More Than a Blurb:

 LGBTQIA* Inclusivity in High School/College Textbooks and Courses Blog by Tyler Hamlin, an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) studying Psychology and Gender and Women's Studies 

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This poster is meant for elementary through high school students and could be displayed in their school hallways. From reading this poster, elementary students and high schools students alike would be faced with the assumptions they make daily about their peers’ gender pronouns, and be encouraged to ask their peers for their preferred pronouns. It would normalize the act of asking for pronouns and respecting them, as well as give them a glimpse into some non-binary pronouns. By asking what pronouns they themselves prefer, if they are cisgender, they can understand that their own pronouns were assigned to them, but are in fact a choice of their own preference. This list is obviously not a comprehensive list of gender pronouns, but will introduce the existence of other pronouns to them. Those who take this poster to heart and apply the practice it calls for will be better advocates for gender justice by allowing and respecting their peers’ determination of their own gender identities and pronouns, and by creating safe, friendly spaces for LGBTQIA* students. 

Image source for the gender symbol used in this poster:

http://buquad.com/2012/12/11/gender-neutral-housing-apparently-too-uncomfortable-to-handle/

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Reflection

I began doing this research at Kankakee Community College, where I finished the first half of my undergraduate degree. I was motivated due to the lack of representation of my own queer identity in psychology and sociology courses. There, I began looking at the lack of inclusive education and how that might relate to sense of campus community experienced by LGBTQIA* students compared to their heterosexual and/or cisgender counterparts. Continuing this research has been both invigorating and challenging. There are few organizations focusing in on the issue of comprehensive, queer education. Those that do focus on reforming education, such as the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Network (GLSEN), are inherently exclusionary of trans and queer identities. Thankfully, other resources are coming out and being promoted, such as Northwestern’s IMPACT program with its queer sex education videos and articles that are inclusive of all identities within our beloved alphabet soup.

Though we have some research being done on high school education of LGBTQIA* individuals, there is scant research on queer inclusivity in college courses. This blog has been an attempt to add to that research in its capacity to do so, and I hope to continue this research past this blog. Throughout these posts, I’ve explored different scholarly sources, articles, and perspectives concerning queer sex education. Prior to seeing films such as Sins Invalid, I had not thought about the ways in which ableism is ingrained into the heteronormativity of education. These insights will help activists for queer sex education like myself check themselves and make sure their cry for inclusivity represents people of all identities, such as people with disabilities.

By showing the correlation between education and less-hostile environments for LGBTQIA* students, others will hopefully be able to understand how education alleviates these issues (Maguth & Taylor, McGarry). Representation of LGBTQIA* histories and people in education leads to less othering, bullying, and violence against members of its community. For those at the intersection of being a person of color or lower class, non-male, and also identifying as LGBTQIA*, this representation is incredibly important as certain areas of queer movements are predominantly white, cisgender, affluent, and male. By showing the connection between state policies and education, the need for activism and lobbying is illuminated and hopefully will influence others to demand their legislators address these issues.

Queering education won’t happen overnight. It will be a long process involving activism and advocacy, and will be arduous struggle as we navigate through the millions of those who wish to silence LGBTQIA* voices and won’t tolerate our presence in school policies. Thankfully, while we work towards a more inclusive education system, we have other resources to turn to and allies within this system who are ready and willing to learn the skills they need to create more inclusive classrooms. A well-rounded, inclusive, accurate education is one of the best tools one can have, so it is of utmost important that we make sure the LGBTQIA* community finds representation at every intersection in their educations, for their heterosexual and/or cisgender counterparts, and for themselves.

Image source: http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/iowa-catholic-school-approves-gay-club

Works Cited

Maguth, Brad M., and Nathan Taylor. "Bringing LGBTQ Topics into the Social Studies Classroom." The Social Studies 105.1 (2013): 23-28. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

McGarry, Robert. "Build A Curriculum That Includes Everyone." Phi Delta Kappan 94.5 (2013): 27-31. Professional Development Collection. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.

"Sins Invalid | An Unshamed Claim to Beauty in the Face of Invisibility." Sins Invalid, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. <http://www.sinsinvalid.org/>.

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Annotated List of Additional Resources

1. Sins Invalid, the documentary by people with disabilities about their sexuality, can be found at:

 www.sinsinvalid.org. 

