Whilst protected by equaly laws, lbian gay and bisexual (LGB) teachers have varyg experienc wh Uned Kgdom schools. Schools are predomantly heteronormative, moreover LGB has been posned as nflict wh disurs of childhood nocence. However, recently there is more expectatn of cln of diverse genr and sexuali. Although how this is enacted is nsistent wh and between schools. By drawg on terview data nducted 2020, this rearch analys the experienc of LGB teachers. Moreover, brgs together two bodi of lerature that do not often speak to each other—rearch that explor teacher inty and rearch that centers LGB teacher inty. Fdgs suggt there are monali between the bodi of rearch, for stance around the importance of ‘beg yourself’ and of teachers’ past experienc. However, there is special signifince for LGB teachers whose inti have historilly been nied schools, bee of their sexual inty. In addn, there is the expectatn unr neoliberalism of dividuals actng cln. As such, the LGB teacher may bee a pedagogil rource. None of this is equally available, although marketized notns of diversy place rponsibily onto the dividual. In their actns, the LGB teacher inty is always profsnal, personal and polil.
Contents:
- MOST BRS ACCEPT LGBTQ+ PEOPLE, BUT NEARLY HALF DON'T WANT KIDS TGHT IT'S OK TO BE GAY
- BEG GAY AT SCHOOL REMAS DIFFICULT FOR TEACHERS
- OF URSE CHILDREN SHOULD BE TGHT ABOUT LGBT+ ISSU AT SCHOOL, ’S NOT LIKE THEY’RE BEG FORCED TO WATCH GAY PORN
MOST BRS ACCEPT LGBTQ+ PEOPLE, BUT NEARLY HALF DON'T WANT KIDS TGHT IT'S OK TO BE GAY
This article provis an overview of the UK ernment policy relatn to relatnships and sex tn schools. It foc on the latt statutory guidance which requir primary and sendary schools England to teach pupils about different typ of relatnships, cludg same-sex relatnships. We outle the current policy ameworks and prent a ratnale for why Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ+) inti and relatnships should be prent the curriculum. We crilly terrogate the ernment rponse and we prent a amework to support the implementatn of a whole school approach to LGBTQ+ cln. We draw on Meyer's mol of mory strs to explore risks to children and young people if they are not provid wh an LGBTQ+ curriculum. * gay teaching in uk schools *
Proximal strsors occur when dividuals anticipate that they will be exposed to distal strsors which n rult ncealment of one's inty and ternalized homophobia (Meyer's, 2003). Of urse, 2017 also marked 50 years followg the partial crimalizatn of homosexualy through the 1967 Sexual Offenc Act. Sectn 28 was a ntroversial piece of legislatn which stated that lol thori “shall not tentnally promote homosexualy or publish material wh the tentn of promotg homosexualy or promote the teachg any mataed school of the acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship.
” It silenced schools om discsg homosexualy and forced LGBTQ+ teachers further to the closet. Creatg safe spac which all young people n discs clive relatnships may therefore play a cril role fosterg posive attus, creatg posive school cultur and rcg homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullyg.
Large-sle survey data om Stonewall 2017, the anizatn which champns equaly for the LGBTQ+ muny, monstrat the extent of homophobic bullyg Bra's schools.
BEG GAY AT SCHOOL REMAS DIFFICULT FOR TEACHERS
The data monstrated the large prevalence of homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullyg Bra's schools. If their inti are not discsed and not ma visible through the school environment and the curriculum, they are more likely to nceal their inti and to ternalize the homophobia to which they are exposed. However, spe this, rearch ntu to evince the sle of homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullyg Bra's schools (Bradlow et al., 2017).
OF URSE CHILDREN SHOULD BE TGHT ABOUT LGBT+ ISSU AT SCHOOL, ’S NOT LIKE THEY’RE BEG FORCED TO WATCH GAY PORN
Data om Stonewall (Bradlow et al., 2017) monstrat the prevalence of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullyg schools Bra.
Nearly half of lbian, gay, bi and trans pupils (45%)—cludg 64% of trans pupils—are bullied for beg LGBTQ+ at school. The majory of LGBTQ+ pupils-−86%—regularly hear phras cludg “that's so gay” or “you're so gay” school.
Seven 10 LGBTQ+ pupils (68%) report that teachers or school staff only “sometim” or “never” challenge homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic language when they hear . Half of bullied LGBTQ+ pupils (52%) feel that homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullyg has had a negative effect on their plans for future tn. For lbian, gay, and bi young people who aren't trans, three five (61%) have self-harmed.