Sexual Health Equity in Schools: Inclusive Sexuality and Relationship Education for Gender and Sexual Minority Students

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a review of school-based sexuality and relationship education as it relates to gender and sexual minority (GSM) students. Framed by a queer theory lens, the paper examines four main topics: (a) sexual health and relationship risks for GSM youth, (b) comprehensive school-based sexuality education as a protective factor for sexual health and relationship risks, (c) the current availability of relevant sexuality education for GSM students in the United States, and (d) inclusive schools as a social determinant of health. The author advocates for health equity, and offers suggestions for inclusive, comprehensive sexuality and relationship education to provide relevant, accurate, positive information for all students.     

‘More than boy,girl, male,female’: exploring young people’s views on gender diversity within and beyond school contexts

Abstract

This paper explores the views of young people aged 12–14 on gender diversity, drawing upon school-based qualitative data from a study conducted in England in 2015–2016. Although earlier feminist and queer research in schools often found evidence of variable local gender cultures and gender non-conformity, we argue that the contemporary context, with its increasing global awareness of gender diversity, offers young people significant new ways of learning about and doing gender. Findings reveal that many young people have expanded vocabularies of gender identity/expression; critical reflexivity about their own positions; and principled commitments to gender equality, gender diversity and the rights of gender and sexual minorities. We also show how young people are negotiating wider cultures of gendered and sexual violence. Schools are providing some spaces and learning opportunities to support gender and sexual diversity. However, overall, it appears that young people’s immediate social cultural worlds are constructed in such a way that gender binary choices are frequently inevitable, from school uniforms and toilets to sports cultures and friendships. Our conclusion touches on the implications of these findings for how educational practitioners, external agencies and young people can address gender rights, equality and justice in schools and beyond.     

Knowing,performing and holding queerness: LGBTIQ+ student experiences in Australian tertiary education

Abstract

This paper explores LGBTIQ+ students’ experiences of knowing, performing and holding queerness in a tertiary educational environment. Through interviews conducted with LGBTIQ+ students at a large Australian metropolitan university, we examine the students’ engagement with other LGBTIQ+ students in the tertiary educational space. Although originally intending to explore LGBTIQ+ students’ experience of violence, harassment and abuse on campus, the study identified a number of themes concerning the normalisation of a set of beliefs, practices, presentations and performances. Drawing on frameworks of hetero/homo and trans-normativity, we explore how LGBTIQ+ students articulated concerns in knowing, performing and holding ‘authentic’ queerness. We find LGBTIQ students experienced barred access to knowledge, hostility and dismissal by other LGBTIQ+ students when they were either perceived as too queer, or not queer enough. Behind these interactions and at the heart of these tensions is the notion of an authentic queer identity in a post-gay era and the continuous challenges all LGBTIQ+ students face within a heteronormative society. New insights into how LGBTIQ+ students negotiate, manage and shape their interactions in a higher educational settings are provided, and the implications for tertiary educational institutions, in particular the need to support a diverse LGBTIQ+ community, are discussed.     

Queering the Social Work Classroom: Strategies for Increasing the Inclusion of LGBTQ Persons and Experiences

ABSTRACT

The inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) perspectives and experiences in the social work classroom is necessary to adequately include LGBTQ students and prepare graduates to practice effectively. Drawing from queer theory as a theoretical framework and the authors’ experiences in practice and teaching/learning spaces with LGBTQ youth, this article offers practical strategies for creating classrooms inclusive of LGBTQ persons. Queering the classroom builds skills in students beyond practice with LGBTQ people and communities, thereby enhancing their capacity to engage diversity in practice more generally and to advance human rights and social justice.     

