For my final reflection I would like to address a question I posed in my first written response and consolidate some of my learning on gender performativity.
In my first reflection I questioned how street youth in particular females might use their gender in order to survive and the article entitled, “You’ve gotta learn how to play the game’: homeless women’s use of gender performance as a tool for preventing victimization” addressed this question. The article illuminated the fact that homeless females have to perform gender simply to survive and prevent victimization in a male dominated space and are therefore forced to play a game.
This so called game of survival means that female street youth have one of four options available to them if they wish to survive the harsh realities the streets produce. This include using their feminine “charms”, acting masculine, appearing genderless or passing (that is pretending to be lesbian when they are in fact straight. This brings to light the fact that how we perform gender is dependent upon both the context and the audience. For example in the gay community certain labels are often ascribed to how both lesbian and gay men perform their gender. In both cases if the lesbian or gay male asserts the masculine role they are said to be (butch) but often times “feminine lesbians” are referred to as lipstick lesbians while “feminine men” are often times referred to as queens. Admittedly I myself have been known to “camp it up” a bit especially if my audience is responding to my performance positively.
Although none of the articles we read critically examined how street males are forced to perform gender in order to survive the article, “Neoliberalism and Masculinity: Racialization of Contradiction of Schooling for 11 to 14 – Year Olds” examined how males had to negotiate between school work and masculinity. In the article, “The Tyranny of Surveillance: Male Teachers and the Policing of Masculinities in a Single Sex School” questioned how male teachers who did not teach traditional masculine subjects must play the game in order to be taken seriously by their males students. This is not say that this is comparable to or as life threatening as those females who have to play the game in order to survive the streets rather these examples illustrate that at times both males and females are forced to perform gender dependent on the situation and for whom they are performing.
Although I am aware of gender roles and societal expectations on how boys and girls “are supposed to act”, the topic of gender performativity forced me to reflect on when the lines become clear as to what roles men and women should assume. For me, it dates back to my early literacy days and when a neighborhood teenager gave me his comic book collection that he had outgrown.
Riffling through the boxes, I found Archie Comics, Ritchie Rich Comics and several Marvel and DC Comics. Both Superman and Wonder Women (I think I still have a crush on Lynda Carter) were my favorite superheroes. Not only did these comics strengthen my literacy skills, but little did I realize at the time how these comics reinforced stereotypes. Male superheroes were always buff and ripped while female superheroes had an hour glass figure, voluptuous breasts and long legs. These superheroes arch enemies usually lacked some quality of intelligence or physical appeal. Take for example the Joker who was gaunt in appearance and had a facial deformity or the Penguin who was overweight and also had hands of a penguin. Never once did I encounter a superhero male or female who was overweight or who was not physically attractive, yet the villains often fell into these binaries.
Both Superman’s and Wonder Woman’s alter ego were not in align with what society at the time would deem physically attractive. Clarke Kent’s six pack was concealed by his rather nerdy appearance as a reporter and Diana Prince’s curvy figure was concealed buy her tweed suites. Both wore horned rimmed glasses to detract from their physical appearance. The roles that these superheroes assumed and their alter egos reinforced for me how gender was to be performed and how one ought to look in order to be considered physically attractive. I think the Rup Hall quote sums it up best when he states, “We are born naked and the rest is drag” and I think at times we all play the game in one sense or another.
References
Huey, L. & Berndt, E. (2008). ‘You’ve gotta learn how to play the game’: Homeless women’s use of gender performance as a tool for preventing victimization. The Sociological Review, 56:2
Martino, W. & (2006.) The tyranny of surveillance: Male teachers and the policing of masculinities in a single sex school. Gender and Education (January 2006), 18 (1), pg. 17-33
Phoenix, Ann. (2004) Neoliberalism and masculinity: Racialization and the contradictions of Schooling for 11- to 14-Year-Olds Youth & Society 36. 2 (December 2004)
Gender as Performance Assignment
Teaching Queer Pedagogy #4
It is a well-known fact that when children feel safe and supported they are more apt to achieve academically, socially and emotionally (Taylor & et.al, 2008). “Bullying is a problem that undermines this commitment and erodes the potential for all students to prosper” (Walton, 2010). Walton (2010) contends that issues concerning gender and sexuality provide a rich trough for bullying in which bullies can feed from, yet; rarely is homophobia acknowledge in curriculum or policy. “Bohan (1997) claims that during class discussions about relationships, families, values, beliefs, norms, societal expectations, adolescence, development, and diversity”, (as citied in, Healy, 2001, pp. 3-4 ) queer youth are seldom afforded an opportunity to see their lives mirrored in the curriculum in an affirmative light. These classroom deliberations are almost always presented from a heterosexist point of view (Bohan, 1997,as cited in Healy, 2004 pp.2-3) which means the content is presented in the ‘belief and practice that heterosexuality is the only natural form of sexuality’ (Cooper, 1994, as cited in Buston & Hart, 2001, p. 95).