2. Northwestern’s IMPACT program and their resources for queer sex education can be found at:

http://www.impactprogram.org/research/projects/queer-sex-ed/#sthash.AB9PsmUt.dpbs

There are many articles and videos to browse through that can be used as a supplemental resource for LGBTQIA* students’ sex education.

3. The Advocate article referenced throughout this blog can be found at:

http://www.advocate.com/youth/2015/9/09/next-lgbt-battle-sex-ed

4. The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which helps students form Gay-Straight Alliances and conducts research on school environments for LGBTQIA* students, can be found at:

http://www.glsen.org/

5. The Center for American Progress can be found at:

www.americanprogress.org

This organization regularly posts articles dedicated to LGBTQIA* issues, such as this article:

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2013/06/21/67411/lgbt-inclusive-sex-education-means-healthier-youth-and-safer-schools/

6. ThinkProgress is an additional source for articles dedicated to LGBTQIA* issues. They can be found at:

www.thinkprogress.org

The specific article I used in my blog posts can be found at:

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/04/10/461402/teen-pregnancy-sex-education

7. The National Education Association’s article on Texas’ influence on textbooks can be found at:

http://www.nea.org/home/39060.htm

They have a subsite called the NEA-GLBT Caucus which can be found at:

http://www.nea-glbtc.org/

This site is useful because it details their cooperation with the National Education Association in developing policies which aim to end discrimination, heteronormativity, homophobia, and transphobia in education.

8. At the link below, you can sign up for a newsletter from Palgrave Macmillan in their new series “Queer Studies and Education” which analyzes new books and projects contributing to the movement for queer studies within education as they emerge:

http://www.palgrave.com/page/qse/

9. The Consortium of Higher Education: LGBT Resource Professionals not only provides job listings for LGBT people in higher education, but hosts an online forum for members to share policies, practices, and advice with one another in their attempts to create queer spaces across college campuses. They also regularly post research opportunities and will help locate LGBT Centers in your area. They can be found at:

http://www.lgbtcampus.org/

10. NASPA, the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, have a special online space called the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Knowledge Community whose goal is to provide different avenues for social and professional involvement in LGBT issues in Higher Education. They promote understanding and acceptance of LGBT needs and those working in higher education who identify as such. Through them, you can get involved in social justice, or find resources if you are an LGBT in higher education wishing to create queer spaces. They can be found at:

http://www.lgbtcampus.org/

11. For educators who need assistance learning how to create inclusive classrooms, they can turn to the LGBT Academy at the Gay Alliance who do trainings and workshops for LGBT education around the country. They can be found at:

http://www.gayalliance.org/programs/education-safezone/

12. Along similar lines as the LGBT Academy at the Gay Alliance, the Gay-Straight Alliance Network offers Peer Education Workshops for educators or those working within the public education system who desire the skills and resources to better educate their peers who are creating unsafe, exclusive environments in schools. To find information on how to get involved with these workshops and create inclusive classrooms, you can go to:

https://www.gsanetwork.org/resources/gsa-actions-events/peer-education-workshops

Image source: http://www.algbtical.org/2A%20COLLEGE.htm

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Recommendations

1.     We must be advocating for and involved in activism for educational policies that not only require comprehensive and queer sex education, but LGBTQIA* inclusion in all relevant courses such as the social studies and the sciences. Just as we have had to lobby and protest and march for marriage equality, we must bring this issue to the forefront of our movements and take it to our legislators’ front doors. Lobbying for and marching for inclusive education will let our voices be heard and show legislators and the general public what our concerns with public education’s exclusion are. It can persuade politicians to act on this issue.

2.     Educators and activists/advocates need to open dialogues with the parents of school and college aged children. Parents who are against comprehensive sex education or LGBTQIA* inclusivity will have the most to say about incorporating queerness into education, so we need to discuss with them the reasons for this incorporation. By explaining how education can save youth’s lives and lessen their risk of teenage pregnancy and HIV/STD contraction, we may be able to open their minds and qualm their protests.

3.     We need to design workshops and provide alternative resources for schools and educators now to supplement the education system until our demands for policy changes be met. Workshops and educational summits for educators will provide them the resources they need to develop inclusive classrooms, and show them the resources available such as the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network or Northwestern’s IMPACT program which has developed online queer sex education videos and articles. These workshops could also teach them how to incorporate LGBTQIA* identified historical figures and theories into their classrooms. By providing those educators who want to address the issue of exclusion in education these resources and strategies, we can immediately begin reversing the harmful effects incomplete, unrepresentative education is having on LGBTQIA* people, their allies, and the general student population.

