Young people may face conflicting and confusing messages about what it means to respond well in relation to homophobia and transphobia. Consequently, we ask--What might it mean to respond well to homophobia and transphobia? This strategy, inspired by Anika Thiem and Judith Butler, is recognition of the ambivalent conditions which structure…

This paper explores the views of young people aged 12-14 on gender diversity, drawing upon school-based qualitative data from a study conducted in England in 2015-2016. Although earlier feminist and queer research in schools often found evidence of variable local gender cultures and gender non-conformity, we argue that the contemporary context,…

Science education has been pointed out as fact-based and built on reliable knowledge. Nevertheless, there are areas that include other aspects. Sexual education is, according to the Swedish syllabus, such an example and it involves aspects as love, sexuality and relations. These aspects suggest a possible tension between the biological and…

It is not easy to "come out" as a teacher, particularly at the middle school level. The overwhelming reason to come out is to make school a safer place for youth who know, think, or fear they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Adolescence is hard enough without positive role models for every aspect of who one is or is striving to become.…

Given the research about the decrease in age of coming out and the established need for support during young adolescents' sexual development, it is clear that programming targeted to middle grades LGBTQ youth is both essential and widely lacking. Interventions such as staff development and training, in-class curriculum, support groups,…