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from Gay Activism in the Schools
'Radical Teacher' Magazine
Highlights Use Of LBGTQ Literature
September 25, 2006 -
In a September 2006 issue of Radical Teacher, Emily Meixner, a teacher of English at The College of New Jersey, describes how she used lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and queer literature to bring about attitudinal changes in undergraduate students in an independent study course.
Meixner says she began the program after reading the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network National Climate Survey from 2003 that reported that 84% of LBGTQ students had experienced verbal harassment in school--and that more than 90% had overheard anti-gay sentiments in hallways, bathrooms, locker rooms, and in classrooms.
Meixner was drawn to the use of LBGTQ young adult literature because she "was curious about the power of stories to elicit empathy. I wondered if these stories could provide my students with an opportunity to experience (albeit vicariously) what their future LGBTQ middle and high school students might be going through--their feelings, their struggles, and successes, and the experiences through which they were and were not marginalized."
Her second reason for using LBGTQ literature was to help combat 'heterosexism' and 'homophobia' in the classroom. "At the time, I anticipated that a personal and pedagogical engagement with the literature would produce these kinds of political results."
Five students eventually volunteered for the program. All were heterosexual females with a variety of racial backgrounds and life experiences.
The goal of the course was to "teach queerly," and "'transgress' by requiring us to think beyond specific school or classroom instances of violence and examine the effects of the 'heterosexism' and 'homophobia' present in our own lives and the institutions with which we were associated," said Meixner.
Meixner continued, "At the time, although aware that I could not predict my students' responses to the readings or the course itself, I was fairly certain I had assembled enough evidence for them to understand why too many schools--by failing to advocate for and protect their LBGTQ students--become institutional sites of violence against them."
By mid-semester, Meixner noted a change in the group's responses to the readings. They had developed a heightened awareness of the dangers of cultural stereotypes and began viewing themselves as advocates for LBGTQ students. "In the last month of the course, as my students began to discuss their final projects, they determined that they wanted them to counteract 'heterosexism' and 'homophobia' by providing substantive and socially responsible learning opportunities for the students they would be teaching."
One of the ways they determined to deal with 'heterosexism' and 'homophobia' in the schools was to develop partnerships with public libraries to encourage these institutions to carry more texts "that dealt specifically with issues pertaining to adolescent gender and sexuality."
Meixner is unsure if her students will continue on their journey of becoming radical teachers. "... I worry that without regularly discomfiting experiences, they will lose their desire to look beyond their classrooms--to become radical teachers. Without sustained programmatic support, I fear that they will retreat from their active pursuit of institutional equity and focus their energy and attention on the consciousness-raising methodology that I now believe is not enough to combat 'heterosexism' and 'homophobia.' Even after conducting their research, my students evidenced this shift."
"Certainly, it is a good thing for students to understand how it feels to be socially marginalized," said Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, president of NARTH. "We don't disagree with this teacher's recognition of the need to develop empathy in students. The problem is when students are taught that they must agree with gay activism or be branded 'homophobic' -- and they must not think heterosexuality is the norm, or they will be guilty of 'heterosexism.' It's this new worldview being forced on kids by such teachers that is the crux of the problem."
Additional Reading: HOMOPHOBIA: A Scientific Non-Political Definition;
Psychology Losing Scientific Credibility, Say APA Insiders;
NARTH Position Statements.
Updated: 13 March 2008
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