4.     LGBTQIA* college students can organize formally to ask their colleges to provide representation in their courses. If the professors and staff are unaware that they are being exclusive, they cannot even begin to address the issue. LGBTQIA* students can help their situations in their college courses by making their voices heard and their needs declared.

Image source: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/30/u-s-department-of-education-celebrates-same-sex-marriage-with-rainbow-on-facebook/

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Summary

As demonstrated throughout this blog, there is lack of not only queer and comprehensive sex education, but also LGBTQIA* inclusion in all fields of study, in both high school and college courses. In my post analyzing the article found in the online version of Advocate, it is shown how widespread this issue is. Eight states have strictly forbidden any discussion of LGBTQIA* identities (Broverman). Even in the most liberal of states there is a lack of LGBTQIA* inclusion, such as in Massachusetts, which the aforementioned article cited as only having discussion of the LGBTQIA* community incorporated into forty-four percent of public schools. Schools which discuss sex using anything other than models of abstinence are hard to come by, and it is even more difficult to find a school whose sex education includes those who fall outside of heterosexual and cisgender.

As shown in previous posts which analyzed scholarly sources citing data from the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), LGBTQIA* students are at higher risk of STDs/HIV contraction, teen pregnancy, physical and emotional abuse, and suicide (Maguth & Taylor, McGarry). Additionally, reports from the Center for American Progress support this data, showing that LGB students are more likely to be threatened with a weapon in school, much more likely to commit suicide, and transgender youth report higher rates of suicidal ideation (Krehely). However, the same data from GLSEN shows that inclusive education leads to less-hostile environments for LGBTQIA* identifying students. Clearly, if we want to reduce these rates and better the lives of millions of youth and adults throughout the United States, the deficits in education need to be addressed.

To counteract cultural ignorance surrounding queerness, such as in the reading about intersectionality in which miseducation lead to the stigmatization and generalizations about queer people of color (Meem, Gibson, & Alexander, pg. 180-181), we must call for LGBTQIA* inclusion in all fields of study. Additionally, much like in Sins Invalid, in which sexual positivity was a healing force for people with disabilities, sexual positivity and comprehensive/queer sex education must also be demanded to help LGBTQIA* youth suffering from mental illness or low self-esteem surrounding their identities, and to reduce their risk of contracting HIV/STDs and teen pregnancy. This is not simply an issue for LGBTQIA* identified people and allies, the activism this blog is calling for is also the burden of parents and educators, and friends and family of LGBTQIA* students. 

Image source: http://www.ragemonthly.com/2011/10/20/a-queer-look-at-literature/

Works Cited

Broverman, Neal. “The Next LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com.” The Next LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com. Here Media Inc., 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Krehely, Jeff. "How to Close the LGBT Health Disparities Gap." American Progress. Center for American Progress Action Fund, 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. <https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/report/2009/12/21/7048/how-to-close-the-lgbt-health-disparities-gap/>.

Maguth, Brad M., and Nathan Taylor. "Bringing LGBTQ Topics into the Social Studies Classroom." The Social Studies 105.1 (2013): 23-28. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

McGarry, Robert. "Build A Curriculum That Includes Everyone." Phi Delta Kappan 94.5 (2013): 27-31. Professional Development Collection. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.

Meem, Deborah T., Michelle Gibson, and Jonathan Alexander. Finding Out: An Introduction to LGBT Studies. Los Angeles: Sage, 2010. Print.

"Sins Invalid | An Unshamed Claim to Beauty in the Face of Invisibility." Sins Invalid, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. <http://www.sinsinvalid.org/>.

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Description of How the Problem is an Intersectional Issue

Racism and Ableism in Education

When the entire alphabet soup community is erased from high school and college education outside of courses specific to LGBTQIA* studies, many intersections of personhood are completely misrepresented or entirely left out. In the LGBTQIA* community, the gay, cisgender, affluent, white male is the representative the heterosexual, cisgender community deems respectable and thus thrusts into the limelight, though people of color have been key players in LGBTQIA* movements. For example, in the film industry, education is happening through movies such as “The Imitation Game”, which details the life of Alan Turing, the father of computer science and a gay, white male. Additionally, the recent “Stonewall” movie which aimed to depict the Stonewall riots of the 70’s which were ignited by people of color and trans individuals, cast a white, gay male as the lead. These informal means of education parallel the process of formal education as well. The histories of different racial and ethnic groups are told from an ethnocentric, Westernized perspective in today’s classrooms. Erasure of truth happens with historically significant cisgender, heterosexual people of color, so for those who are also gender or sexually variant, this issue of erasure is exacerbated. Special precautions must be taken then to ensure that queering curriculums and calling for inclusiveness truly means inclusiveness and that people of color also be at the center of classroom discussion and textbook material concerning the LGBTQIA* community.

