The Neutrality of "All": The Politics of Being a LGBTQ+ Teacher Ally

• In Event: 34.056 - Moving From Out to In: Examining the Experiences of LGBTQ+ Students, Teachers, and Allies

Abstract

This paper, based on year-long biweekly focus groups with pre-service teachers--and on one focus group in particular that became contentious--examines the ways that the participants discussed the degrees to which teaching and serving as teacher allies to LGBTQ+ students was politicized. Initially, all agreed that teaching was inherently political, but when the only LGBTQ+-identifying participant insisted on explicit classroom policies regarding gender and sexuality, the group suddenly shifted to arguing that teachers should serve "all" students, inadvertently proposing an apolitical/neutral understanding of teaching that undermined LGBTQ+ ally work.

Authors

• Stephanie Anne Shelton, The University of Alabama

• Meghan E. Barnes, University of Georgia - Athens

• Maureen Alice Flint, University of Georgia