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.…

Discusses how sexuality is contained within and consigned to specific, particular, and identifiable spaces, activities, and social interactions in middle schools. The article describes a specific schoolyard incident involving young males to offer a contextual analysis of the difficulties that must be addressed by school reform. (SM)