Those with disabilities are also left in the shadows, especially concerning sexual education. Sexual education in the United States today is by no means comprehensive and in fact promotes sexual un-positivity. When we advocate for queer sex education as comprehensive, we must be sure not to center the discourse around able-bodied individuals. Queering sexual education means recognizing the sexuality of disabled people and casting it in a positive light. From documentaries such as Sins Invalid, a documentary exploring disabled persons’ sexuality, it is shown how society discourages disabled people from embracing their sexuality and seeks to make their sex invisible. In order to dismantle stigmas around disabled people’s sexuality and people of color’s queerness, such as the widely accepted concept of black men on the “downlow” sleeping with other men then infecting women with HIV (Meem, Gibson & Alexander, pg. 180-181), the LGBTQIA* community cannot maintain the racism and ableism present in education. Our activism for inclusive curriculums must ensure intersectional discourse stemming from the engagement and centering of people of color and disabled persons.

Image source: http://taggmagazine.com/opinion/why-we-should-care-about-intersectionality/ 

Works Cited

Meem, Deborah T., Michelle Gibson, and Jonathan Alexander. Finding Out: An Introduction to LGBT Studies. Los Angeles: Sage, 2010. Print.

Sins Invalid | An Unshamed Claim to Beauty in the Face of Invisibility. Sins Invalid. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. <http://www.sinsinvalid.org/>.

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Discussion of Power Structures

The Public Education System, Politicians, Religion, and Texas

The public education system quite obviously wields the most power in the education of youth and is the largest power structure needing addressing. It is shaped through the politics of the conservative and liberal powers that be. Politicians push through policies which either exclude or include comprehensive education. For example, in the Advocate article presented in my analysis of a web source, it is shown that in many states the discussion of LGBTQIA* identities is illegal. In other states, sex education is not required, and when it is present in a school’s curriculum, it must follow an abstinence-based model which typically does not address the LGBTQIA* community (Broverman). In these states, teen pregnancy rates soar (Peterson Beadle). This data, which Peterson Beadle presents in her article on the ThinkProgress website, coupled with the Advocate article’s citations of high STD/HIV rates amongst gay/bi males and high pregnancy rates amongst lesbian/bi females, clearly shows a need for comprehensive sex education, including queer sex education, for all youth. Why, then, do these key actors (politicians) push through agendas and policies which perpetuate sexual un-positivity and incomplete sexual education? In many ways, this is due to the conservative ideologies perpetuated by the institution of religion.

Christianity always has been the dominant religion in our country and its teaching have been used to create an aura of shame surrounding sexual relations outside of marriage. These politicians which shape the education system through government policies, even more so in highly conservative, Christian states, use Christian texts to condemn LGBTQIA* identities and relationships, leading to their exclusion in sex education, social studies, and sciences. I recently presented and facilitated a discussion at a conference for social change. My subject was the inclusion of LGBTQIA* identities in education. I was looking for ways in which I could contribute to this area of activism. It was there I learned that the highly conservative state of Texas plays a large role in which textbooks and curriculums are used across the states. Texas has a massive education system and buys over 48 million textbooks a year (Walker). Since Texas is their highest paying customer, the makers of widely used textbooks and curriculums cater to this state’s Christian fundamentalist, conservative, anti-LGBTQIA* policies and ideologies. We, then, as activists for LGBTQIA* issues and rights, should be concerned with interrupting Texas’ influence on the education systems of every state in order to move forward the provision of LGBTQIA* inclusive education.

Image source: http://static.wixstatic.com/media/c96811_9f61d4088335a317c36796793a3b2914.jpeg_1024

Works Cited

Broverman, Neal. “The Next LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com.” The Next     LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com. Here Media Inc., 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://www.advocate.com/youth/2015/9/09/next-lgbt-battle-sex-ed>.

