing to oppose California’s LGBT-inclusive FAIR Education Act. As a previous campaign failed, the new call to action seeks to remove all of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history from the lessons California public schools, per the Act, must cover.

Inclusive School Wide Strategies

Lesson Plans

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans History Month Tool Kit for Schools: Lesson Plans (Jen)

The tool kit contained 8 different lesson plans.

• The first lesson plan examines the feelings of students towards those individuals who identify with the LGBT-Q group. The learning objectives of these plans are to unpack these feelings and to stimulate discussion around the notion of prejudice due to one’s sexual orientation. The activities achieve the learning objectives, however I would be very careful to consider the student make-up of my classroom prior to using this activity, as it requires very personal contributions on behalf of the students in order to be successful.

• The second lesson plan looks at the idea of cultural belonging and the issues of discrimination and displacement. These two emotions are experience quite frequently by LGBT-Q students. The learning objectives are achieved by looking at texts by Langston Hughes and Jackie Kay. Hughes is a homosexual and Kay is a lesbian. Very important messages are contained in their works and this lesson, which is built around analysis of “I Too” (Hughes) and “In My Country” (Kay) allow students to interact with texts that supplement the curriculum. My critique for this lesson would be the addition of music analysis by LGBT artists as a means of expanding on the genre.

• The third lesson deals with the very specific LGBT-Q history. The learning objective would be to articulate the long and complex LGBT-Q through student engagement with a variety of key dates (ex. 1979: the showcasing of the first gay television show and 2001: age of consent for gay men = lowered). I think this activity is useful however the entire lesson is grounded on the construction of these timelines. The critical thinking capacity of the students can no doubt be challenged with the inclusion of a didactic component that stresses the importance of these events to the students in addition to combing the history of gay pride parades and an analysis activity of the Stonewall Inn March in New York.

• The lesson plan dealing with the Holocaust is the strongest in this resource package. The strength can be found in the linkage made in the objectives between discrimination that those individuals who identified as LGBT-Q faced in the Holocaust in addition to other minority groups. This lesson plan is perfectly situated within the level Social Studies teachers should be placing on one’s identification with the LGBT-Q label. In the example of the Holocaust, a broad overview of lethal levels of prejudice, discrimination, and the respective implications can be examined and analyzed through a class discussion on the Holocaust, group brainstorm, and activity dealing with the labels used by the Nazi party to differentiate all the minorities.

• The Resource Guide contains 3 lessons, which I feel could satisfy a very valuable place in a Social Studies Classroom if they were all combined into one comprehensive lesson. The amalgamation would have students participate in a didactic component of the class where they would receive the information about the origins of the Rainbow Flag and the acclaimed Gay artist, Andy Warhol. Following this contextual information the students would delve into a video clip analysis about the ways in which the portrayal of Gay Men have changed in the 20th and 21st centuries. A really unique and useful activity that is based on this “public” portrayal of Gay males could serve as a means of challenging the critical thinking skills of students.

Group Lesson Plan (Sonia)

File:Group Lesson Plan.pdf

The Curriculum, Textbooks and IRPs (Sonia)

The following document looks through each grade level of the BC curriculum and assesses how and if LGBT content and issues are included in the textbooks or IRPs. It also provides suggestions on how to incorporate LGBT content into your curriculum, with some resource suggestions.

File:TextbooksIRPsandtheCurriculum.pdf

Brokeback Mountain Lesson Plan: (Lisa)

Brokeback Mountain Lesson Plan

BrokebackMountain

Brokeback Mountain (2003) is a film depicting a tumultuous relationship between two homosexual cowboys within the American Midwest during the 1960s. This film is controversial for a number of reasons. Firstly, it includes some sexually explicit scenes, which gained attention within the media and public because it was perhaps one of the first main stream movies that broke the stigmas of homosexual relationships. Secondly, it is able to reiterate the trauma and exclusion of the LGBTQ community especially prevalent at the time. This lesson plan is quite simple in that it asks students to watch Brokeback Mountain (or watch clips of it) and answer a set of questions. However, these questions can use some critiquing.

