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

V: No…
T: {Right cos in my music lesson I’d be listening to something like Slipknot or Soil and
they’ll all be like, urr you lesbian, I’m like…
AM: {That’s a very good point actually because one of the last things I was going to ask
in this section was before [//] well [//] maybe before you were confident about your own
LGBT identity or perhaps after as that example probably was, I wonder how you think
other people identified you as LGBT, you said music is one thing and um clothing as
well.
H: Yeah.
B: And your hair [//] and if you wear make up or not.
D: The way you talk as well…
T: {or the way you wear your make up.
(inaudible)
U: A lot of people…
N: {I had long hair at school, shush!
V: You had long curly hair?!
AM: Do you think this is more to do with the boys than the girls, do you think?
U: Well, yeah cos…
V: {guyliner and manscara}
U: …no they just assume everybody who doesn’t wear baggy’s is gay, it’s ridiculous.
D: I’ve met a few guys for the first time before and two have actually been homophobic
and I’m completely straight, but a few of them, because of the way I act and the way I
talk, I’ve got a high pitch voice, they immediately thought, oh my God he’s gay…
AM: {Right}
D: …and they were constantly worried like that I’m gonna come on to them. So I think
your voice and the way you act and stuff does, kind of, it is pretty important really…
T: {Also, If you do sport, usually they think you’re a lesbian, you know cos they think
you’re dead butch or sumin’ its like…yeah I’m gonna knock you out.
(inaudible)