Peterson Beadle, Amanda. "Teen Pregnancies Highest In States With Abstinence-Only Policies." ThinkProgress. Center for American Progress Action Fund, 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/04/10/461402/teen-pregnancy-sex-education/>.

Walker, Tim. "Will Texas Decide What's In Your Textbook?" NEA. National Education Association, 08 June 2010. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nea.org/home/39060.htm>.

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Discussion of a Real Example

An Interview With a Trans Man

To provide an example of how influential inclusion and exclusion within classrooms and through educators and staff can be, I’ve interviewed a trans female-to-male individual whose experience has been a mixed bag. This individual will be referred to as D. As a trans man, D’s positionality on the subject of educational inclusion is shaped by the lack of representation and support he faced. He is also a second generation Mexican-American who comes from a conservative family which is often times neither supportive nor affirming. Like many of us, he agrees that inclusive education will help dismantle stigmas and ignorance surrounding the LGBTQIA* community, benefit future generations of LGBTQIA* people, and create more allies. D recalled their initial experience seeking support regarding their trans-ness. He spoke with a social worker his freshman year of high school about having felt like a boy. It was the first time he opened up about how he questioned his assigned gender, and he was answered with “you just feel like you want to be a boy because you want the privilege that being a boy comes with.”

This outright denial of his identity is only one way in which D faced exclusion. He then described the awkwardness of teachers telling classes to group up by gender and how he was unsure which side he should place himself in, “There’s the usual thing that happens in classes where they try to separate you into boy and girl groups and that awkward time when you’re trying to decide which way to go because you know where they expect you to go, but that doesn’t feel quite right.” In addition to this gendered division of classes and school spaces, D also recalls having never learned histories of LGBTQIA* people and movements except a brief mention of the Stonewall riots. This mention was so minute, in fact, he imagined Stonewall to be an actual wall, akin to the Berlin Wall. Anywhere queerness could have been introduced, D says that it was sidestepped. Concerning how inclusion would’ve impacted his own life, D says, “I think I would’ve had an easier time in life, honestly… my biggest bully was myself. It took so long to genuinely believe I was okay, I was legitimate, I could grow up and have a life, I could grow up and be someone great… if I had the education that didn’t make being queer so unheard of, non-queer people and I could have had an easier time not being freaked out by it when it came around.”

Though D’s high school experience had its damaging and invalidating moments, D did have one teacher who provided him an affirming environment. In his psychology class, D’s teacher challenged the students to question the pathology of gender identity disorder and gender dysphoria. D says, “He broke a lot of barriers, he seemed to really like the LGBTQ community. Now matter how uncomfortable it was for cis, straight kids to participate, he wouldn’t back down from the topic… there was an aura of discomfort during these subjects and he wouldn’t just give up on the lesson because of it.” This teacher provided D with the words he knew fit his identity as trans. This safe and affirming, inclusive environment aided D’s development. Had D not had this support, it is unclear how the development of his own identity may have been hindered. Since we’ve seen from previous sources citing the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Network’s (GLSEN) research that many trans students face bullying and higher rates of depression and suicide, and inclusive education is correlated to less-hostile school environments, it is important that teachers provide empowering and safe environments such as D’s teacher did for him (Maguth & Taylor, McGarry). Now that D is a sophomore in college at a university which emphasizes social justice and diversity, his experience has changed for the better. He still has difficulties in his science classes asking for representation, saying that though some professors may be more knowledgeable about trans identities, his TAs (teaching assistants) ignore the subject due to their own ignorance. He says it becomes exhausting having to educate everyone every day, and building up the nerve to ask professors to understand something about him when he’s “only one face in a sea of two hundred” feels presumptuous. Despite this, D says, “This is the most included I’ve ever felt in my entire existence.”

 Image source: http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2014/01/the-tragedy-of-dr-v/

Works Cited

D. Personal interview. 24 Nov. 2015.

Maguth, Brad M., and Nathan Taylor. "Bringing LGBTQ Topics into the Social Studies Classroom." The Social Studies 105.1 (2013): 23-28. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

McGarry, Robert. "Build A Curriculum That Includes Everyone." Phi Delta Kappan 94.5 (2013): 27-31. Professional Development Collection. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.

