Sexuality in School: The Limits of Education PDF
Preview Sexuality in School: The Limits of Education
sexuality in school This page intentionally left blank SEXUALITY IN SCHOOL The Limits of Education jen gilbert University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London A different version of chapter 2 was published as “Risking a Relation: Sex Education and Adolescent Development,” Sex Education 7, no. 1 (2007): 47– 61. A different version of chapter 4 was published as “Thinking in Sex Education: Reading Prohibition through the Film Desire,” Sex Education 13, no. 1 (2013): 30– 39. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Taylor and Francis Ltd., http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals. Copyright 2014 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, elec- tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401– 2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gilbert, Jen. Sexuality in school : the limits of education / Jen Gilbert. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8166-8637-7 (hc) — ISBN 978-0-8166-8639-1 (pb) 1. Sex instruction. 2. Gender identity—Education. 3. Sexual minori- ties—Education. 4. Sex differences in education. 5. Homosexuality and education. I. Title. HQ57.3.G55 2014 372.37'2—dc 3 2014001725 Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper The University of Minnesota is an equal- opportunity educator and employer. 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For J and M This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Introduction Queer Provocations ix 1 Backward and Forward Narrating the Queer Child 1 2 There Is No Such Thing As an Adolescent Sex Education as Taking a Risk 25 3 Histories of Misery It Gets Better and the Promise of Pedagogy 45 4 Thinking in Sex Education Between Prohibition and Desire 63 5 Education as Hospitality Toward a Reluctant Manifesto 81 Acknowledgments 103 Notes 105 Bibliography 111 Index 119 This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION Queer Provocations Beginnings Every September I fret about what to wear on the first day of teach- ing. It is a perennial worry, well-honed after a life spent in schools. The entire summer leading up to my first day in high school, a perfectly composed uniform hung in my closet: gray and maroon kilt, white button-down oxford cloth shirt, navy blue tie, maroon V-neck sweater. Aside from the kilt, not much has changed. These days my first-day uniform consists of a white button-down shirt, V-neck sweater, dark jeans, and colored sneakers. In high school I understood the uniform to be a failed attempt to flatten out differ- ences between students: all the markers of class and gender and fashion would be hidden beneath the drab monotony of sensible kilts, penny loafers, and polyester sweaters. But now, my uniform protects me: I understand that students will look at me today, for the first time, and they will have impressions and draw conclu- sions that I cannot control. I cannot anticipate what sense they will make of me—a middle-aged, round, masculine, white, and rather jolly professor—but I do try to give myself the best possible suit of armor, clothes that represent a certain version of myself: plain and direct, neutral, youthful, grounded. This story is ordinary. Everyone who teaches must decide what to wear, to find clothes that perform and protect and so help shape what a teacher can look like. But for the queer teacher, these clothes, this decision, are freighted with significance. What will my clothes reveal or conceal about me? What does my white button-down shirt announce? Can I recognize myself in students’ perceptions of me? Will students see some version of themselves . ix
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