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

AM: {definitely}
SS: …and is such a urr and she’s about, I hope, if she gets the funding she’s hoping, well
she’s certainly, she’s putting in some money to do into teacher training…
AM: {right}
SS: …which is the crucial thing, there theres, police officers get more training on equality
and diversity than teachers do.
AM: Yes, I recently heard that at a conference up in Durham actually…
SS: {oh I’m glad somebody else is saying it!
AM: Yes it was a sort of debate on the new law that was debating in the commons
actually that day, the sexuality and hatred laws and that’s what the actual conference was
about, but that was mentioned.
SS: Oh interesting, I should have gone to that. Anyway yes I mean it’s something that
I’ve been screaming about for years, because obviously I’ve been delivering some of that
training so I know you know um [//] so without the legislation you cant do the wrapping
and say you know you need to do that…
AM: {yes}
SS: …on the other hand the legislation as yet, with the new commission, with the alck of
knowledge, with the lack of [//] will…
AM: {yeah}
SS: …even with the legislation I think the Bristol case is is a superb in saying you can
still have terrible fuck ups.
AM: Yeah.
SS: So you have a man who is sitting as a governor in a school, it’s a Church of England
School, it has predominantly Muslims, Somali Muslims going to it, the head is Muslim, it
has this particular governor who writes an article about the No-Outsiders work saying
that parents were never consulted, lie. Um and sets the whole thing off, so you then have
a whole group of of Muslim parents who whose English is very poor who are coming
from a culture where kissing is not acceptable amongst heterosexuals yet alone amongst
whatever…
AM: {yeah}
SS: ….so you’ve got you know the ‘King and King’ and it ends with two men kissing
you know, on so many different levels it’s a challenge. Bristol council steps in and pulls
the books away, then realises it wasn’t in there got so to do and says well you better make
up your mind. You’ve got the Children and services area of Bristol council who was