Are sexual minority youth overrepresented in foster care,child welfare,and out-of-home placement? Findings from nationally representative data

BackgroundPreliminary evidence suggests that sexual minority (e.g. lesbian, gay, bisexual, and same-sex attracted) youth are overrepresented in child welfare services. Yet, no study to date has been able to test this hypothesis with national data.ObjectiveUsing a two-study design, we test whether sexual minority youth are overrepresented in child welfare, foster care, and out-of-home placement using nationally representative data from the United States.Participants and settingStudy 1 data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 14,154; Mean age = 15.4). Study 2 data are from wave three of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II (n = 1309; Mean age = 15.0).MethodsFor Study 1, we use adjusted logistic regression models to test differences in lifetime foster care involvement between sexual minority and heterosexual youth. In Study 2, we calculate a Disproportionality Representation Index (DRI) – a ratio of sample prevalence relative to the general population – to estimate whether sexual minority youth were overrepresented in child welfare and out-of-home care.ResultsStudy 1 results indicate that sexual minority youth are nearly 2.5 times as likely as heterosexual youth to experience foster care placement (aOR = 2.43, 95% CI 1.40, 4.21, p = .002). Results from Study 2 show that sexual minority youth were largely overrepresented in child welfare services (DRI = 1.95–2.48) and out-of-home placement (DRI = 3.69–4.68).ConclusionsFindings are the first to demonstrate sexual minority youth’s overrepresentation in child welfare, foster care, and out-of-home placement using nationally representative data and emphasizes the need for focused research on sexual minority youth involved in the child welfare system.     

Windows of opportunities: Nordic perspectives on sexual diversity in education

The Nordic countries have often been depicted as progressive societies regarding sexual diversity and gender equality. These progressive changes in sexual minority issues, however, have not brought about radical changes in educational policies in addressing gender and sexual equality in schools. Both compulsory and upper secondary education often lack coherent protection of queer students. The same applies to specific policies on queer issues within the education system; they are hidden in the depths of many national curricula. In fact, a discrepancy exists in broader social policies supporting equality based on sexual orientation in the educational context. The main objective of this article is to investigate this discrepancy and justify it. In doing so, we will discuss in detail the educational policies and practices on sexualities currently operating in the Nordic area, particularly in Finland and Iceland. We analyse curricula documents, legislation, research reports, and other data from our own research projects, including ethnographic interviews, observation data, survey data, and written material.     

Knowledge and attitudes of secondary school teachers regarding sexual health education in England

Objective To assess the sexual health knowledge of teachers who contribute to secondary school sexual health education in order to determine whether teachers are adequately prepared to implement present government education and public health policies.

Design Results were obtained from a questionnaire as part of a two‐phase intervention study.

Setting Nineteen mixed‐sex, state secondary schools in central England.

Participants One hundred and fifty‐five teachers (94 female, 61 male) participated.

Main outcome measures The questionnaires were distributed to teachers to assess their knowledge of sexual health, contraception and sexually transmitted infections. In addition, teachers' attitudes on the subject of sex and relationships education were evaluated.

Results The results suggest that teachers have insufficient sexual health knowledge to effectively teach sexually transmitted infections or emergency contraception, although their general sexual health knowledge was good. Therefore, at present teachers do not have adequate specialist knowledge in sexual health to contribute to current recommendations for sex and relationships education in secondary schools. There were no statistically significant differences in the results regarding location of school, area of residence, gender or age of the participant.

Conclusions Many teachers are being expected to contribute to secondary school sexual health education programmes at a time when they do not have sufficient knowledge to provide young people with adequate sexual health education and when they do not feel prepared to teach, and in many cases would prefer not to teach, these programmes.     

Contested spaces: trans-inclusive school policies and parental sovereignty in Canada

ABSTRACT

This article analyses five public consultation meetings about revisions to an LGBTQ-related school board policy on unceded Coast Salish territory in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. These meetings focused largely on the new provision that students in publicly funded schools be allowed to use the washroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Almost all of the objections to the policy revisions were articulated by parents of non-queer, or not openly queer students. We found that these parental concerns centred around two perennial issues in Canadian educational studies; namely, how schools regulate students’ gender identities and expressions, and the role of the state in publicly funded schooling. We conclude by drawing upon emerging literature on best practices for trans youth in schools to offer alternative visions for how these issues can be better addressed with the public, and parents in particular.     