1) Which Character was your favourite in this movie and why?

This question seems to be quite irrelevant and unnecessary in the context of the learning outcomes. It does not allow students to engage in high-level thinking, rather it is purely opinion based. It also opens up room for students to come up with answers that are not conducive, or even answers that are offensive to the LGBTQ community.

3) Do you think this movie realistically depicts what a gay cowboy’s life would be like? Explain why or why not.

This question presumes that students have an extensive background of a cowboy’s life and furthermore, what a gay cowboy’s life would be like. This question is very hard for student’s to answer in that this is perhaps the first time they have been exposed to the American mid-west.

4) What factors influence homophobia in rural communities? How would they be similar to your school community?

This question once again presumes that students will have an understanding of rural communities. If this lesson for example was conducted within the Vancouver school district, many of the students will have little idea of what it is like to live outside of a city, not allowing them to have a level of understanding that is necessary to answer this question. Furthermore, in asking how the factors are similar to the school community inadvertently connects homophobia with the school community. This question should instead be asking whether or not the school community has policies and clubs that counteract homophobia as well as some other strategies.

5)To what degree has life changed for LGBTQ rural youth since 1963 when this movie is set?

This question much like question 3&4 assume that students will understand and furthermore have the necessary background knowledge to understand the LBGTQ rural youth community in the 1960's. It must be understood that the movie does not depict LGBTQ youth, rather grown men, which brings in a completely different set of challenges. Perhaps a more suiting question would be to ask students what they noticed about the lives of the LGBTQ community back in the 1960s judging from the film and compare that to the present day.

6) What needs to change in society before Jack Twist's dream of he and Ennis owning a ranch together would be a non-event in a rural community.

This question is problematic because it does not include a definition of what constitutes a rural community. This can be troublesome for students in that the question does not provide sufficient information. Secondly, it automatically assumes that a homosexual couple owning a ranch together would be eventful within a rural community. The question does not specify whether or not it is in the context of the 1960's or present day, which could garner very different results. Furthermore, it assumes that rural communities are not as accepting towards the LGBTQ community, which can be erroneous depending on where this rural community is located and the individuals that reside there.

Awareness Activities

(Sonia)

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans History Month Tool Kit for Schools

This website is a tool kit that contains a variety of resources that will be of benefit to teachers and schools as a whole in the planning of LGBT-Q awareness activities. This kit contains pertinent information surrounding LGBT-Q terminology, justifications for the inclusion of these awareness activities in the school context, the aims and intentions of these programs, a description of basic human rights, effects of homophobic bullying, health strategies for all students and lastly rationalization for the relevance and essential place of LGBT-Q issues within the school curriculum.

February 23, 2011 Think Pink Day! Day of Pink

This is the International Day against Bullying, Discrimination, Homophobia and Transphobia in schools and communities. It celebrates diversity by encouraging everyone to wear a pink shirt and by organizing activities in their workplaces, organizations, communities and schools. In Vancouver, the VSB and BCTF urge teachers and schools to focus on gender-role stereotyping and gender-based teasing and homophobia, as this was the origin of the movement.

Flashmob Flashmob

Work with your Dance class instructor to do a Flash Mob in a public setting! In honour of International Anti-Bullying Day, two schools came together to create a message about acceptance and challenge others to use social media as a positive tool. Students from Churchill Secondary and David Lloyd George Elementary performed in Oakridge Centre in January 2011.

Day of Silence Day of Silence

On the National Day of Silence hundreds of thousands of students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools. April 2, 2012.

The International Day against Homophobia Homophobia Day

Held on May 17 every year, this is a rallying event offering an opportunity for people to get together and reach out to one another. They also suggest a Week Against Homophobia with suggested activities for every day.

LGBT Pride Month LGBT Pride Month

June is LGBT Pride Month, a time for LGBT people and allies to celebrate their identities as a community. Including LGBT themed/inclusive topics in your classroom helps make it a safer place for all students. *This is a U.S. organization.