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Analysis of a Second Scholarly Source

Educational Standards for Inclusiveness

In the journal, Phi Delta Kappan, Robert McGarry calls for a curriculum that reaches beyond sexual education in terms of LGBTQIA* inclusiveness. McGarry argues that the curriculum doesn’t naturally exclude LGBTQIA* histories and individuals; it is series of choices that results in this exclusion. McGarry also makes use of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), citing their research which shows a correlation between inclusive curriculums and less-hostile environments for LGBTQIA* students. He shows that school curriculums follow guidelines, often a checklist, which mandates the inclusion of different historical role models of varying racial and ethnic backgrounds and exclusion of sexist language, but very few of these checklists require the inclusion of individuals of varying gender identities and sexual orientations. Most of us will agree that our teenage years are a crucial time in which we discover and negotiate our own identities, and without representations of gender and sexual variance, it is no wonder that LGBTQIA* individuals are at higher risks of low self-esteem, mental illnesses, and suicide attempts (Maguth & Taylor).

To combat this, McGarry then offers the “National Sexuality Education Standards”, from the Future of Sex Education Initiative, as an example of a checklist or guideline for PreK-12th grade gender and sexuality education. These education standards include students learning by the fifth grade how to analyze external influences on gender performance, identity, and sexuality. By the end of eight grade, students should be able to communicate respectively with people of all gender identities and sexual orientations and develop a plan to promote dignity and respect for all people of the school community. Finally, by the time students graduate high school, students should be able to differentiate between biological sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation or preferences, explain how to promote safety, respect, and awareness for the LGBTQIA* community, as well as actively advocate for their acceptance. McGarry also gives a list of recommendations for teachers, stressing the importance of intervention when stereotypes are being perpetuated by students or staff, using gender-neutral language such as “partner” when appropriate, respecting students’ self-identified pronouns, and insuring that analogies and metaphors used in the classroom don’t reinforce heteronormativity and heterosexuality as the natural center or norm.

Connecting this source to previous sources discussed, the Advocate article stressed the importance of sex education and the first scholarly source advocated for inclusion in social studies (Broverman, Maguth & Taylor), however, McGarry gives education standards which can be applied to the school as a whole while also providing tips and recommendations for educators on how to center their conversations. While I agree with points made by these different authors, none gave concrete examples of how to incorporate LGBTQIA* identities into textbooks. LGBTQIA* inclusiveness should not simply be a blurb or student project; it is crucial that it be found in the texts. How do educators and activists ensure that inclusiveness be found in the text as well as in the classroom discussion? Where should we be focusing our voices to ensure we are heard and our demands met? Considering the educational standards used as an example in McGarry’s article actually gives criteria students should be able to explain as young as in the 2nd grade, when should formal education about gender identity begin?

Image source: http://pwestpathfinder.com/2015/09/08/petition-urging-for-lgbt-inclusive-health-curriculum/

Works Cited

Broverman, Neal. “The Next LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com.” The Next LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com. Here Media Inc., 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Maguth, Brad M., and Nathan Taylor. "Bringing LGBTQ Topics into the Social Studies Classroom." The Social Studies 105.1 (2013): 23-28. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

McGarry, Robert. "Build A Curriculum That Includes Everyone." Phi Delta Kappan 94.5 (2013): 27-31. Professional Development Collection. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.

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A few posts images from GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) and the Guttmacher Institute’s “State Policies in Brief” report to better illustrate current school climates and sex education for LGBTQIA* students. Surely, more inclusive education would help alleviate some of these issues. 

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Analysis of a Scholarly Source

LGBTQIA* Inclusivity in Social Studies

In their article entitled, “Bringing LGBTQ Topics into the Social Studies Classroom”, published in the journal, The Social Studies, Brad M. Maguth and Nathan Taylor discuss the ways in which heteronormativity is maintained in classrooms by the teaching of curriculum which erases the existence of historically significant LGBTQIA* individuals through its lack of representation, how this affects LGBTQIA* students negatively, and how teachers of social studies can create an inclusive environment (Maguth & Taylor). Maguth and Taylor specifically focus on inclusion in the social studies in their article, though we wish their zest for inclusion were shared in all relevant fields of study.

