Rethinking Sexual Identity in Education

Rethinking Sexual Identity in Education responds to the widespread abuse of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning persons (LGBTQs) in diverse educational environments by utilizing published narratives of LGBTQs educational experiences. Conceptualizing a praxis for LGBTQ allies to use in teaching and learning about sexual identity in ways that can transform educational practices and policies, this work bridges gaps between theory and practice, liberal and postmodern thought, invention and intervention.

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One Teacher In Ten

From Booklist
To ensure that these gay and lesbian teachers' stories would come from a range of communities that differed in tolerance of homosexuality, editor Jennings stressed that respondents to his call for manuscripts did not have to be out. Nevertheless, he points out, few Southerners responded. Most contributors are East and West Coasters. Few Midwestern voices are heard, and despite the fact that education is predominantly a woman's profession, dens' perspectives make up more than 60 percent of the book. Moreover, a third of the female contributors use pseudonyms (only one man does), and most contributors of color withdrew as publication approached. Social change, Jennings concludes, has far to go before institutional barriers of regionalism, sexism, and racism fall everywhere. The stories that remain tell of internal and external struggles, small victories, and growth as their authors cope with ignorance, fear, and hostility. The worthy appendixes include an overview of gay, lesbian, and bisexual teachers' rights and a listing of national gay and lesbian teachers' organizations.

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School's Out: The Impact of Gay and Lesbian Issues on America's Schools

From Library Journal
From the Village People to porn videos, the unvarnished virility of the working man is a popular gay icon that has fueled millions of masturbatory fantasies. Journalist Woog (Friends & Family: True Stories of Gay America's Straight Allies) reveals that there is a painful dichotomy between macho stereotypes and real men in the workplace. The author profiles 36 gay men in professions that run the gamut from truck drivers, masons, and firemen to doctors, lawyers, and even Christian bookstore clerks and country music singers. These men's work lives are neither glamorous nor sexy. Closeted workers are forced to listen to, and even commiserate with, antigay slurs lest their sexuality be revealed, while others who are more open have found surprising acceptance and support. Woog allows each man to speak for himself while subtly highlighting both the individuality and the commonality of his subjects' experiences in compassionate, nonjudgmental prose. The result is a clear depiction of the limits of tolerance of gays in the workplace and society at large in contemporary North America. Highly recommended for gay studies collections in all libraries. Richard J. Violette, Special Libraries Cataloguing, Victoria, B.C.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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The Gay Teen

Written by and for gay and straight educators, The Gay Teen explores gay student adolescence from discursive, practical and theoretical perspectives. The volume introduces and sensitizes educators to the complexities of gay identity and sets forth some of the issues facing gay youth in high schools. Contributors survey ``gay-friendly'' curricula in a number of subject areas, including literature, sex education, sports and social studies. Vital teaching strategies, intervention techniques and staff training recommendations form an integral part of the analyses and are designed to help teachers and counselors better address the academic and psychological needs of gay students and redress homophobia in the school setting. The Gay Teen also showcases the pioneering safe spaces that educators have created for students--gay as well as straight--who are struggling to forge sexual identities during the tough years of adolescence.

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Coming out of the Classroom Closet

Long overdue....This groundbreaking book is a superb collection of essays geared for individuals concerned with improving the climate for lesbian and gay persons in our schools, colleges, and universities. This is a critical book for all educators who are trying to understand and confront homophobia and heterosexism in education. " This book has 271 pages and is illustrated..

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School Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Youth: The Invisible Minority

They're there -- they're just invisible. And the present hostile state of school systems is to blame for their seeming disappearance. In School Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Youth, readers will get an eye-opening look at the heterosexist blindness that has made it nearly impossible for gray, lesbian, and bisexual youth to enjoy a supportive, celebratory, and welcome environment in schools. This proactive collection features the viewpoints of youth advocates, school teachers, administrators, and academic researchers who are currently seeking to break down the walls of discrimination, harassment, and brutality that continue to make sexual minorities vulnerable at school.

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Training for Professionals Who Work with Gays and Lesbians in Educational and Workplace Settings

This manual was written for trainers, both in the private and public sectors, who are responsible for educating employees about gay and lesbian issues that directly or indirectly affect organizations in educational or workplace settings. There are compelling reasons for addressing gay and lesbian issues in educational and workplace settings. Many gays and lesbians are victims of prejudice, discrimination, and violent behavior that is motivated by fear, misinformation, and/or lack of knowledge. Unsafe environments in education and the workplace can have negative effects on the productivity and creativity of personnel and their interpersonal relationships. The manual's fundamental focus is the authors' belief that optimal education can only be accomplished through professional "training of trainers" who then replicate the workshop training for their colleagues.

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When the Drama Club is Not Enough: Lessons from the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students

"When the Drama Club Is Not Enough" presents the work of two young activists who have been at the forefront of the successful Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students in Massachusetts.

From Publishers Weekly
In 1989, 30% of youth suicides were committed by homosexual teens, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Among the activists and service providers who were prompted to create outreach programs to gay youth are Jeff Perrotti and Kim Westheimer, coauthors of When the Drama Club Is Not Enough: Lessons from the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students and the founding and current director (respectively) of the Massachusetts Department of Education initiative. They tell of their experiences with supporters, opponents, legislators, faculty, administrators and students, including one high school football team captain who sought the authors' advice on coming out to his team. (They strategized with coaches and administrators, and the captain won his teammates' support.) Numerous accounts and testimonies, not all of them happy, enliven this guide for introducing gay rights protection into schools.

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Telling Tales Out of School: Gays, Lesbians, and Bisexuals Revisit Their School Days

In more than 30 essays, gays, lesbians, and bisexuals look back at their school days to find that they are still trying to unlearn a basic lesson imparted by the educational system to homosexuals: "Hate yourself".

From Library Journal
Jennings (One Teacher in Ten: Gay and Lesbian Educators Tell Their Stories, LJ 10/1/94) gathers recollections from 37 gays, lesbians, and bisexuals about their experiences at school. Some of the contributors came out in school; others came out later in life and now reflect on their youth and the signs of their sexual orientation. Because the contributors range in age, their comments provide glimpses of gay life across the decades. Virtually all the writers offer painful stories, from loneliness and isolation to being beaten. This book will give straight people some insight into the struggles of growing up gay or bisexual and will resonate with gay and bisexual readers. Recommended for public and school libraries.

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