Camp Out Campout

Camp Out is a BC based summer camp for queer, trans and allied youth (ages 14 to 21). It is a fun place for youth from all over BC to learn new skills, meet new friends, and engage with arts and media, dance and performance, interactive workshops, and group discussions.

External Resources

Videos

(Lisa)

Brokeback Mountain (Brokeback Mountain Theatrical Trailer)

Brokeback mountain is a 2005 Academy award winning movie directed by Ang Lee. This film follows the lives of two homosexual men, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist living in the American Mid West . Ennis and Jack twist through a period of 20 years come in and out of each others lives entering into a romantic and sexual relationship. The film ends tragically when Ennis learns of Jack’s death, attributed to gang violence. This film will help students not only understand homosexual relationships but also the challenges the LGBTQ community had during the 1960s, to the progression of the current day.

Milk (Milk Theatrical Trailer)

Milk is a 2008 biographical film on the politician, Harvey Milk. Milk was the first openly gay person to be elected into office in California as well as serving as a strong gay rights activist. This film is a great way for students to be exposed to positive LGBTQ role models. Furthermore, this helps to break heteronormativity especially within public and political realm.

Boy's Don't Dry ((Boy's Don't Cry Theatrical Trailer)

BoysDon'tCry

Boys Don’t Cry is a powerful 1999 film about the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender male. Brandon Teena is persistently harassed for being a transgender, where he is subjected to rape and physical abuse and this ultimately leads to his death at the age 21. This film not only exposes students to transgender individuals in a graphic and raw form but also the blatant hatred that the LGBTQ community deal with on a daily basis.

Class Queers (Class Queers)

Class Queers tells the stories of three gay and lesbian kids from Toronto who weave their way in and out of the education system as a result of the harassment they encounter. Adina, Adam and Richard seek refuge in Canada's only high school classroom for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans youth. But a school for queer kids can't shield them from the homophobia that lies just outside their classroom door.

It's Time

It’s time is a commercial sponsored by Getup! an independent movement to build a progressive Australia. This commercial if from the perspective of one half of a gay couple. It follows the couple from the first day they meet until the climax, where there is a marriage proposal. This commercial is a wonderful way to demonstrate that LGBTQ relationships are no different from heterosexual ones, in everyone experiences highs and lows.

In Other Words ("In Other Words")

Name-calling and cruel language hurt, say the teens who speak in this video. Homophobic language is a common verbal put-down among young people, but many adults feel uncomfortable responding. This video is a tool for teachers, counsellors and youth groups to explore the origins of the words, how young people feel about them and how to overcome the hurt they cause. (NFB)

Let's Get Real (Let's Get Real Trailer)

“Let’s Get Real” is a film about the dangers of taunting and discrimination that occurs within schools on a daily basis. Students share their own personal experiences with bullying, being targeted for: sexual orientation, learning disabilities, religious differences, sexual harassment and others. This film is important because it not only provides a varying perspective of the different types of prejudices that occur, but it also allows students to understand the importance of speaking out against attackers.

Anyone and Everyone (Anyone and Everyone Trailer )

"Anyone and Everyone" is a documentary film that connects parents of gay children all across America. Not only does the film have ability to showcase families of different races, social classes, religion etc.. but it also able to highlight the parents’ struggles and desires to accept a child’s sexual orientation. This film is an integral part of the inclusion of the LGBTQ issues within the classroom because it allows students to understand that the LGBTQ youth are not ascribed to a certain social marker.

One of them ("One of Them")

Freedom from bullying, name-calling and violence motivates the high school seniors in this school-based drama. Jamie is shocked when she and her best friend become victims of homophobic name-calling. But she must face up to her own reactions as she realizes that her friend is "one of them" and needs her support. And Jamie's boyfriend must decide if he will support Jamie. Set in the context of human rights and freedom from discrimination, One of Them raises the questions that high school students talk about in school halls and washrooms. With a focus on homophobia and discrimination, not sexual behaviour, the dramatization prompts viewers to examine their own responses and promote a safe school environment for all. .

