You are on page 1of 4

STATE 0NIvERSITY 0F NEW Y0RK

A ieflection about
"uay Fiienuly oi uay Phobic:
What aie you cieating."

ST0BENT N0NBER


1homas Adam Iohnson |ctdes|gnorg
4]19]2008



Luu 396 1eachlng and Leadershlp Lxcellence for Amerlcan/lnLernaLlonal Schools
A ieflection about "uay Fiienuly oi uay Phobic: What aie you cieating." ST0BENT N0NBER %

2 | a g e 1 h o m a s A d a m ! o h n s o n

l c L d e s l g n o r g
LeL me sLarL Lhls essay by sLaLlng LhaL l om o sttolqbt mole 1hls facL abouL me should noL maLLer buL Lhls polnL may brlng welghL Lo Lhe arLlcle
1hls polnL could also make me parL of Lhe PeLeronormaLlve collecLlon l wlll clarlfy furLher soon lor now leL me share wlLh you whaL uouglas
Wllllamson explalned aL Lhe sLarL of hls workshop Pe sLaLed LhaL he chose Lhe LlLle Coy ltleoJly ot Coy lboblc wbot ote yoo cteotloq? so LhaL lL
could be Lhe guldlng quesLlon for Lhe semlnar Whlle l agree wlLh hls raLlonale l feel lL would be more eloquenLly phrased lf hls quesLlon was Ate
yoo cootlooloq to cteote o netetoootmotlve soclety? Agaln l wlll enllghLen Lhe moLlvaLlon behlnd chooslng Lhls quesLlon over Wllllamson's
quesLlon laLer ln Lhls arLlcle
Wllllamson sLaLed LhaL wbetbet yoo ote owote of lt ot oot yoo ote olteoJy cteotloq o qoy ftleoJly ot qoy pboblc otmospbete lo yoot closstoom ooJ
ot yoot scbool by wbot yoo soy ot Joot soy ooJ by wbot yoo Jo ot Joot Jo Wllllamson Lhen asked Lhe quesLlon Ate yoo cteotloq tbe otmospbete
yoo woot to cteote?
We as an audlence were Lhen presenLed wlLh a cllp from 60 Mlootes where 8arbara WalLers lnLroduced an lnLervlew wlLh Lwo 9yearold
ldenLlcal Lwln boys one mascullne and one exLremely femlnlne wlLh Lhe sLaLemenL 1bete ote few lssoes os botly cootesteJ ooJ os pootly
ooJetstooJ os tbe poestloo of wbot mokes o petsoo qoy ot sttolqbt lts o polltlcol poestloo o soclol poestloo o tellqloos poestloo ooJ lts olso o
scleoce poestloo ooe tbot mlqbt someJoy bove oo octool ptovoble ooswet 1be booJfol of scleotlsts wbo wotk lo tbls ooJetfooJeJ ooJ polltlcolly
cbotqeJ flelJ wlll tell yoo tbot ooswet ls o looq woy off 8ot tbelt effotts ote olteoJy ylelJloq tootollzloq cloes Ooe focos of tbelt teseotcb twlos"
1he vldeo was a look aL how dlfferenL Lwo boys who are LreaLed slmllarly growlng up ln Lhe same household wlLh a room one rlghL nexL Lo Lhe
oLher could behave and seem so dlfferenL ln regard Lo gender expresslon and Lhelr undersLandlng of Lhemselves 1he effemlnaLe boy Adam
60 Mlootes explalned was called a cbllJbooJ qeoJet ooocoofotmlst" 1hey sLaLed LhaL research showed boys llke hlm usually grew up Lo be
gay 60 Mlootes also afflrmed LhaL dlfferences ln Lhese Lypes of behavlors can be noLlced as early as 18 monLhs
Wllllamson Lhen paused Lhe vldeo and asked us Lo Lhlnk abouL Adam ln relaLlonshlp Lo our own school ln regards Lo how much Leaslng he mlghL
