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

SJ: Yeah. 3 years.
AM: Just completing your third year. Having had this experience now, do you feel the
training you received from your PGCE on these issues was sufficient?
SJ: Um, specifically related to sexuality or teaching in general?
AM: Specifically related to sexuality, not in general. I mean obviously teaching is a
profession where you do very much learn on the job especially…
SJ: {yeah}
AM: …in the first few years. But…
SJ: {I think again that’s difficult for me to answer because, because I’m gay, I don’t
think, I don’t think I felt like I would have needed as much training as a non-gay teacher
would.
AM: That’s a good point.
SJ: To be inclusive. So I I started my teaching career and after three years I would feeling
with situations, if somebody came to me and said that they felt like they were bisexual or
whatever the issue was I’d feel comfortable because I’m comfortable with it anyway.
AM: OK.
SJ: But I think, I would have thought for somebody who wasn’t gay I would have thought
that they wouldn’t really have received enough training on it to feel comfortable in
situations like that.
AM: OK, that’s interesting [//] OK [//] given that the young people you teach who are
sort of 11-18, given that a lot of them may be unaware of their own sexuality and or
gender identity during these school years and they are in the process of negotiating it,
why do you think they get bullied on those grounds? You know when they are being
specifically bullied because some body thinks they are gay or bisexual, but they haven’t
come out what is it that people pick up on to associate that person with homo or
bisexuality?
SJ: What characteristic?
AM: Yeah. Um [//] gosh [//] ur with boys um [/] I don’t know to be honest with you cos
it’s like I said I I don’t think I cant really think of any example where I’ve heard another
boy call a boy gay because he actually thinks he’s gay.
AM: Right OK.
SJ: Do you know what I mean, they are just like, I’m trying to think if I ever have, but I
don’t think I have um I could do it in terms of the kids calling members of staff gay.