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

then the school’s attitude is ‘screw you’ (Transcript 1: 21), the general school
environment is ‘crap’ (Von, Transcript 1: 9) and makes you feel ‘a freak’ (Von,
Transcript 1: 32). Youth development is complex anyway, but these examples show how
it can be particularly difficult for LGBT young people (see Unks, 1995; Owens, 1998;
D’Augellli and Patterson, 2001; Savin-Williams, 2005). As a result they may question
whether their LGBT identity is valid, as Tanya says, ‘…if you’ve been bullied for like so
long, you grow up thinking that its wrong and…that you just shouldn’t be that [gay]’
(Tanya, Transcript 1: 22).
Dealing with the effects of queerphobia and heteronormativity then, can be extremely
damaging and effect your identity negotiation. However, we know from Chapter One that
there is policy that means LGBT young people should not be experiencing problems at
school, so why are they? Specific problems for schools and teachers regarding LGBT
issues, is one possibility, and in the next section I explore this and suggest why the
experiences described above may be happening.
Teachers, Queerphobia and Heteronormativity:
Complex Relationships
It has been highlighted in the first section of this chapter how the young people in my
study feel that teachers’ responses to queerphobic bullying and heteronormativity is
inadequate, but why teachers respond in those ways and how these issues might be
challenged is complex (see Adams et al., 2004; Baldwin, 2004; Forrest 2006). The young
people expressed awareness that lack of understanding was often the route of this lack of
challenge. Lack of understanding as a reason for failure to properly respond by teachers,