For queer youth, school can be nothing more than a site of “thundering heteronormativity” where this group of individuals often do not see themselves or their sexuality reflected in any aspect of the curriculum (Epstein et al., 2003, p.102, as cited in Barker, 2007, p.86). In fact they often find themselves silenced by the overt, hidden and null curriculum of schools. Flowers (2001) asserts that unless these affected youth see themselves reflected in the curriculum they are marginalized, resulting in high dropout rates, social isolation, and numerous other problematic outcomes. Due to these reasons it is imperative that curriculum include queer pedagogy.
In light of this, I take every opportunity to create windows and mirrors within my classroom so that students can not only see themselves reflected in the curriculum but others as well. In other words, I attempt to create a culturally inclusive environment where the expectation is respect for self, others, learning and the environment. In regards to queer pedagogy I teach it from a lens of social justice rather than a clinical or diagnostic point of view.
It has always been my experience that throughout the course of a school year teachable moments present themselves and these twinklings often happen outside of the classroom (usually on the playground or in the hallways) either with students not enrolled in my class or with the school community at large. For example: if a student uses a homophobic slur and I feel another staff members has ignored the comment , I simply question the person if they heard what I had heard. When a child uses language such as “Fag” I simply ask them if know what it means and I explain to them the historical significance of the word. I explain to them in medieval times that if some was thought to be queer they would have to hold little sticks and set themselves on fire (thus the lighting of a cigarette was often consider the lighting of a fag).
As a preventative measure within my own classroom to address such slurs and epithets such as “That’s So Gay” I use the resource “That’s so Gay Not” published by the Province of British Columbia which is truly an amazing resource which addresses several “ism” not just homophobia.
Critically literacy is also a huge part of my program, so I select books that deal with homophobia and gender bias and have children deconstruct these books in meaningful ways and use them as a spring board for discussion. One of my favorite activities is to read an expert form the “Paper Back Princess” without giving away the gender of the knight who slays the dragon. I then have them draw a knight and request the they give their night an appropriate name. To date my collections of knights are all male. A similar activity I use is to have students draw a mad scientist. One of my favorite books to read is “And Tango Makes Three” about two male penguins that raise a child. It is amazing how I have to probe the word “gay” from the students, but these are activities that build up trust and allow them to question their thinking.
In addition when looking at each subject, I attempt to look at the contributions of those from the gay community so students will realize is not only non queer individuals who contribute to society and the betterment of the world at large. I must admit this does take some work to find mathematicians, scientist and the like but with perseverance I am usually able to find a few and my collection of names is always growing. On the other hand, I aslo look at those groups who are marginalized based on age, gender, sexuality, relgion and race to name a few. For example, when studying the holocaust we look at those who would be considered bystanders, victims and perpetrators. This means, not only do we look at the Jewish community but the gay community and we look at those who risked their lives to help people escape from this horrific event. Another great resource for this is the FAST program which stands for Fighting Antisemitism Together, it comes with video clips, recent newspaper articles addressing “ism” both in the past and present. The section on homophobia is one of the best I have seen to date.
Being on my Boards Race Relations, Cross Cultural Understanding and Human Rights Lead Team not only gives me the opportunity to assist in the writing of policy but keeps me informed of the policies and procedures that govern each school within our district. This affords me the opportunity to share my knowledge of these policies with my students and colleague by means of educating them on their rights and responsiblities . Within the context of my classroom we also examine human right cases (which I re write in terms they can understand). I have them defend whether or not they think the decesions made were just and they must present their arguement as if they were a lawyer. Most students have strong convictions on what they view as just or not and by having them listen to others often gives them the opportunity to question or reinforce what they believe.
These are just a few of things, I do within the classroom to create a cultural competent learning environment and it is not limited to only queer pedagogy and perhaps this is why I have had success in teaching queer theory. I know this is not always the case as some parents think that teaching queer pedagogy means you are promoting a “lifestyle”, therefore; one must be able to address how these issues relate to the curriculum and know their rights as an educator as well as a paying union member. The fact that our board supplies us with these resources does speak to the fact that this is an issue of concern.
In relation to the question: What possibilities do schools present? I must admit it is very dependent upon the principal and the individual teacher. When I first started teaching, I basically had to force my principal to drag the books that dealt with homophobia out of the closest (no pun intended)! In another school that I worked in we decided to do a social justice museum. One parent threatened to remove their child from the school permanently if we talked about “homosexuality” (a word which I attempt to erase from my vocabulary because of the implications) during this event. Although this father simply could have opted to keep his child home on the day of the museum he expressed this was not an option. The principal firm in her decesion continued with the museum and the child was removed and home schooled. As a staff we collectively felt saddened by this as this child was the one who might have benefited the most from this experience.
