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

saw a programme on that are really being proactive. But why do you think these
examples are so rare?
CG: Um, Section 28, would probably be my straight forward…
AM: {yep!}
CG: …answer to that.
AM: Fair enough.
CG: I know there’s a question about it later, so it will probably be a bit repetitive…
AM: {no, no that’s fine, one of the reasons why we put it later, it was originally at the
start and we put it later to see at what point it came up.
CG: I always try and focus on the positive in what we do, because in campaigning you
can get bogged down in the negative and you have to sort of look at it as positive
outcomes. Section 28 of course, you know the irony of it being that it was a piece of local
Government legislation that was never intended to stop teachers from talking about
LGBT issues in the classroom actually very much did that. Um and you know so for 14
years you had you had environments in schools where none of these issues were talked
about, young people who were gay were scared to come out um you know, there was no
legislative framework to back them up you know they might get kicked out their school
and there was nothing really there to support them um and also with teachers, you know
if they came out they would suffer homophobia and homophobic abuse um and you know
the sad legacy of Section 28 is that it’s very much stigmatised the gay community and
there was a long period of time where these issues just weren’t talked about. We still
speak to teachers who asked us you know well is Section 28 still in place or has it been
repealed? Um and they also think that when it was in place that it did apply to them um
[//] so I’d say there’s so few example because you know people are starting to come out
of the woodwork now but it’s taking a long time because it’s only 2003 it was repealed,
now that’s not very long ago.
AM: It’s not really. I mean we can link this to the question about Section 28 and I
wonder, which you have just practically answered for me, is the sort of fear of Section 28,
and a lack of understanding about what you are and are not allowed to do and say.
CG: Exactly that. There’s there’s a fear of Section 28 amongst those who, you know it
was there, it was part of their careers for so long, um there’s those who don’t realise it’s
been repealed and when you do stigmatise a community for such a long time it takes a
long time to sort of you know pull off those shackles really, um so I think there’s going to
be an awfully long way to go. But I think you know if you look at where we’ve come
with DCSF publishing guidance specifically on homophobic bullying and you know Ed
Balls Secretary of State, Kevin Brennan Minister for Schools standing up and saying
we’ve got to tackle this like we deal with racist bullying then we are getting there. But
those examples from schools they are not few and far between but they are you know
they are still small in their number but they are starting to grow.