recelve ln dlfferenL grades levels how accepLlng Lhe chlldren would be of Adam aL our school and how comforLable we ourselves would
personally feel as classroom Leachers wlLh Adam ln our class Wllllamson also asked us Lo Lhlnk of whaL we currenLly have ln place aL our school ln
Lerms of safeguards Lo proLecL klds llke Adam and also whaL was ln place aL our school ln regards Lo currlculum Lo educaLe oLher sLudenLs and
faculLy abouL klds llke Adam 1hls deflnlLlon of Lerms was relaLed so LhaL Lhere was a general undersLandlng and consensus among llsLeners or
aLLendees
ender 1he physlcal body a person was born lnLo Lesb|an A woman who ls sexually aLLracLed Lo oLher women ay A man who ls
sexually aLLracLed Lo oLher men 8|sexua| A person who ls sexually aLLracLed Lo boLh men and women 1ransgendered An lndlvldual who
does noL ldenLlfy wlLh Lhelr blrLhasslgned sex L81 Lesblan Cay 8lsexual 1ransgendered Sexua| or|entat|on 1he sLrucLure of our
romanLlc sexual and emoLlonal aLLracLlon le gay lesblan or blsexual ender Ident|ty An lndlvldual's lnner sense of self as mascullne"
or femlnlne" ender ko|e Soclally deLermlned seLs of behavlor (le mascullne" or femlnlne") asslgned Lo people based on Lhelr
blologlcal sex (le male or female)
WlLh Lhese deflnlLlons now ln place Wllllamson wenL on Lo explaln how complex a gender ldenLlLy could become Pe clLed Lhls example A moo
moy loJeeJ llke womeo ooJ floJ tbem sexoolly otttoctlve 8ot tbls moo moy feel tbot be ls octoolly o womoo loslJe 1herefore Wllllamson
explalned tbls petsoo felt llke tbey wete o lesbloo ttoppeJ loslJe o moles boJy l could sense some people ln Lhe audlence wrapplng Lhelr mlnds
around Lhls ldea and heard some murmurs here and Lhere lL goL me Lhlnklng
1he quesLlon wbo ote we tolkloq oboot? was Lhen puL up by Wllllamson and he clLed Lhese facLs from lambdaorg
W Cay males reporL becomlng aware of belng dlfferenL" beLween ages 37 buL do noL connecL Lhls feellng Lo sexuallLy
W 1he medlan age aL whlch gay and lesblan youLh become aware of Lhe feellngs of dlfference" llnked Lo samesex sexual orlenLaLlon ls age 13
W 9 of hlgh school sLudenLs ldenLlfy as gay lesblan blsexual or quesLlonlng" klnsey reporLs Lhls number Lo be 10 and oLher reporLs sLaLe
as low as 1 of Lhe populaLlon of a school
1he nexL quesLlon Why are we Lalklng?" was seL up for Lhese sLaLlsLlcs
W 62 of Leens reporL Lo belng verbally or physlcally harassed or assaulLed compared Lo 90 or LC81 (uS School flgures)
W 1he mosL common reason of Leaslng clLed ls a sLudenL's physlcal appearance
W 1he second mosL common reason for Leaslng ls because of acLual sexual orlenLaLlon or percelved sexual orlenLaLlon
W 73 of sLudenLs have heard derogaLory remarks such as faggoL" or dyke" used frequenLly or ofLen aL school
A ieflection about "uay Fiienuly oi uay Phobic: What aie you cieating." ST0BENT N0NBER %

