From a legislative perspective, South Africa and Sweden are world leaders in support for LGBTQI rights, but research has revealed the sharp contrast between the protection of gender and sexuality diversity at the legislative level and the schooling experience of gender and sexuality minorities in both societies. The papers presented in this session focus on how queer youth navigate schooling and how educational institutions respond to gender and sexuality diversity. Our objectives, therefore, are to understand the experiences of queer school attending youth, to examine the response of schools regarding teaching, learning and support, and explore ways in which these practices are beneficial, fall short or might be improved. Francis opens the session by questioning – what the teaching and learning of sexuality education, in South African schools, reveal about counter-normative gender and sexualities. He argues that while many teachers argue for the inclusion of counter-normative gender and sexualities, in their teaching and responses they privilege cis-heteronormativity and construct queer youth not only as innocent and childlike but also as hypersexual and rebellious – requiring discipline and intervention. Schmitt reports on interview-based research with trans and non-binary young people in Swedish schools. Schmitt analyses how schools’ and teachers’ desire for clarity – through emphasising racial, gender and body normativity – affects young trans and non-binary people. This proposed workshop underscores our intention to deepen and share research on heteronormativity and schooling and to initiate and strengthen research collaboration in this field.
Keywords: cisheteronormativity, schooling, queer, transgender, non-binary
The Session and timing:
10:00 Anthony Brown welcomes people, introduces Dennis and Irina and frames the session
10:05 Dennis Francis
10:30 Irina Schmitt
10:55 Anthony Brown facilitates any questions from the attendees
11: 20 Closing
