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

AM: Um hum. Yep.
SS: He also does a very interesting analysis of the behaviours of stigmatized groups and
you know he hasn’t gotten round to gays, he’s hardly got around to women bless his
heart, but he’s got the concept of stigmatised groups and what’s interesting there is that if
you look at those eleven behaviours of stigmatised groups then the recognition that we
collude with our own um problems and that we are neurotic, that we give other minority
groups a difficult time etc are all there.
AM: Yeah.
SS: And I think there is a real recognition then on looking at how do people um [//] find
ways of coping with discrimination.
AM: Yes.
SS: And one of the ways of coping is to collude with it. And and to pretend you are not
and I think you know, enabling people to understand when they are doing that is not the
easiest of things to do.
AM: It’s not.
SS: You know that whole recognition of when you are dealing with power you either run
from it or you collude with it or you you know you fight against it, or you try and engage
and shed light. I think all that stuff is very useful to do work on to enable people to
understand what they might then be doing.
AM: Yeah. I think that’s excellent yeah. Thank you, brilliant. I shall use that Sue, I shall
quote you.
SS: You’re welcome.
AM: Um, Ok sticking with what’s going on in schools, um, I’ve heard a lot of rhetoric
from teachers both straight and gay citing quote curriculum restrictions and lack of
training and resources as reasons why the bullying on the basis of um sexuality and
gender is often not tackled. Now I know obviously you go out there personally and do a
lot of training.
SS: Um huh.
AM: So, do you think that these are actually legitimate reasons?
SS: No. Not at all. I mean we have all the legislation now…I mean I’m going to be doing
inset training today in a, in an all girls school .
AM: Right.