ERIC Number: EJ1159317
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2327-3607
EISSN: N/A
Unexpected Bodies and Pleasures: Sexuality and Gender in Schools
Linville, Darla
Critical Questions in Education, v8 n4 spec iss p377-399 Fall 2017
In this article, I argue that schools are public spaces for the public they serve--the students of that school. Access to public space and the public forum is necessary for diverse groups to create justice in a pluralistic society (Jacobs, 1961; Young, 1990). This participatory action research project examined the language and behaviors that circulate in schools about sexuality and gender, and visualized the ways those discourses manifested in the spaces of schools and impacted bodies. To this end, I used a mapping exercise to allow the youth researchers to show how discourses of sexuality and gender appeared in their school setting and the ways they resisted the limitations of dominant gender and sexuality identities. Three major themes emerged upon describing and discussing the maps: school spaces are sexualized as well as gendered, spaces where sexuality and gender can be spoken allow students to examine their desires and pleasures, and adults can create a public forum for justice about sexuality and gender identity. Spatial studies such as this one give researchers access to new understandings of LGBTQ+ youth use of embodied and discursive resources to create spaces in schools in which to explore their identities and pleasures.
Descriptors: Sexuality, Gender Issues, Educational Environment, Student Diversity, Action Research, Participatory Research, Language Usage, Behavior, Sexual Orientation, Sexual Identity, Homosexuality, Student Organizations, High Schools, High School Students, Student Experience, Maps, Student Attitudes, Social Bias
Academy for Educational Studies. 2419 Berkeley Street, Springfield, MO 65804. Tel: 417-299-1560; e-mail: cqieeditors@gmail.com; Web site: http://academyforeducationalstudies.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York (New York)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A