Social Justice 12 Rally in Abbotsford( Rally)

This video is a first hand account of an individual that participated in the 2008 Social Justice 12 Rally in Abbotsford. This event was in response to the removal of the newly integrated course, Social Justice 12 in the course offerings at W.J. Mouat Secondary in Abbotsford.

Books

(Lisa)

Sugar Rush

Sugar Rush By: Julie Burchill

Sugar Rush is the first novel by Julie Burchill published in 2004. It follows the life of Kim Lewis as she transitions from her once posh high school to her new comprehensive, Ravendone. Kim becomes friends with Maria “Sugar” sweet, the most popular girl at her school. Eventually, Kim begins to fall in love with Sugar, conveying the complicated challenges of teenagehood. This book is important because it provides a frank account of a homosexual relationship between two girls.

Lucky By: Eddie De Oliveria

Lucky is a novel published in 2004 about a bisexual teen named Sam. Sam meets a fellow bisexual student Toby, who is also attracted to both boys and girls. Sam and Toby embark on a complicated friendship that borders ambiguous lines. This novel provides students with effective literary material on students struggling with their questioning sexualities, which can be both challenging and difficult especially during high school.

Eight Seconds By: Jean Farris

Eight Seconds (2002) is a teen novel about John, a teenager attending rodeo camp. He learns quickly that his new rodeo buddy Kit, is gay. In finding out that Kit is gay, Jean has to not only deal with his own internal struggles in accepting kit as a homosexual youth but also the other campers’ reaction. Eight Seconds is not only able to enlighten students on LGBTQ youth, but also it takes a unique perspective in that it allows teenagers to understand and to relate to the difficulties faced by heterosexual students to break out of their own prejudices about the LGBTQ community.

My Heartbeat By: Garret Freymann Weyr

My Heartbeat It discusses the challenges and strains put on families when one of their members is an identified LGBTQ. The novel follows Ellen, a teenage girl who is infatuated with her brother’s best friend James. Until one day, Ellen begins to speculate that James and her brother may actually be the ones in love. This novel is a great resource for secondary students because it provides a wonderful example of a heterosexual individual who is struggling to find acceptance and understanding within the context of the LGTBQ community.

GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens By: Kelly Huegel

GLBTQ is a revolutionary book by Kelly Huegel (2003). This book is an incredible resource for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. It is able to provide critical information as well as advice for struggling youth about coming out, prejudice, getting support, staying safe, making healthy choices and thriving in school. What is so important about this book is that not only is it able to provide support for LGBTQ students but also enlightening heterosexual students on the prejudices and myths perpetuated by the classroom. Furthermore, it is able to bring forth a positive outlook on the future of LGBTQ acceptance within society.

Geography Club By: Brent Hartinger

Geography Club (2003) by Brent Hartinger is a novel that examines teenage outcasts. The book follows a group of teenagers who feel like they do not belong within their school because of their sexual orientation. The students subsequently start a “Geography club,” which is actually a front for an LGBTQ alliance, where students can come to discuss in an open environment. This novel is able to demonstrate how LGBTQ youth are often times so verbally and physically abused within their classrooms that the become too afraid to even attend school.

Boy Meets Boy

Boy Meets Boy By: David Levithan

David Levithan’s novel, “Boy Meets boy” (2003) is set in a gay friendly small town in America. The book follows the lives of a group of teenagers for a few weeks. The central plot involves a homosexual relationship that has begun between the narrator, Paul and the new student, Noah. This novel is able to provide a different perspective to LGBTQ youth in that it takes place in a town that is relatively accepting. This allows students to understand that although there is a lot of negativity concerning the integration of the LGBTQ community within some places, there are also positive cases as well.

The Gender Spectrum (Sonia) File:The Gender Spectrum What Educators Need to Know.pdf

This very comprehensive booklet includes what every educator needs to know about gender. It provides classroom strategies and lesson plans as well as legal obligation of education administrators in British Columbia.

