Middle Grades Youth Challenging Erasure: Navigating Trust, Knowledge, and Friction in Response to Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation

• In Event: Fostering Belonging and Identity in Middle Level Education: Equity, Empathy, and Engagement

Abstract

This paper examines unanticipated complexities resulting from LGBTQ+ inclusive curricula, cautioning against reductionist approaches that treat LGBTQ+ students as a monolithic group. Using critical sociocultural theory, it analyzes a sixth-grade classroom discussion on the "Don't Say Gay Bill," where students and their teacher explored LGBTQ+ inclusion and censorship. Findings reveal a dynamic process of knowledge negotiation, as queer, questioning, and heterosexual students draw on personal experiences, navigate contradictions, and contribute to broader discourses on identity, agency, and power.

Authors

• Marisa Segel, Boston College

• Kyle P. Smith, University of Michigan