I believe that when we create these windows and mirrors and we create an enviroment of mutual respect children are more likely to engage in courageous conversations and this might expain why one child expressed to me that she thought she was a lesbian and why another child told me she had two moms.The fact that these courageous conversations were initiated by these two young women is what has led me to another masters and prompted my research topic which is homophobic harassment (bullying) in elementary schools.
Barker, M. (2007). Heteronormativity and the exclusion of bisexuality in psychology. In:
Clarke, Victoria and Peel, Elizabeth (Eds.), Out in psychology: Lesbian, gay,
bisexual, trans, and queer perspectives pp.86-118. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
Buston, K. & Hart, G.(2001). Heterosexismand homophobia in Scottish sex education:
exploring the nature of the problem. Journal of Adolescence. (24) pp. 95-109.
Flowers, R.B. (2001, September 02). Teachers lauded for gay materials stance (Letter to
the editor). The London Free Press ,p. A7.
Healy, N. (2004). Is curriculum in the closet? Instructors’ perceptions about gay and e;
lesbian content in Alberta university gender courses. Retrieved June
from https://www.uleth.ca/dspace/handle/10133/223.
Taylor, C., Peter, T., Schachter, K., Paquin, S., Beldom, S., Gross, Z., & McMinn, TL.
(2008). Youth speak up about homophobia and transphobia: The first national
climate survey on homophobia in canadian schools. Phase one report.Toronto
ON: Egale Canada Human Rights Trust.
Walton, G. (2010). Forging safer learning environments: Addressing homophobic bullying
in schools. Retreived October 9, 2012 from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_safe_learnin
g_environments.pdf
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure #3
The main article I have selected to respond to this week is “Schools as Sites for Transformation: Exploring the Contribution of Habitus”. I focused on this article not because I found it insightful rather it infuriated me! I take the stance as outlined in the article “that YouthBuild does little more than provide working class jobs for working class people, reproducing inequality rather than providing an opportunity to transcend the class hierarchy” (Horvart & Davis, 2011, p. 145). The authors here contend that it is better to have these individuals (referring to a demographic that was largely made up of racial minorities) in the work force rather than in prison or receiving social assistance. In other words this program lessens the burden on society. If the demographic was whitle middle class youth would this be an acceptable solution to what I see as a systemic problem of racsim. I think not!
The suggestion that schools can be transformed by simply creating curriculum that offers on the job training programs coupled with classroom work and counselling services is not a new or innovative idea as the title suggests. Nova Scotia like many other provinces has been doing this for decades. Some of the many programs that reflect these efforts include 4H program (a head start program for disadvantage families), Careers (very similar to YouthBuild), Vocational Stream (Plumbing, Electrical, Cooking, etc) and Business Stream (Secretarial, Computer Applications and Accounting) to name just a few viable options. Yet, despite all of these transformative efforts, the Black Learners Advisory Committee (BLAC) in their 1994 reported the dropout rate for African Nova Scotian students was double than that of our Non African Nova Scotian students.
In order to address this problem “unique structures, systems and programs [were put] in place to address racial inequality and empower African Nova Scotian learners” (Lee, 2009, p.8) based on 46 recommendations. Since the inception of these programs, there has been a steady increase in African Nova Scotian students attending higher education institutions for the past four consecutive years and each student was supported financially through scholarships. Recently, all 20 individuals enrolled in a Masters of Education program in Afri-centric studies graduated. Furthermore, new curriculum focusing on African Heritage has been introduced in Nova Scotia and support workers for African Nova Scotian students are now visible in the schools. In other words, a real effort has been put forth to create culturally competent classrooms in order to create windows (so students can see others) and mirrors (so students can see themselves) reflected in all aspects of the curriculum.
This is not to say the achievement gap has been closed, but at least the Province is willing to admit that there is a problem and are working diligently to lessen the gap by taking proactive measures rather than reactive ones which I feel YouthBuild has done. While some may argue that these programs help children gain a sense of self esteem by means of having youth help others and create something of value, I do not feel the authors addressed the problem as to why these students dropped out in the first place and simply offered a band – aide solution to an emergency room problem.
I found the article by Baldrige, Hill & Davis (2011) did offer insight as to why youth become disenganged and disenfranchised when they state the schools “did not respond to the values, concerns and lived realities that [these students faced]” (p. 11). I found these authors gave a voice to the black men who participated in this study and gave the reader insight into the many chanllenges faced by these young men.