Agencies

(Sonia)

The following includes relevant LGBTQ agencies and community groups where there are available for contact.

File:COMMUNITY GROUPS AND SERVICES.pdf

Peer Reviewed Sources

Lisa Loustenheiser, Why Schools Play Smear the Queer (Lisa)

“Why Schools play “Smear the Queer”” first and foremost argues for an open discussion of LGBTQ issues within the classroom. She suggests some inclusive methods such as: adapting the school curriculum, providing a safe and welcoming school environment and training teachers to properly address the LGBTQ community. Loutezenheiser not only discusses the dangers of homophobia but also equally detrimental is heterosexism, an assumed belief that all members of society are heterosexual unless otherwise told. Loutzenheiser discusses the phenomenon of “piling on,” where it is indicative of different and conflicting external structures (structure and agency) that inhibit students from feeling safe at school. She argues that there is a general lack of inclusion within the school curriculum where teachers and administration are often afraid to explore the LGBTQ culture for fear of losing their jobs. This subsequently lead to the silence that not only the LGTBQ youth endure, but heterosexual students are not given the capabilities to break out of their own prejudices. Loutzenheiser emphasizes the agency of teachers who with the proper tools can make a difference in the classroom by providing a safe environment as well as enlightening all students on LGBTQ issues. This article provides not only some important solutions for incorporating the LGBTQ community within the classroom but it is also able to emphasize the dangers of homophobia and heterosexism, which can be equally detrimental in the educational system.

Lisa Loutzenheiser, The Body and Sexuality in the Curriculum (Lisa)

“The Body and Sexuality in the Curriculum “by Lisa Loutzenheiser is an important article in that addresses the intersectionality of sexism, heteronormativity and the construction of femininities and masculinities. Loutzenheiser argues that heteronormativity is a pervasive and systematic assumption of heterosexuality as the norm. This is dangerous because LGBTQ students are forced to endure silence while negative remarks about sexual orientation are still prevalent within the classroom. Loutzenheiser is able to address the importance of language in that the word “queer” is being re-introduced within the LGBTQ culture. Queer allows for the understanding of myriad identities in that it takes into account a persons intersectionality of races, genders, and sexualities. Loutzenheiser is able to provide some important methods of inclusion within her article. She suggests the development of a district or school board wide policy that bans physical and verbal harassment. This promotes a sense of fear within perpetrators, keeping students in check. She also advocates for teachers to explore their own prejudices and assumed heterosexual tendencies. Furthermore, Loutzenheiser transfers agency to heterosexuals who support the LGBTQ community in that they are in a position to be heard and to be a catalyst for change. “The Body and Sexuality in the Curriculum” is not only able to explore issues of heteronormativity but also provide efficient and proactive solutions for the inclusion of the LGBTQ community within the classroom.

Michael Kimmel, Masculinity as Homophobia:Fear, Shame and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity (Lisa)

“Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity,” by Michael Kimmel is an engaging article about the dangers of homophobia and its relationship to masculinity in that society in general are able to perpetuate its stigmas, definitions and stereotypes. Kimmel’s primary focus is to define homophobia (inherently linked to notions of masculinity.) Homophobia is essentially removed from the “homosexual experience” and rather it is the fear that heterosexual men themselves cannot live up to the immense pressures of masculinity that is constantly being reinforced and challenged. This leads heterosexual men to display hyper masculine behaviours, projecting other derogatory behaviours onto minority groups. Homophobia is inherently linked to notions of Sexism and racism where the intersectionality of different markers help to shape a man’s identity. Finally, men live in a realm of fear in that they remain powerless to the impossible standards of masculinity that are perpetuated by not only themselves by society at large where men are constantly testing themselves, to prove to other men, women that they are successfully playing the part. Kimmel’s article is an important piece on sexual education because it allows students to understand the complexity of gender construction.

