Walking the Talk: Rethinking Educational Settings as Sites for Examining Sexualities

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

This interactive session aims to rethink the space of sexuality and educational settings, in order to critically analyze both the possibilities and potential risks in how conversations around sexuality are put into educational practice. Here, we explore how issues of regulation, risk, safety and (hetero)normativity are taken up across contexts. Our aim is to open up a dialogue on how sexuality is taught, learned and (re)produced in the contexts of the K-12 school system, post-secondary education, and community environments. By taking seriously the need to evaluate both policy and practice, we offer a productive space to understand how educational research might better address the complexity of sexual identities and behaviours in ways that ultimately serve the public good.

Sub Unit

• Division G - Social Context of Education / Section 4: Social Context of Educational Policy, Politics, and Praxis

Chair

• Rachael E. Sullivan, The University of British Columbia

Papers

• To Queer or To Avoid? Queer Students Map the University Campus - Rachael E. Sullivan, The University of British Columbia

• Gay Teens and Their Bullies: Heteronormative Disciplinary Power in Secondary Schools - Hélène Frohard-Dourlent, The University of British Columbia

• Teaching Empowerment? Power, Agency, and Sexuality Education in the Context of Global HIV Prevention Initiatives - Andree Elizabeth Gacoin, The University of British Columbia

• Confronting Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying in Schools - Brian Burtch, Simon Fraser University; Rebecca Haskell, B.C. Society of Transition Houses

Discussant

• Gerald Walton, Lakehead University