LGBTQI Parented Families and Schools: Visibility, Representation, and Pride PDF
Preview LGBTQI Parented Families and Schools: Visibility, Representation, and Pride
LGBTQI Parented Families and Schools Exploring the experiences of LGBTQI+ parents and their children and their relationship with schools, this book illuminates how these families work with schools, and how schools do, or do not, support children of LGBTQI+ parents. Based on empirical research and making space for the voices of both parents and children, the research extends beyond previous studies of gay and lesbian parenting to include bisexual, transgender, queer, non-binary, and intersex parents. The authors consider the influence of pressure groups, school inspection frameworks, legislation, and the media, and examine the ways in which some schools are working to become more inclusive. Anna Carlile is Senior Lecturer in Inclusive Education at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK. Carrie Paechter is Professor of Education and Director of the Nottingham Centre for Children, Young People and Families, Nottingham Trent University, UK. Routledge Critical Studies in Gender and Sexuality in Education Series Editors Wayne Martino, Emma Renold, Goli Rezai-Rashti, Jessica Ringrose and Nelson Rodriguez Schooling Sexual Cultures Visual Research in Sexuality Education Louisa Allen The Politics and Pedagogies of Liking Adam Greteman and Kevin J. Burke Queering Families, Schooling Publics Keywords Anne M. Harris, Stacy Holman Jones, Sandra L. Faulkner, and Eloise D. Brook Boys, Masculinities and Reading Gender Identity and Literacy as Social Practice Laura Scholes Young bisexual women’s experiences in secondary schools Mary-Anne McAllum Hidden Sexualities of South African Teachers Black Male Educators and Same-sex Desire Thabo Msibi Black Men Teaching in Urban Schools Reassessing Masculinity Ed Brockenbrough LGBTQI Parented Families and Schools Visibility, Representation, and Pride Anna Carlile and Carrie Paechter For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com LGBTQI Parented Families and Schools Visibility, Representation, and Pride Anna Carlile and Carrie Paechter First published 2018 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Taylor & Francis The right of Anna Carlile and Carrie Paechter to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-94072-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-67414-8 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC This book is dedicated to the parents, teachers, children and young people who generously gave us their time, ideas and experiences. Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Ideologies of Parenting and Schooling: Visibility, Invisibility and Alternative Family Forms 12 3 Media Representations of LGBTQI+ Parented Families 35 4 LGBTQI+ Parented Families and Their Visibility/Invisibility in School Policies 55 5 LGBTQI+ Parents’ Perspectives on Their Children’s Schools 73 6 Experiences of Children of LGBTQI+ Parents at School 109 7 ‘Usualizing’ LGBTQI+ People and Issues in Schools: The Educate & Celebrate Approach to Creating School Change 136 8 Conclusion: Ways Forward for LGBTQI+ Parented Families and Schools 163 Index 168 1 I ntroduction It is January 2003. My eight year old daughter is showing me a book by Jacqueline Wilson, The Illustrated Mum (Wilson, 1999). On the front cover is a cartoon picture of a 30 something woman with curly hair and tattoos, like me. ‘Look mummy’, she says, ‘it’s just like you!’ ‘Is she a lesbian mum?’ I ask, my heart pounding with grateful hope. I so desper- ately want visibility for my children’s sake. ‘No silly, she’s got tattoos’, said my daughter. Later on I flick through the book, rapidly picking up the narrative. It seems that the illustrated mother is not a very attentive or well-organized parent. But I am still grateful. Flawed as she is, and not even queer, I am still happy that my daughter can experience some sem- blance of her own family life as validated in a book by Jacqueline Wilson. Anna Why We Wrote This Book This is a book about the experiences of LGBTQI+ parents and their children, and their relationship with schools. In it we look at how these ‘alternative’ families work with schools, and at how schools do, or do not, support their children. There has previously been a range of research on and parenting books for lesbian mothers (Pollack & Vaughn, 1987; Arnup, 1995; Wright, 1998; Johnson & O’Connor, 2001; Ryan-Flood, 2009; Taylor, 2009), and research on gay male fathers, particularly those who had adopted their children (Bigner, 1999; Stacey, 2006). Often this work focused on families in big cities, and was limited to the opinions and experiences of the parents (Wienke & Hill, 2013; Shelton, 2013; Hequem- bourg & Farrell, 1999), rather than including children’s voices directly (though see Stonewall (2010)). Much of this work remains useful despite the rapidly changing legislative and social climate. Nevertheless, much research on lesbians and gay men ignores a wider range of parents who are LGBTQI+. We wanted to discover what parenting is like for a broader group of LGBTQI+ people, and, as educators, we were especially interested in these families’ relationships with the children’s schools, both formally with school staff and processes, and in social contact with other parents. Schooling is a central part of life for most parents and children: we wanted
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