This paper examines the discourses of morality drawn on by secondary school teachers in England to describe their attitudes to pupils' developing sexual identities. Although teachers recognized their own formative role in the sexual socialization of pupils and identified homophobic attitudes among boys, they were ambivalent about how far they…

Boys in school, homophobia, and forms of masculinity are currently the focus of significant debate in and about education and schools. Much of this discussion takes as given the sexual orientation, and therefore sexual identity, of the students of whom it speaks and mobilizes equal rights discourses on behalf of gay and lesbian students. This…

American colleges and universities often refer to their "dedication to diversity". The truth is, some institutions really make an effort, and some only offer lip service. This article discusses ways on how college institutions can provide a more welcoming atmosphere to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (glbt) students through use…

This article emerges from an extensive conversation with three people of color--one Latino, one South Asian, and one African American--about their experiences of "coming out" and "being out" as gay, lesbian, and bisexual in a variety of higher education contexts. The article is divided into three parts. Part one offers a brief overview of…

The transition to parenthood is a time of stress for many couples. Most research on the transition to parenthood has been conducted with middle-class, heterosexual couples. The current study uses multilevel modeling to examine predictors of change in relationship quality (love and conflict) during the transition to parenthood in 29 lesbian…

Research addressing the lives and friendships of older Black lesbians is virtually nonexistent. Using narrative analysis, we chronicle the lives of two older Black lesbians (73 and 85 years of age) through the lens of positive marginality. The concept of positive marginality asserts that living both inside and outside of the mainstream produces…

In this article, I explore issues of sexuality and reflexivity in language education research practices by revisiting a section of an interview between myself as researcher and a student research participant. The research interview was from a larger ethnographic study on cultural identities in a second language program, and the student was a…

This article recounts my search for a context-appropriate way of exploring gender and sexuality issues in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. The first half of the article explains why and how I sought a pedagogic strategy that would be educationally effective, institutionally viable, and culturally appropriate-in my case, for EFL…

Same-sex marriage, barely on the political radar a decade ago, is a reality in America. How will it affect the well-being of children? Some observers worry that legalizing same-sex marriage would send the message that same-sex parenting and opposite-sex parenting are interchangeable, when in fact they may lead to different outcomes for children.…

During the past ten years, attention on bullying has intensified among educators, parents, journalists, and educational researchers in the wake of high-profile incidents of bullying in some Canadian schools. Safe schools policies and programs have proliferated as a result. However, the issue of homophobia-a pervasive form of bullying-tends to be…

This paper examines the interplay between gender and sexuality. In particular, it looks at some reasons why mainstream society cannot bear homosexuality, or any expression of resistance to heteronormativity. The paper also considers what makes schools particularly hostile to teaching or tolerating deviance from set notions of essentialized and…

Although there is much debate about the positive effects of active sporting pursuits for the young, in reality many young people are still excluded or deterred from taking part as much as they would like. There are still particular bodily performances which are considered more suitable for taking part in mainstream sport, and invariably one of the…

This qualitative study combined descriptive written instruments and focus group data to investigate heterosexual college students' current attitudes toward gay and lesbian peers, a distinctly at-risk population. Overall, participants were generally supportive, but participants felt public pressure to hide or shield the support they felt for gay…

This paper explores the potential for peer-based anti-oppression education groups to achieve social change, considers the conditions that make their work possible and introduces several critical questions and issues raised by such efforts. I have drawn upon my involvement in my former high school's Rainbow Alliance, as well as in two Toronto…

In this essay, the author first describes the cultural ethos of the Federation of Women Teachers' Associations of Ontario (FWTAO), with its primary commitment to the never-married teacher. She then traces the declining status of the single, female teacher in the postwar period. Coupled with this decline is an emphasis placed on the importance of…