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

S: …um [//]
AM: Was that a coincidence or was it planned?
S: I’m gonna be honest I kind of had a sort of, I knew it was going to happen so it was
semi-planned in my head.
AM: Yeah.
S: And it was just co-incidence that someone asked me here at LGYM would I like to go
on that and I jumped at the chance to do that and when [//] I had that chance I took it with
you know I I I thought I’m not fail this chance, because its my chance, my story and you
know I’m gonna create change no matter what and I’m gonna prove that I can do
something, that I can be someone [//] …
AM: {yeah}
S: …you know that can give me more focus, more drive in order for me to, for people to
understand me more [//] maybe later in life I can put that in my autobiography when I’m
like a politician a something!
AM: Yeah, how did it come about you going back to the school? Did they invite you?...
S: {well}
AM: …did you pressure them?
S: Well, I currently come to um lesbian and gay youth Manchester and um I’ve always
been involved in all the things that we’ve done here, before doing Exceeding
Expectations and when the chance was given um I thought I’m not gonna let this pass by
because they mentioned the high school that I used to go and it being predominantly full
of homophobia and bullying, I I wasn’t just bullied for being gay I was also bullied for
other things, being of a minority, a race, non-religion, um the geek, so I had it rough. I
mean I’m not gonna deny that life was good because I’d be bullshitting you know, and to
go back a strong person made me even more stronger in some sense because you know its
like I faced that and I faced it alone and to not have that support that there could have
been now um was hard, but you know like I said I Idid it alone, and um at the end I
survived, I always do [//] …
AM: {yeah}
S: …and um [//]…
AM: {When you say you did it alone, I’m assuming that teachers weren’t helpful at all?
S: No, I mean one I wasn’t sure of myself or my sexuality and um I knew what I felt
inside but I knew I wasn’t gay and I wasn’t straight and [//] not knowing how to name
what I am, I just found it difficult to be in an a situation where I’m in an all boys school
and its bad to be gay. And with there being religious factions that boosted their religious