Non-Normative Gender and Sexual Identities in Schools: - Schools Out

please tell me a bit about your own experiences at school relating to your gender and/or
sexual identity development. For example whether you got bullied, whether people you
know got bullied and how did the school deal with this if you were. Anyone like to open
up? Yes Tanya.
T: Ur yeah, my, one of my closest friends, when she came out in like year seven or
something and everything body just called her on it until they got really bored and now
everybody just goes to me oh you’re a lesbian you’re a lesbian [//] I’ve not come out in
school yet cos its just quite scary at the minute and yeah everybody like if I walk into a
class they’ll just go yeah alright dyke or um I walk around the school yard just one of the
year sevens will go up to me a going you’re that lesbian from year ten. It’s like, great…
AM: {Ok}
T: …yeah so they’re always really a bit of knobheads to be honest.
AM: Fair enough, we are going to talk more…
T: {Am I supposed to swear?}
AM: …no, that’s absolutely fine as well. I did an interview with, um a very senior person
in this field down in London on, last weds and she swore quite a lot, so…
{laughs}
AM: …I wouldn’t worry about that. Um, Ok, anyone else? Yes, Becky.
B: When I started doing art with my teacher, called Miss Body…um…
{laughs}
B: …um when she found out I was gay, um she split, she tried to split me up from the rest
of the group, tried to get me suspended, lost my work on purpose, tried to get me expelled
and um when I saw her on prom she said that she wanted to slap me cos she was so
drunk, just because I said I had my girlfriend with me…
T: {laughs}
AM: {and this was a teacher?}
B: …and this was a teacher yeah.
AM: Did you report it at all?
B: Um I did try but then my headmaster told me just then it’s all a rumour and it doesn’t
[//] if you’re not really a lesbian or that I was just like pretty ohh.