Drawing upon statistics from the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Maguth and Taylor articulate the normality of LGBTQIA* identified students reporting verbal and physical harassment, or hearing slurs such as “faggot”, “dyke”, and “that’s so gay”. These normalized slurs and phrases are unchecked by classroom discussion of LGBTQIA* identities, which Maguth and Taylor assert would lead to a reduction in the usage of these terms and ultimately to safer, positive experiences for LGBTQIA* identifying students. They are sure to cite many studies which show the complete lack of discussion of LGBTQIA* movements and key events (such as the Stonewall riots) and of the history of prejudice and discrimination (such as the treatment of gay people in the Holocaust). Maguth and Taylor argue that the classroom, which is meant to prepare students for the “real world”, in no way prepares them to interact with LGBTQIA* individuals, individuals which they already interact with or are visible in their “real world”. It isn’t that these students need all be enrolled in a queer theory course; rather, the comprehensive histories of World War Two, Alan Turing, literary figures such as Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes, the AIDS crisis and epidemic, and more must be taught in their already existing social studies classes. In addition, the authors cite a multitude of studies which show that the majority of LGBTQIA* students cannot recall having ever learned anything positive about their identities or the history of their community when their courses mentioned their community at all. In most cases, their courses made no mention.

In order to address this deficit, Maguth and Taylor introduce a classroom project they call “The Difference Maker Project”, a project in which students must address current equality issues and institutionalized discrimination against LGBTQIA* persons by examining not only the current structures marginalizing this community, but through analysis of the historical processes and key events which have shaped the community’s fights for equal rights. This project is done through three phases. Phase one entails learning through research. In the second phase, or the “listening” phase, students interview members of the community. The final phase is advocating, in which students create publicly available artifacts (i.e., a documentary) which summarizes their research and offers ways in which current social structures could be changed to address inequality.

Differing from Broverman’s Advocate from the previous post asking for comprehensive sex education, Maguth and Taylor ask for inclusiveness in other areas of education. They offer an interesting and effective model for engaging students in a LGBTQIA*-inclusive social studies curriculum. Certainly, I agree with the assertions made in this article. A social studies curriculum which actively portrays LGBTQIA* individuals in a positive light and illuminates their history instead of further contributing to its erasure will create a safer space for LGBTQIA* students to express themselves, and lead to decreased usage of derogatory slurs by those outside the community. However, the article does not identify models or strategies for those who are educators in other fields of study and is not easily adapted to some of these fields. How could we make curriculum inclusive of LGBTQIA* identities outside of social studies, in fields such as biology or literature? Additionally, how can we better educate educators who would use models such as this one on how to make their classrooms more inclusive? Finally, when we ask for these strategies to be adopted in our public schools, how can we overcome parental objections to the inclusion of LGBTQIA* identities in coursework?

Image source: http://www.lambdalegal.org/dont-erase-us/faq

Works Cited

Broverman, Neal. “The Next LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com.” The Next LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com. Here Media Inc., 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Maguth, Brad M., and Nathan Taylor. "Bringing LGBTQ Topics into the Social Studies Classroom." The Social Studies 105.1 (2013): 23-28. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

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Getting an HIV test from IMPACT Program on Vimeo.

This video was created by the IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program at Northwestern University in partnership with Center on Halsted. IMPACT is an alternative source for queer sex education for the many LGBTQIA* students whose schools are failing to provide comprehensive and inclusive education for.

 - See more at: http://www.impactprogram.org/youth-blog/whats-it-like-to-get-an-hiv-test/#sthash.cJxIxUqR.dpuf

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Analysis of a Web Source

High School Sex Education and LGBTQIA* Identities

In an online article of Advocate, a magazine dedicated to LGBT issues, entitled “The Next LGBT Battle: Sex ED”, writer Neal Broverman discusses sex education for LGBT students. He makes the point that sex education is already scant or incomprehensive in U.S. schools, so lobbying for the inclusion of LGBT sex in the curriculum is that much harder, and vital. According to Neal, it is forbidden in classes to even mention homosexuality in the states of Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. One of the few states to be at the forefront of LGBT inclusiveness in sex education is Massachusetts, and only 44% of its secondary schools have these identities worked into the curriculum. While sex education and health courses are certainly not the sole courses which need drastic overhauls and reshaping to include LGBT identities, as well as other minorities and women, it is certainly necessary. Broverman states that HIV contraction rates are rising among gay and bi males while rates of unintended pregnancy for lesbian and bi women is double that of their straight counterparts. Furthermore, transgender students across the United States are segregated by assigned gender and forced to listen to lessons about sex which are intended for the opposite gender, which can be psychologically damaging and is an aggression against their identities. Broverman also mentions the campaigns and organizations fighting against inclusiveness, such as the Massachusetts Family Initiative, of which the president is quoted as saying, “If you’re teaching about the birds and the bees, there’s no need to talk about oral and anal sex. It has nothing to do with reproduction.”