An Organizational Consultation Framework for School-Based Prevention of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

ABSTRACT

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a form of childhood sexual abuse involving the sexual exploitation of youth for economic gain. School-based CSEC prevention efforts have increased in recent years. While these efforts represent important progress in school-based efforts to prevent CSEC, the literature indicates that they need to be strengthened. This article presents a school-based organizational consultation framework that may help schools and support personnel to enhance existing school-based CSEC prevention efforts.     

Working Alterity: The Impossibility of Ethical Research With Youth

In this article, my goals are to speak theoretically and methodologically about researching with, for, and about queer youth in ways that trouble identities as people represent them. I do so within examinations of (hetero)normativity and exploring the promise of queering qualitative methodologies. Opening with a brief contextualization of the ethical conundrums inherent in a qualitative research methodology, I am particularly interested in methodologies that emanate from epistemologies that attempt both to be ethical, and to acknowledge the very impossibility of such a move. Next, possibilities for data collection, analysis, and representation that are particularly important when working with queer youth are outlined. Last, I engage in the difficult conversation about who ought be engaging in research with, by, and for queer youth.     

Editorial

Twelve focus groups were conducted with African-American and Latino youth (age 14-19) in Washington, DC to inform the development of a program to postpone sexual involvement among younger teens (age 12-14). The study's objectives were to uncover the prime motivators for early sexual involvement, examine attitudes towards pregnancy and contraception, explore peer and family influences on sexual decision-making, and identify the youth's preferred sources of information and advice on sexual matters. The data suggest that sex is a peer norm for these youth and generally begins by age 15 or before. The prime motivator for early sex among the young women appears to be social pressures from boyfriends, peers and even older siblings. In contrast, young men seem to be more motivated by physical desire, and draw a clear distinction between relationships that are exclusively sexual and those that are more serious and romantic. Early pregnancy was universally viewed as undesirable, but not always as a hindrance to one's future. While motivation to avoid pregnancy appears to be less pronounced among the African-American youth, potential barriers to contraceptive use seem prominent in both groups due to strong negative opinions about the safety and efficacy of various methods. Condoms are viewed as being appropriate for casual sexual encounters, but not for longer, more established relationships. Parents received mixed reviews as sources of information and guidance on sexual matters. Latino youth were more likely than African-Americans to view parents as being influential in their sexual decision-making, but appear less likely to rely on them for information and advice. All youth preferred clinics to schools for sex education and related services. Overall, these data signal the need for interventions that generate peer support for delaying sex and pregnancy, correct misinformation about contraceptives, and encourage frank, open discussions between youth and their parents or other caring adults.     

Sexual harassment among adolescents of different sexual orientations and gender identities

This article examines (a) variation in rates of sexual harassment across mode (e.g., in-person, online) and type of harassment, (b) the impact of sexual harassment (i.e., distressing vs. non-distressing), and (c) how sexual harassment is similarly and differently experienced across sexual orientation and gender identity groups. Data were collected as part of the Teen Health and Technology online survey of 5,907 13 to 18 year-old Internet users in the United States. Past year sexual harassment was reported by 23–72% of youth, depending upon sexual orientation, with the highest rates reported by lesbian/queer girls (72%), bisexual girls (66%), and gay/queer boys (66%). When examined by gender identity, transgender youth reported the highest rates of sexual harassment – 81%. Overall, the most common modes for sexual harassment were in-person followed by online. Distress in the form of interference with school, family, and/or friends; creating a hostile environment; or being very/extremely upset was reported by about half of the sexually harassed bisexual girls and lesbian/queer girls, 65% of the gender non-conforming/other gender youth, and 63% of the transgender youth. Youth with high social support and self-esteem were less likely to report sexual harassment. Findings point to the great importance of sexual harassment prevention for all adolescents, with particular emphasis on the unique needs and experiences of youth of different sexual orientations and gender identities. Socio-emotional programs that emphasize self-esteem building could be particularly beneficial for reducing the likelihood of victimization and lessen the impact when it occurs.     