Stuart Biegel Safe at School: Addressing the School Environment and LGBT Safety Through Policy and Legislation (Jen)

This article discusses the very different and potentially problematic challenges students who identify as LGBTQ face. 85% of these individuals are harassed as a result of their sexual or gender identity and as a result, 20% are physically attacked by other students and suicide rate is 3-4x higher. Aside from the very troubling nature of these statistics, the article discusses the role that law and policy implementations can serve as effective measures of assisting these students. Without these measures in place, LGBTQ students will continue to face devastating consequences such as high teen runaway rates and teen homelessness.

GLSEN The Safe Space Kit: Guide to Being an Ally to LGBT Students (Jen)

This article discusses the importance of having a “safe space” kit or a set of tools as a means to create an inclusive learning and school environment for LGBTQ students. The argument in this article is that visual symbols such as stickers and posters are one way that teachers can show their alignment in support of the needs and best interests of LGBTQ students. In addition to discussing the relevance of visual marking mechanisms, the article highlights the always essential principles of educating all students on ways to combat discrimination and homophobic behavior and advocating for the rights of LGBTQ students.

Tiffany E. Wright LGBT Educators Perceptions of School Climate (Jen)

This article takes a different perspective from the majority of material that we have covered. Instead of the author presenting a student-centric depiction of how we can create a more inclusive school environment that is condusive to the academic success of the Secondary School Climate as a whole, it focuses on what measures need to be take to ensure that LGBTQ educators are situated in an environment that is supportive of their needs. The article discusses the immense role that the attitudes of School Administrators and District Policies have on LGBTQ teachers. The overall argument is that in order for teachers to effectively perform their job, they must also feel safe. The increase in the inclusion of LGBTQ issues in the curriculum further showcases the needs to take the needs of teachers in addition to students into consideration.

'Kevin Jennings Out in the Classroom: Addressing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Issues in Social Studies Curriculum' (Sonia)

This article is a critique on the disconnect between the real world which includes LGBT people and the American social studies curriculum. American history text books lack any LGBT related content and when it does, it is portrayed negatively or biased. As a result, there are no positive portrayals of LGBT people or history. Jennings argues that this also has an impact on non-LGBT students who, not having any knowledge or familiarity with LGBT in history, act negatively towards them and can lead to bullying. Jennings’ main argument is that schools can include LGBT issues and people in an authentic and accurate way within existing curriculum so that it does not seem like “history as therapy”. His strategies for inclusion include “Telling the Truth About the People We Already Talk About”, “Broadening our Teaching of Historic Events To Be Inclusive of the LGBT Experience”, and by “Teaching Basic Skills by Using LGBT-Related Materials and Events”. Throughout the article, Jennings addresses common objections to teaching LGBT to justify why our teaching of history needs to be more accurate and inclusive.

Opposition

Culture Guard

Culture Guard Website (Jen)

These multimedia clips are produced by the group Culture Guard, that opposed the inclusion of LGBT-Q issues in the B.C Curriculum. Culture Guard argues that there is some very problematic materials existing within the Secondary School framework. A strong example that they use in their video, is their fight to remove the anti-bullying program “Out in Schools” from the curriculum in various school districts around B.C such as Vancouver and Burnaby.

Responses to LGBTQ Opposition

Facts & Myths about Anti-Homophobia Education (Sonia)

Objections to anti-homophobia curriculum in schools

The following document lists four common objections to teaching LGBTQ content and was produced by BCTF's LGBTQ Social Justice Group.

Q&A for Families of LGBTQ Youth (Sonia)

This booklet is dedicated to family members that are dealing with their child's coming out process. A list of community resources are provided in the back. This a bilingual English Chinese edition

File:Q&A Parents&Family.pdf (Sonia) File:Objection to anti-homophobia curriculum.pdf

This document outlines some common misconceptions of teaching LGBTQ issues in school and provides some facts to responding to these myths.

Group Members

Lisa Nakamura, Jen Harrison, Sonia Baldissera

This wikipedia page was assembled by Lisa Nakamura

References: