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

The visibility of LGBT History Month in schools is also a problem. Although LGBT
History Month has been taken on enthusiastically by libraries, schools have been slow to
celebrate it and this has not been helped by conflicting messages from the DCSF. Sue
describes, for example, how LGBT History Month’s ‘initial funding came from the then
department of education and skills [now DCSF]…but they’ve done it totally in the closet,
we’ve never been allowed to put their logo on the website’ (Transcript 4: 9). This
closeted position sends the wrong message to schools about LGBT issues and does not
help them understand the importance of tackling LGBT inequality. As Sue says ‘if we
don’t tackle homophobia and transphobia and heteronormativity in schools you know the
rest of the communities suffer forever’ (Transcript 4: 13). However, the DCSF seems
unable to grasp this.
This kind of caution to equality issues is in stark contrast to that shown by other
Government departments, The Criminal Justice System for example, and shockingly the
DCSF have an ‘excuse’ for this. Sue describes a recent conversation with a senior civil
servant at the DCSF about how since the Steven Lawrence Enquiry (Macpherson, 1999),
the Criminal Justice System have done a lot of work in this area. The civil servant’s
response was ‘Well they [Criminal Justice System] had a serious car crash. [I.e. the
Steven Lawrence murder] and had to do something with it’ (Transcript 4: 32). Sue quite
rightly responded that ‘every [LGBT] suicide is a serious car crash’ (Transcript 4, 32) -
seemingly this is something the DCSF have yet to accept and as Sue suggests perhaps
they ‘have not grown up. […and] are still frightened of the Daily Mail’ (Transcript 4: 32).