Childhood is often represented as
a time of presumed sexual innocence. However, both sexuality and innocence are
highly gendered concepts. Many writers have shown that our current gender
system only makes sense in the context of an assumed heterosexuality. Adrienne Rich coined the term ‘compulsory
heterosexuality’ to capture this, while Judith Butler has talked about the
‘heterosexual matrix’ to show how gender and sexuality are intimately linked.
Research in the early years,
primary years (elementary school) and secondary years (high school) all point
to the gendering of sexuality and the sexualisation of gender across a range of
contexts and social relations, from heterosexual and homophobic harassment to
institutionalised heterosexuality (e.g. invisibility of LGBTQI issues in the
curriculum). Non-heterosexualities are largely understood to be ‘other’ and
‘heterosexuality’ is naturalised and left as an unexamined social norm. Queer
theorists have explored these patterning’s of the social world through the
notion of heteronormativity.
Research has shown how the
everyday social practices inside schools and universities actively connect
gender to sexuality. In other words the
discursive practices such as gendered play (e.g. kiss chase), language (e.g.
“boys don’t cry”) and behaviour (e.g. masculinity is only appropriate for
males) act to construct a particular type of male and female that is dualistic,
hegemonic and heterosexual. Such practices are also experienced differently
when locality, age, ethnicity, religion, social class, learning difficulties
and physical dis/abilities are taken into account. There are also specific
issues that relate to the educational identities and experiences of young
people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex
(LGBTQI).
Because ‘education’ is a huge
social arena encompassing children, adults, paid employees, volunteers, formal
and informal spaces and compulsory and voluntary participation, there are many
areas to be considered when thinking about the place, role, understandings and
experiences of sexuality within education. The further reading and resources
below go some way to exploring each area and their relationship to each other
(e.g. informal school spaces and sexual bullying).
The picture above shows the cover
of a book for primary school age children that depicts gay parenting amongst
penguins. It is vital that sexuality education in schools address children and
young people’s engagements with their own sexuality and sexual cultures as well
as challenging homophobia, sexual conflict and harassment and the
‘sexualisation of culture’ more widely in schools. This is particularly
important in an enduring socio-political climate in which children’s sexual
cultures and social relations are framed predominantly through moralising and
pathologising sex panics.
(taken from
http://www.genderandeducation.com/resources/inclusion/sexuality/)
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