The high school art unit "Embracing Diversity" was the author's principal work towards the completion of a Masters thesis. The objective was to learn whether or not teaching an art unit that focused on sexual diversity could have a positive impact on the current culture one finds in high schools. The unit was found to have a positive…

High school is a profoundly social experience for students. Having friends is central to being "visible"--to having an identity--in school. Social positioning, friendship groups, romance dramas, and the battle to "fit in" gain the attention and drain the energy of students far more than do academic pursuits. Lesbian, Gay,…

Teachers play a critical role in improving teaching, learning, teacher-student relationships, and school climate, and teacher education programs have a responsibility to prepare teachers to work with every student in their classroom. Kosciw, Diaz, and Greytak (2008) reported that, between 2001 and 2007, although library resources on lesbian, gay,…

Composition classrooms and writing centers are spaces where negotiation of academic, social, cultural, and political identities are ubiquitous, yet research has not produced adequate theory and practice to help tutors and writers navigate identity production and its politics. This article seeks to begin conversations that might lead to better…

A variety of pedagogical techniques have shown promising results in promoting acceptance and affirmation of gays and lesbians among students in social work, allied health, and education professions. In this article we examine whether 211 students enrolled in a human sexuality course in a southeastern university changed their attitudes toward gays…

This article explores the potential of students and teachers to disrupt heterosexist schooling practices with queer interventions. Through a critical investigation of four vignettes, taken from the collection ""Unleashing the unpopular": Talking about sexual orientation and gender diversity in education", a progression of possibilities for…

In 2005, a group of faculty who work in the field of teacher education and are invested in social justice formed a group to examine how teacher preparation programs address (or often do not address) LGBTQ lives and issues. Concern about the invisibility of LGBTQ people, movements in education, and a commitment to changing the current state of…

Allsorts Youth Project works with lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) young people in Brighton and Hove. It provides a safe drop-in space and one-to-one support. It also enables LGBT young people to learn new skills and participate in a wide range of volunteering opportunities including delivering homophobia awareness workshops to their peers.

This article surveys and analyzes nearly fifteen years of scholarship situating itself at the intersection of LGBT/queer studies and composition/rhetoric studies. The authors argue that paying attention to queerness provides unique opportunities to engage with students in challenging discussions about how the most seemingly personal parts of our …

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) supervisees were interviewed regarding their experiences of LGB-affirmative and nonaffirmative supervision. Supervisees were asked to describe one of each type of event (i.e., affirmative, nonaffirmative) from their past supervision. In LGB-affirmative supervision, all supervisees felt supported in their…

On Feb. 12, 2008, 15-year-old Lawrence King was shot twice in the head in front of other students, in Oxnard, California. When Larry King was murdered allegedly due to a classmate's prejudice, some pundits asked if adults were to blame for encouraging him to come out. One can't be sure what adults did or didn't do in this case, but the question…

This article is based on classroom observations and discusses sexual education that addresses homosexuality. Tolerance of queer lifestyles as well as support for judicial equality between heterosexual and homosexual couples is generally perceived as being high in the Norwegian political context. Norwegian sexual politics is, however, based on a…

The impact of homophobia and heterosexism on the e/quality of schooling experiences for many students and teachers in Australia places a responsibility on teacher education institutions to incorporate anti-homophobia and anti-heterosexist education in their courses. This discussion, based on research undertaken in universities across New South…

This article provides a critical account of a selection of approaches that were used in the 26-month No Outsiders participatory action research project in education settings. The paper questions what challenges are presented to educators in critically exploring and challenging heteronormative sex-gender discourses. We revisit some of the tensions…

Sarah Arnold was in a bind. On the surface, the students in her 11th-grade English courses seemed to have their act together. Like so many people their age, Arnold's students saw open homophobia as uncool. On the other hand, when Arnold listened to her students talking before the bell, she often heard an anti-gay undertone that disturbed her.…