Gendered harassment in secondary schools: understanding teachers’ (non) interventions

This article provides an analysis of teachers’ perceptions of and responses to gendered harassment in Canadian secondary schools based on in‐depth interviews with six teachers in one urban school district. Gendered harassment includes any behaviour that polices and reinforces traditional heterosexual gender norms such as (hetero)sexual harassment, homophobic harassment, and harassment for gender non‐conformity. This study shows that educators experience a combination of external and internal influences that act as either barriers or motivators for intervention. Some of the external barriers include: lack of institutional support from administrators; lack of formal education on the issue; inconsistent response from colleagues; fear of parent backlash; and negative community response. By gaining a better understanding of the complex factors that shape how teachers view and respond to gendered harassment, we can work towards more effective solutions to reduce these behaviours in schools.     

The policyscape of transgender equality and gender diversity in the Western Australian education system: a case study

ABSTRACT

In this paper, our purpose is to investigate policy informing texts and discourses referencing transgender equality and gender diversity in the Western Australian education system. Drawing on scholarship from transgender, queer and policy studies, we highlight the interplay of progressive and conservative forces affecting the Western Australian education system’s commitment to supporting transgender and gender non-binary students. Based on a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) project, the paper constructs a Western Australian case study, which threads together the critical examination of policy informing texts, qualitative interview data and media discourses surrounding public narratives, such as the Safe School Coalition Australia’s attempt to implement a school program, which builds awareness about gender and sexual diversity. Emerging through the material, discursive and spatial elements of locales and networks, our case study has the potential to deepen knowledge regarding the heuristic capacity of employing policyscape as an analytic category. In this vein, we draw attention to the possibilities and challenges for re-conceptualizing gender and providing trans-affirmative school spaces that promote equality.     

Gender Relations and the Production of Difference in School-based Sexuality and HIV/AIDS Education in Australia

HIV/AIDS discourses have not only made people aware of HIV as a disease entity but have opened up new ways of thinking and talking about sex and sexuality. This article draws on findings from an evaluation of a pilot sexuality education programme, conducted in secondary schools in Victoria (Australia), to examine gender relations and the production of difference. Participating schools were required to incorporate teaching and learning experiences which normalised and affirmed sexual diversity and explored issues around HIV-related discrimination and homophobia. Two examples, gender, power and menstruation and heterosexism and homophobia, are used to analyse the language and practices students engage in as part of the process of achieving a (hetero)sexual identity. It is argued that HIV/AIDS education and sexuality education, more broadly defined, presents a particular challenge to dominant forms of masculinity and that programmes need to address gender, power and heterosexuality and its discontents if they are to have a positive impact on HIV-related discrimination and homophobia.     

‘I think it’s very much placed on us’: Black queer men laboring to forge community at a predominantly White and (hetero)cisnormative research institution

Abstract

The sociopolitical conditions in which Black queer college men exist in often marginalize them from fully participating in and engaging with the entire campus community. Some researchers suggest that Black queer men (BQM) create counterspaces on-campus to contend with their marginalization as racial, gender, and sexual minorities. This study explores the collegiate experiences of BQM who forged community and strong interpersonal relationships through a peer-support group. Using intersectionality and queer theoretical frameworks, this study interrogates heteronormativity, cisnormativity, and racism that BQM experiences within postsecondary settings.     

Sex and gender in transition in US schools: ways forward

Abstract

This paper examines the current state of law and policy in relation to US transgender youth and their lived experiences. We approach this from different disciplinary backgrounds, identities, and ways of writing terms related to gender identity. We begin with an examination of the current legal climate in the USA and explore how students have pushed back against gender and sexuality norms even in a restrictive climate. Some transformations are already happening in public schools and some backlash, too, is being felt. Laws and policies in some locations are encouraging students, teachers, school leaders and community members to collaborate in making schools more educationally concerned about trans student success and teaching the school community about gender diversity. In shifting among scales and experiences of youth thinking and working on gender, we aim to emphasise youth agency and outline young people’s frustrations at the obstacles related to trans, gender dissidence and sexuality. In conclusion, we point to changes that can be made in schools to help professionals understand how policy and curricular innovation can bolster the openings that trans, gender creative and gender non-binary youth are already creating, whether or not those opportunities are officially recognised.     