| a g e 1 h o m a s A d a m ! o h n s o n

l c L d e s l g n o r g
W 89 have heard 1haL's so gay" or ?ou're so gay" used frequenLly or ofLen
W LC81 sLudenLs are flve Llmes more llkely Lo have sklpped school ln Lhe pasL monLh
W LC81 sLudenLs who are frequenLly harassed are Lwlce as llkely noL Lo go Lo college
W 7 of nonLC81 sLudenLs do noL feel safe aL school compared Lo 22 of L81 students do not fee| safe at schoo|
l began Lhlnklng abouL Lhese sLaLlsLlcs and LhoughL Lo myself woolJ tbese u5 stotlstlcs be tbe some lo oo lotetootloool scbool settloq? wbot
woolJ tbe stotlstlcs be ot my owo scbool? for LhaL maLLer wbot pollcles ote tbete ot lotetootloool scbools compoteJ to tbe u5 ooJ coooJo ot
cooottles lo otope?
Wllllamson furLher enllghLened us wlLh Lhe facL LhaL Lhe lnLernaLlonal perspecLlve abouL LC81 ln schools has had very llLLle lnformaLlon sLudled and
reporLed abouL lL When lL came Lo Leacher percepLlons abouL Lhese Lypes of lssues ln schools Lhe laLesL sLaLlsLlcs LhaL could be found were from
1992 1hese were hls flndlngs Lo Lhe quesLlon Where do Leachers sLand?"
W 33 of sLudenLs hear homophoblc remarks from school sLaff
W 97 of Leachers fall Lo lnLervene when Lhey hear anLlgay slurs
W Less Lhan 20 of counselors have recelved any Lralnlng on servlng LC81 sLudenLs
W 78 of admlnlsLraLlon say Lhey know of no LC81 sLudenLs ln Lhelr schools yeL 94 of Lhem say Lhelr schools are safe places for Lhese
sLudenLs (A paradox)
l Lhen began Lo llsL ln my head whaL pollcles and pracLlces were noL ln place aL my own school Lo safeguard LC81 sLudenLs and faculLy and also
whaL Lhlngs mlghL be used Lo ralse awareness of such lssues l consldered bullylng pollcles and wheLher Lhe pollcy covered LC81 lssues l LhoughL
abouL our school dlscrlmlnaLlon pollcles our school currlculum Lhe classroom llLeraLure avallable Lo each grade our llbrary resources and Lhe ldea
or need for a Cay and Lesblan sLudenL alllance
Wllllamson reporLed LhaL slnce Lhere was so llLLle research done abouL Lhls sub[ecL lnLernaLlonally he wenL Lo guldance counselor llsLserves and
emalled over a hundred schools asklng Lhem speclflc quesLlons ln regard Lo LC81 lssues 1wenLyLwo schools from around Lhe world responded
wlLh Lhese sLaLlsLlcs
W 13 schools dld have a wrlLLen bullylng pollcy and 3 speclflcally menLlon sexual orlenLaLlon ln Lhls pollcy
W 9 schools have gay and lesblan lssues as parL of Lhe currlculum (8ot l osk to myself bow wos lt pott of tbe cottlcolom? now ls lt tooqbt? ls lt
o ooesessloo Jeol? ls lt ooly tbot lf o stoJeot btloqs lt op tbeo lt ls oJJtesseJ?)
W 1 school had a gaysLralghL alllance
W 8 schools have a clearly sLaLed anLldlscrlmlnaLlon pollcy buL Lhey dld noL always sLaLe anyLhlng abouL sexual orlenLaLlon
W 6 schools offered beneflLs for samesex parLnered Leachers
8uL Lhe ma[or quesLlons ln mosL of our mlnds were wbot coo o teocbet Jo?" and wbot coo lotqet scbool systems Jo? Wllllamson menLloned
some of Lhe Lhlngs l had already been Lhlnklng abouL and also gave us Lhese sLraLegles
W lf you hear gay derogaLory commenLs address Lhem and LreaL derogaLory remarks as bullylng
W uon'L make assumpLlons abouL someone's sexuallLy LeL Lhem label Lhemselves
W 8ecognlze LhaL by decoraLlng a classroom wlLh PeLeronormaLlve phoLos (pbotos tbot lmply o moo ooJ o womoo ote o coople) Lhls may make
LC81 or sLudenLs who are quesLlonlng Lhelr own sexuallLy feel less comforLable ln Lhe classroom
W 8especL confldenLlallLy
W use lncluslve language for example We have parenLLeacher conferences comlng up l am looklng forward Lo your mom and dad belng
here" 1hls would be lncorrecL usage 1he sLudenL may have a grandparenL for a guardlan or Lwo moms or Lwo dads AnoLher example of
nonlncluslve language would be (whlle Lalklng Lo a glrl) 1he dance ls comlng up Are you brlnglng your boyfrlend?" A beLLer way Lo ask Lhls
quesLlon would be Are you brlnglng someooe Lo Lhe dance?"
W8olemodel by havlng open dlscusslons wlLh sLudenLs abouL LC81 and any lssues LhaL may arlse
Pe also Lold us admlnlsLraLors should
W Pave a wrlLLen bullylng pollcy LhaL speclflcally menLlons sexual orlenLaLlon because Leachers would feel more comforLable handllng and
addresslng LC81 lssues because Lhey no longer were a personal Lhlng due Lo Lhe facL lL was Lhe school pollcy"
A ieflection about "uay Fiienuly oi uay Phobic: What aie you cieating." ST0BENT N0NBER %

