Love Is a Battlefield: How Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Teachers in the South Compare to Those in New England

• In Event: Landscapes of Curriculum: Intersections of Place, Sexuality, and Interdisciplinarity in Curriculum Studies

Abstract

This paper compares a study with queer teachers from the South to a study with queer teachers from New England framed by the author’s own experiences as a queer high school teacher in the South. The author found that queer teachers in the South relied on martial imagery to describe their experiences of feeling torn apart. From phrases like “double-edged sword” to “feeling like I was walking around with a target on my back,” their language reflected the daily battles they faced, both internal and external, in resolving their queer, Southern, and teacher identities. On the other hand, the queer teachers in New England used marital descriptions – both in terms of talking about gay marriage with their students but also in terms of using language that suggests joining together, such as being a “small piece of the bigger puzzle” and becoming a “whole person” – to describe their experiences as queer teachers. The author then examines the Southern study more in-depth and concludes by stating that a “one-size fits all” approach to coming out in the classroom and to incorporating LGBTQ issues, concerns, and topics into the curriculum could prove disastrous due to regional differences.

Author

• Janna Jackson Kellinger, University of Massachusetts - Boston