Queer trepidations and the art of inclusion

Abstract

Contemporary research and pedagogy telated to sexualities and schooling in Australia, Aotearoa1/New Zealand and the United States often focuses on ways to alleviate homophobia and heterosexism in the hope of creating schools that are more inclusive of lesbian and gay (and very rarely bisexual, transgender and intersex2) (LGBTI) teachers and students. Within this paradigm, the notion of what comprises sexualities is often taken as given. Alternatively, researchers and educators may invoke essentialising narratives in order to make arguments for the inclusion of students and teachers who adopt LGBTI identifications. Drawing on a theoretical framework influenced by the work of Deborah Britzman3 and other queer theorists within and outside education this article interrogates these strategies of inclusion. In particular, I focus on research methodologies and pedagogies related to sexualities and schooling devised in the name of inclusion of young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT)4 in secondary educational contexts. This analysis, which is based on my doctoral studies, commences with a consideration of queer theories and the art of inclusion. Subsequent to this I analyse pedagogies of inclusion and methodologies of inclusion, and, their nexus with queer theories.     

What does the teaching and learning of sexuality education in South African schools reveal about counter-normative sexualities?

ABSTRACT

Using the interlocking concepts of power, knowledge and discourse, this article focuses on how counter normative sexualities are discursively constructed in the sexuality education classroom and with what effects. Drawing on in-depth interviews with teachers and classroom observation, the evidence highlights the presence of specific discourses about the teaching and learning of sexuality diversity. First, while many teachers argued for the inclusion of counter-normative sexualities, in their teaching and responses they privileged heterosexuality as legitimate and natural and same-sex sexualities as deviant and Other. Second, teachers’ discourses construct queer youth not only as innocent and childlike but also as hypersexual and rebellious – requiring discipline and intervention. These constructions link closely to discourses of pity and tolerance, or blame when counter-normative sexualities were expressed. Finally, despite heterosexuality being privileged in the classroom, teachers’ and pupils’ questions about gender and sexuality diversity suggest the need for a more defined and inclusive curriculum sexuality education curriculum. Findings justify concern about how counter-normative sexualities are addressed in the sexuality education classroom and advocate for improvement in teaching and learning about counter-normative sexualities in South African secondary education.     

Post-traumatic stress and related symptoms among juvenile detention residents: Results from intake screening

BackgroundJuvenile justice-involved youth have high rates of trauma exposure, physical and sexual abuse and PTSD. Several factors have been found to be related to PTSD symptoms in youth including number and chronicity of traumatic events.ObjectiveTo simultaneously examine the relationships between allostatic load (defined here as number of traumatic experiences), poly-victimization (exposure to two or more forms of victimization based on 5 of the 6 categories in Ford et al.’s 2010 study), physical/sexual abuse and PTSD in justice-involved youth.Participants and SettingThe sample consisted of 1984 youth in juvenile detention in a Northeastern city. The sample was 73.4% male and the majority of youth were either African American or Hispanic.MethodsClinicians collected demographic and psychosocial information, and measured symptoms of PTSD, depression, and problematic substance use.ResultsResults showed that youth with more traumas, those who experienced poly-victimization and those who experienced physical/sexual assault/abuse were not only more likely to have PTSD, but also more likely to have depression, thoughts of suicide/self-harm, and problematic substance use (as indicated by the presence of 2 or more of 6 possible indicators). Poly-victimization was a stronger correlate of PTSD than number of traumas or physical/sexual assault/abuse. However, among youth with PTSD, number of traumas was associated with co-occurring problems while poly-victimization and physical/sexual assault/abuse were not.ConclusionsFindings can be used to help direct resources to juvenile justice-involved youth who are most in need of treatment.