4 | a g e 1 h o m a s A d a m ! o h n s o n

l c L d e s l g n o r g
W CelebraLe and promoLe Lhe school's dlverslLy pollcy lL can sLaLe wlLh proof why lL ls a more accepLlng envlronmenL Lhan oLher schools
W 1hlnk abouL Lhe Leachers LhaL you hlre and conslder LC81 Leachers Lo be role models for Lhe sLudenLs ln need
W lmplemenL a no namecalllng week"
l feel Lhese sLraLegles were a greaL sLarL and Louched upon whaL l wlll be Lalklng abouL l also agree wlLh Wllllamson abouL all of Lhe polnLs he
made buL l feel he was noL fully addresslng a ma[or componenL Lo Lhe conLlnued oppresslon of Lhe LC81 communlLy 1hls consLlLuenL ls called
heteronormat|v|ty l wlll furLher descrlbe lL uslng a deflnlLlon from Wlklpedla
neteronormotivity ls o tetm tbot ls oseJ to Jesctlbe sltootloos wbetelo votlotloos ftom betetosexool otleototloo ote motqloollzeJ
lqooteJ ot petsecoteJ by soclol ptoctlces bellefs ot pollcles 1bese locloJe tbe lJeo tbot bomoo beloqs foll loto two Jlstloct ooJ
complemeototy coteqotles mole ooJ femole tbot sexool ooJ motltol telotloos ote ootmol ooly wbeo betweeo people of Jlffeteot
sexes ooJ tbot eocb sex bos cettolo oototol toles lo llfe 1bos pbyslcol sex qeoJet lJeotlty ooJ qeoJet toles sboolJ lo ooy qlveo
petsoo ollqo to eltbet ollmole ot ollfemole ootms ooJ betetosexoollty ls cooslJeteJ to be tbe ooly ootmol sexool otleototloo 1be
ootms tbls tetm Jesctlbes ot ctltlclzes mlqbt be ovett covett ot lmplleJ 1bose wbo lJeotlfy ooJ ctltlclze betetoootmotlvlty soy tbot lt
Jlstotts Jlscootse by stlqmotlzloq some fotms of sexoollty ooJ qeoJet ooJ mokes cettolo types of selfexptessloo mote Jlfflcolt
netetoootmotlvlty should be recognlzed for whaL lL ls and Lhe promoLlon of lL should become as unC as calllng a black person Lhe n" word 8y
allowlng Lhls sorL of behavlor all LC81 and people who are on Lhe cusp decldlng or experlmenLlng wlll feel overL or subverL pressure Lo adhere Lo
Lhe norms of socleLy
now Lhls may be a purely uLoplc ldeal buL l would llke people Lo begln Lo ralse a red flag and say someLhlng abouL Lhe pollLlcal uncorrecLness of a
person's sLaLemenL every Llme Lhey hear someLhlng llke #oys wi// be boys" "when you qrow up ond qet morried" "ne just did thot becouse
he is o boy" "when you hove o boby" "when you hove your own fomi/y" "his or her# and oLher such commenLs LhaL lmply Lhe sex of a
person or LhaL a man and a woman should be LogeLher wlLh Lhe lnLenLlon of procreaLlon or [usL Lhe facL LhaL a man and a woman wlll oototolly be
a couple 1herefore lf you hear someone say When you have your own famlly" or someLhlng Lo LhaL effecL l would lnslsL Lhe PeLeronormaLlve
lmpllcaLlon ls Laken ouL of Lhe lnference wlLh Lhe lncluslon wlLh Lhe male female LC81 or lnLersexed maLe of your cholce" Cr beLLer yeL l
