| 204 Room 524-B | Sexual Orientation Sunday, July 10, 2005 Time: 1:00 PM-4:00 PM |
Teaching About LGBTQ Issues From a Social Justice Perspective.
Pray, Marlene*,1, 1 Planned Parenthood Association of Bucks County, Bristol, PA, USA
ABSTRACT- While there has been significant growth in the sexuality field in teaching about lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer/questioning (LGBTQ) issues, this has included little information about approaching the topic from a social justice or anti-racist perspective. Without this perspective, we often unknowingly perpetuate the marginalization and oppression of certain groups of students and fail to offer our students an environment of actual transformation and education. Leading activists and educators in the fields of LGBTQ rights, sexuality education, and anti-racism speak about the important connections, common struggles and parallels between anti-racism and LGBTQ liberation. We also know that if racism is not discussed, analyzed and challenged in mainstream classrooms as well as queer spaces, the manifestations of oppression and racism specifically(internalized racial inferiority, internalized white superiority, white supremacy, etc.) will remain. The threat is then that the goals of sexual health, positive self identity, healthy relationships, HIV/STI prevention are then not equally experienced by youth of color, even in an LGBTQ positive space. White youth are threatened in a different yet significant way by not addressing LGBTQ issues from a social justice perspective. By not challenging their own internalized superiority and institutional racism that they benefit from, white youth continue to participate in a system of oppression that hurts youth of color and damages their own identity as equal with all people. Therefore it is critical that youth, those of color and white, begin a process of looking at these issues and exploring the connections and significance of racism and LGBTQ oppression. The workshop will include an interactive icebreaker relating to the themes of celebrating what the group knows about social justice, LGBTQ issues, youth development and education on these topics. A short presentation of the author's findings in teaching about LGBTQ issues from a social justice perspective in high schools and alternative youth settings and her experience running the Rainbow Room, an LGBTQ youth center will follow. The participants will then take part in a graffiti sheet style activity on LGBTQ issues and racism that can be replicated in classroom and youth settings, followed by a review of the lesson plan and small group discussion of adapting to different settings. As a resulf of this session educators and sexuality professionals will be able to demonstrate an awareness of the connections between racism and LGBTQ oppression by listing three concrete links in their discussion. They will also be able to lead a program on LGBTQ issues from a social justice perspective by adapting the lesson plan covered in the workshop. Finally participants will be able to describe three key components of social justice education and how these relate to teaching about LGBTQ issues. This will be an interactive workshop, drawing from the knowledge and personal experience of participants and leading research and best practices in the field.
Key words: queer, social-justice, orientation, education, experiential