Broverman makes excellent points which I agree with. In regards to lesbian and bi female youth, he asserts that one reason their rates of pregnancy may be higher is due to pressure to adhere to societal norms. Without access to inclusive sexual education, it is easy to see how young girls may not think of their own sexuality positively and then react by having unsafe sex with male youth. I also agree with Broverman that comprehensive sex education may reduce psychological harm of transgender youth and help reduce the rates at which gay and bi males are contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. However, Broverman is exclusive of other LGBTQIA* identities when he fails to acknowledge those who are queer/questioning, genderqueer or non-conforming, intersex, and asexual. Intersex folk are invisible in the realm of sex education and this invisibility can lead to negative self-images. When speaking about sexuality and gender, it is also important to recognize the fluidity of people who are simply questioning, or may not neatly fit into normative categories like those who are agender or genderqueer. Asexuals need sexual education that is affirming of their lack of sexual desire, as many asexuals spend years trying to assimilate, having sex when they may not feel comfortable doing so. In addition to including all identities within our community’s alphabet soup, and recognizing how these terms are still evolving, LGBTQIA* inclusive sex education must also recognize the sexuality of those who are not able-bodied, as these people are also made invisible in our discussions of sex.

How can we push past these campaigns and committees which seek to keep LGBTQIA* identities in the dark of their possible sexual and romantic relationships? Lobbying and raising our voices certainly helps. However, we need to advocate for schools and educators to actively engage with parents. Parents of high school youth voice their concerns frequently concerning sexuality in education. They may be wary that this inclusiveness will corrupt their children. We need educators and activists to educate these parents and answer their concerns, and they need to be informed of the purpose of sex positivity, which is to reduce STIs, HIV, and pregnancy rates, and to address the issue of LGBTQIA* depression, dropout, and suicide rates by providing visibility and affirming education. Then how do we ensure the education we fight for is indeed inclusive and accurate? If we allow white, affluent, gay men to be the center of the LGBTQIA* inclusiveness movement in education, progress will not be made. Progress can only be achieved by allowing the members of our community at every intersection to contribute to the information which will be used in our textbooks.

Image source: http://www.impactprogram.org/lgbtq-youth/sex-ed/#sthash.m618iBMx.dpbs

Works Cited

Broverman, Neal. "The Next LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com." The Next     LGBT Battle: Sex Ed | Advocate.com. Here Media Inc., 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://www.advocate.com/youth/2015/9/09/next-lgbt-battle-sex-ed>.

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Introduction

Throughout my high school experience, and in many of my college courses, LGBTQIA* identities were rarely a topic of discussion. When I opened a health or science textbook, I did not find any material which reflected my own identity as gender non-conforming and queer or in any way assisted me with my navigation of the world. Even in the social sciences, such as psychology, when gender or sexuality is discussed, it operates from a heteronormative perspective and reiterates a strict gender binary, i.e., “Women communicate this way and men this way”.

Like many other minority groups, the LGBTQIA* community is vastly underrepresented in textbooks. When our diverse community is mentioned, it is often an afterthought or relegated to a blurb off to the side of the page; it is optional reading. Even worse, the topic of gender or sexual variance is often followed or preceded by discussion of STD, drug abuse, or mental abuse. While these are important subjects to address, the inclusion of material addressing our community being solely in relation to more deleterious experiences can cause an increased stigma and negative perspectives concerning LGBTQIA* identification.

Throughout this blog, this exclusiveness in high school/college courses and textbooks will be explored. It is my belief that this lack of inclusive education is not just a deficit, but in fact contributing to the misunderstandings, stereotypes, stigmas, and ignorance outside, as well as within, the LGBTQIA* community. If our society is able to replace this deficit with accurate, intersectional, and inclusive material, there will undoubtedly be more awareness surrounding our many diverse identities and experiences, and issues such as violence against our community, mental illness, homelessness and other relevant matters may be better understood, managed, or reduced. Addressing how education takes place and through what materials and lenses is paramount in LGBTQIA* activism and the dismantling of the oppressive forces at play.

Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/549650329496396250/