would ask LhaL you don'L presume or allow oLhers Lo make such commenLs lease Lhlnk abouL your phraslng and also polnL Lhls ouL Lo oLhers
l feel also LhaL schools need Lo be Lhe flrsL place Lo acL on Lhe lnsLallaLlon of a nomoootmotlve model Lo baLLle Lhe netetoootmotlve one LhaL ls
acLlvely Laklng place now l am noL sLaLlng LhaL schools should go overboard wlLh palnLlng everyLhlng wlLh ralnbows and plnk Lrlangles and asklng
boys Lo wear sklrLs and hlghheels Lo school8uL why noL? Why noL promoLe a fashlon deslgn course ln school wlLh Lhe currlculum geared Lowards
Lhe chlc deslgn of cloLhlng made for men LhaL break Lhe LradlLlons and norms of socleLy? Women are openly wearlng meos cloLhlng Why should
Lhe lnverse noL be Lrue? Why noL also lnslsL for a week aL school LhaL glrls may noL wear he LradlLlonal garb worn by women? le sklrLs dresses
hlghheels [ewelry eLc l am asklng for empowermenL of Cay males Lhrough Lhe dlscourse of breaklng down socleLy's ldenLlflable garb
CLher more exLreme proacLlve sLeps LhaL l can see progresslve school Laklng would lnclude Lhe noLlon LhaL separaLe women's and men's
washrooms should no longer exlsL 1hls separaLlon may make Lransgendered sexes mascullne females femlnlne males eunuchs and lnLersexed
people feel uncomforLable wlLh Lhe cholce of washroom and Lhe reacLlons LhaL may occur when Lhey enLer elLher genderexcluslve washroom
1he facL LhaL parenLs of lnLersexed bables are ofLen Lold LhaL lf Lhe chlld doesn'L have surgery Lo enhance geneLalla or have LreaLmenLs so LhaL one
or anoLher speclflc geneLalla ls predomlnanL* Lells me rlghL away LhaL soclal norms are noneLhlcally dlcLaLlng an unnecessary rlsk Lo an oLherwlse
healLhy chlld Agaln Lhls ls all behlnd Lhe dlsgulse of heLeronormaLlvlLy
l would say we need Lo adopL Lhe raLlonale of a Lhlrd sex buL Lhls has already been deflned wlLh a varleLy of speclflcaLlons 1herefore Lerm and
cholce noLappllcable" whlch could be a unlLed sex should become avallable ln every form and lL should become Lhe norm for anyone who would
llke Lo clalm lL 8elng LC81 and nonPeLeronormaLlve needs redeslgn wlLh a new way of Lhlnklng a new way of Lalklng a new way of reacLlng and
a new way of acLlng from Lhe sLaLus quo and all of Lhe oppressed l am personally Lrylng Lo lmplemenL ln my school everyLhlng LhaL Wllllamson has
suggesLed LhaL we do I am ask|ng you now for eth|ca| and s|mp|e equa||ty for our fe||ow human fr|ends l do suggesL baby sLeps and also leaps
and bounds l Lhlnk some of Lhe world ls on Lhe rlghL Lrack buL l also Lhlnk LhaL everyone who can needs Lo proacLlvely lnlLlaLe Lhese ldeas ln Lhelr
own schools communlLles and wlLh frlends so LhaL the foct thot l om o stroiqht mo/e shou/d no /onqer hove ony more weiqht in society thon
someone who is not
&%nolmes M %00) ketblokloq tbe Meooloq ooJ Moooqemeot of lotetsexoollty 5exoolltles 159180)

You might also like