In this autoethnography I present three narratives exploring how I understood and experienced my identity as a gay beginning teacher working in a rural Australian secondary school, where my sexuality was generally not accepted. Reading these narratives through a phenomenological lens highlights how my subjectivity as a gay man was entangled in my…

In the recent Australian 2021 census, the socio-technical construct of algorithmically driven decision-making processes made LGBTQI+ data as a category of diversity, inclusion and belonging an absent presence. In this paper, we position the notion of 'data justice' in relation to the entrenchment of inequalities and exclusion of LGBTQI+ lives and…

This paper is a collaborative reflection on a graduate a/r/tographic (artist/researcher/teacher research project using vlogging as its means of inquiry into potential for subjective reconstruction. The initial study focused on shifting perspectives of self in times of solitude and new surroundings. Springgay et al.'s (2005) a/r/tographic…

Homophobic name-calling is one of the most common forms of gender-based violence that occurs among young people at school. Yet students are reluctant to seek teacher help when homophobic bullying occurs. We investigated what enables bystanders to seek help from teachers when they witness the homophobic harassment of a peer who may be unwilling to…

For many Queer and Gender Diverse (QGD) Indigenous Australian people, there is little to no separation between our queer or gender identity, and our cultural identity. We are increasingly calling upon institutions to consider and cater to our identities and the needs which correlate with such identities. This paper discusses the findings of a…

In many of the world's countries, being gay is punishable by death (Bearak and Cameron, June 16, 2016). And in the United States, there has been recent political opposition to gay marriage and gay rights. It is no wonder that, in today's world, a small but important percentage of our young people grow up confused, scared, and unsupported. A CDC…

There have been few attempts to capture the experiences of lesbian-parented families in Australian early childhood settings. This study explored the experiences of such families since the implementation of the first national Early Years Learning Framework in 2009 by way of an online survey and follow-up interviews that were analyzed taking a queer…

LGBTIQ children and adolescents experience disproportionate levels of bullying. "Safe Schools," an Australian anti-bullying program, has recently been a site of public debate, with parents and their imagined concerns being central to the debate. This study investigated how parents construct gender, sexuality, and bullying, in relation to…

This paper takes as its subject the circulation of tolerance discourse within two pedagogical encounters in two Australian educational settings, and draws from the work of Wendy Brown on tolerance as a regulatory force. Brown argues that discourses of tolerance are produced within historical and cultural milieu that enable tolerance and aversion…

In popular and academic discourse, sexual identity is regularly linked to a concept of sexual engagement with others. Recent thinking on sexuality has, however, opened up the possibility of understanding 'identity' in ways different from sexual behaviour. This paper considers data from the Australian "Queer Generations" project, in which…

This paper represents our collective engagements and productive struggles with queer pedagogical-methodological (im)possibilities across a constellation of educational contexts. Following in the footsteps of queer theorists-pedagogues before us, we approach queerness as a horizon, a unique opportunity to experiment, take risks, explore new forms…

Children's picture books featuring same-sex parented families have been suggested as a powerful resource in leading change in the struggle against heteronormativity in early childhood education. At present, little is known about lesbian parents' perceptions of how picture books in their homes and in early childhood settings can influence…

In this reflection I discuss my experiences teaching E. M. Forster's canonical novel "The Longest Journey" (1907) to third-year university students. I argue that there are a multitude of benefits in employing queer pedagogies for teaching English. I consider how queer pedagogies might go beyond questions of representations and visibility…

Lesbian parents shared their experiences of using Early Childhood settings in Australia. Aspects discussed included disclosure decisions, the usefulness of children's books featuring same sex parented families, and experiences related to their family composition. Via an online survey and two follow up interviews, these parents explained how…

Although social acceptance of gender and sexuality diversity is growing in Australian society, in schools, visibility and inclusion of knowledge pertaining to those who are gender- and/or sexuality-diverse, such as lesbians, gay men and transgender people, remain marginalised. This may be due, in part, to a belief that parents are opposed to such…