Teaching Transgressive Representations of LGBTQ People

• In Event: 50 Shades of Gay: Past, Present, and Future of Research on the Spectrum of Sexuality and Education

Abstract

This paper explores the potential benefits and risks of teaching diverse and potentially transgressive representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. This paper is informed by queer theory and attempts to illuminate the ways curriculum can marginalize and police various forms of diversity.
In addition to case studies used for illustration, the discussion is based upon six projects that documented the LGBT content of 289 academic programs for educator preparation and 20 foundations and multicultural education textbooks used in preparation programs (Jennings, 2012; Jennings, 2014; Jennings & Macgillivray, 2011; Jennings & Sherwin, 2008; Macgillivray & Jennings, 2008; Sherwin & Jennings, 2006).
LGBTQ people routinely transgress dominant norms dictating sexual and gender conformity. However, their transgressive diversity is not limited to sexuality and gender. LGBTQ lives are themselves diverse and intersectional, bringing with them other transgressive behaviors and identities tied to non-normative lifestyles and non-dominant races, ethnicities, cultures, and economic classes. The cumulative effect is that many LGBTQ people are transgressive of multiple norms and identities. These transgressions are often used as justification for marginalization while their absence is justification for acceptance.
When teaching about LGBTQ people in educator preparation programs, a common strategy is to highlight LGBTQ people who conform to norms and identities considered respectable and mainstream (e.g., white, middle-class, childrearing, coupled, etc.). In such instances, a subgroup of the LGBTQ population who embodies/emulates privileged identities and lifestyles becomes the representative of the larger population. The apparent goal is to convince learners that LGBTQ people deserve acceptance because they are akin to people who are already accepted and valued. A critical concern is that this strategy reinforces homogeneity and assimilation rather than diversity. The strategy undermines a sophisticated acceptance of diversity by limiting acceptance to those LGBTQ people who embody particular lifestyles and identities while ignoring diversity within the larger LGBTQ population—thus reinforcing a distinction between acceptable LGBTQ people and unacceptable (transgressive) ones. This presentation suggests that broader representations of LGBTQ people, including transgressive ones that risk undermining acceptance, may better prepare future educators to create more inclusive schools.

Author

• Todd Jennings, California State University - San Bernardino