Educators concerned with social justice are working in very different social and legal contexts than when they first began to take up the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) lives in the school and the curriculum. The growing number of countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, the recent US Supreme Court…

Even though America has seen an increase in the level of acceptance for people who identify as LGBTQ and/or gender non-conforming, certain aspects within society continue to hinder their rights, especially within public education. Specifically, there are insufficiencies regarding content of and attitudes toward including LGBTQ issues in teaching…

"Ready, Set, Respect!" provides a set of tools to help elementary school educators ensure that all students feel safe and respected and develop respectful attitudes and behaviors. It is not a program to be followed but instead is designed to help educators prepare themselves for teaching about and modeling respect. The toolkit responds to…

This article presents some of the advances in legal support for addressing homophobia and transphobia in school settings and provides a critique of school-based policies that focus on these phenomena as particular incidents involving bullies and victims. Defining heteronormativity as a cultural phenomenon underpinning recognisable acts of…

The "Exploring Masculinities" (EM) programme was piloted in 22 Irish single-sex boys' post-primary schools during the late 1990s. Following objections from some influential journalists and an organisation representing parents whose sons attended Catholic secondary schools, the Minister for Education and Science put the planned…

Two key concepts arising from Butler's work are the heterosexual matrix--the conflation of sex-gender-sexuality which leads to the normalisation of heterosexuality--and performative reinscription--the discursive process by which the marginalised Other brings new meanings to normative identity constructions. While we have found both concepts…

The purpose of this study was to explore an example of girls' doll play in contemporary US culture, including its virtual, political, marketing, and other contextual meanings. The narrative that provoked the analysis was a brief news report about a controversial school function--a school fund-raiser fashion show featuring American Girl doll…

This paper reports on a study which surveyed and interviewed teachers on their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) pupils in school. The outcomes indicated that there was a silencing of diverse sexualities in schools. In theory, teachers had adopted an individual liberal humanitarian…

For well over 12 years the Human Sexuality Program within Social Work Services of the Toronto District School Board has been serving lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) students, teachers, parents and their families. Alongside individual, family and group support to the LGBT communities in the board, the program has also been…