In summary, Khalfa (2012) reminds us how strong leadership can make a difference. A prime example of this is the one I rendered in class of how a principal was simply able to get parents involved with their childrens` education simply but holding the Parent – Teacher Night in their community hall rather than at the school that brought back so many painful memories for these parents. This goes to show that when we take the time to know all of our invested members of the school community and understand their prespecitive we can create a possitive change!
References
Baldridge, B., Hill, M., & Davis, J. (2011). New possibilities: (re)engaging black male youth within community-based educational spaces. Race, ethnicity and education, 14(1), 121-136. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2011.531984
BLAC Report, (1994). Readressing inequity – Empowering black learners. Vol. 1-3 p. 1- 436.
Retrieved from:
http://acs.ednet.ns.ca/sites/default/files/REALITY_CHECK_FINAL_REPORT_FOR_W
EB.pdf
Horvat, E. N. & Davis, J. E. (2010). Schools as sites for transformation: Exploring the
contribution of the habitus. Youth and Society
Khalifa, M. (2012). A re-new- ed paradigm in successful urban school leadership: Principal as community leader. Educational administration quarterly, 48(3), 424-467. doi: 10.1177/oo13161x11432922
Lee, E. (200). Reality check. Retrieved from:
http://acs.ednet.ns.ca/sites/default/files/REALITY_CHECK_FINAL_REPORT_F
OR_WEB.pdf
Children are not Little Adults #2
The article, Children as ‘Being and Becoming’: Children, Childhood and Temporality was one I was intrigued by from the onset. The mere title suggested to me the urgency society places on children to become adults and the unrealistic expectations sometimes placed on youth. According to Uprichard (2007) the concepts of being and becoming are problematic, and as a solution this author suggests “to consider these discourses together, and not necessarily as conflicting discourses but as ones that compliment another” (Uprichard, 2007, p.303) “because children are always and necessarily being and becoming” (Uprichard, 2007, p.303). For me, this was a rather flimsy argument which offered very little insight on how to deconstruct how children are viewed by adults. With that being stated, I did put credence into what Uprichard offered regarding time and competency.
As a society, I feel as if we are rushing children through their childhood. Too often, we are preoccupied with wanting to know what they want be when they grow up and instilling in them the importance of an education so they might have access to careers that will make them successful productive citizens both locally and globally. Perhaps we should be more concerned that they are healthy and happy now and simply instill in them the morals and values of respect for self, others, the environment and learning by means of example. Children are often treated as if they were mini adults and are often forced to take on adult roles yet when they engage in so called “adult behaviours” we are mortified and shocked!
I appreciated that Uprichard (2007) put credence into the fact that youth are often capable of things that we as adults are not. I know in my house it was always my step son who took on the role of the computer technician (which probably explains why he choose this as a career path). Even now when I have a problem with word press or some other computer issue he is my go to person.
While I do feel that we have to prepare children for the future and teach them responsibility, I have come to realize that this is truly a delicate balancing act and that we simply need to allow kids to be kids and transition into adulthood when they are developmentally ready.
Uprichard, E. (2007). Children as ‘being and becomings’: Children, bhildhood and temporality
Children and Society 22, (2008) pp. 303–313
Youth Victimization #1
The report Surviving Crime and Violence: Street Youth and Victimization in Toronto forced me to “explore the relationship between youth homelessness and criminal victimization” (Gaetz, O’Grady & Buccieri, 2009. p.1) and call into question my own beliefs, attitudes and ideologies concerning this marginalized group. Although I am aware of media sensationalism and I am apt to critically analyze what is being reported, I never really conisidered how the media portrayed street youth. After reading this report, I realized that street youth are often depicted as the perpetrators of crime rather than victims. I was surprised to learn that “queer female youth are perhaps the most victimized street youth population” (Gaetz, O’Grady & Buccieri, 2009. p.3) and forced me to think about how street youth may use their gender in order to survive (perhaps this will be addressed in one the upcoming seminars) and the challenges that face queer youth.
When examining the data one finds that there is a disproportionate number of homeless queer youth in comparison to the general population. According to the Elementary Federation of Ontario Teachers (2003) approximately 10 percent of the population is queer, yet; queer youth on the streets account for 20-30 percent of the homeless population (Saewyc, Skay, Pettingell, Reis, Bearinger, Resnick, Murphy & Combs, 2006; de Castell & Jensen, 2007).
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (2006) family conflict (such as those portrayed in the video vignettes) was identified as the most significant reason as to why queer and straight youth resorted to leaving home. Early research into queer homelessness revealed 50% of gay youth experienced negative reactions when they came out to their families and 26% were requested to leave home (Ray, 2006). In addition 1/3 of youth who were homeless or in the care of social service agencies experienced violent physical assault when they came out (Ray, 2006) which can lead to youth feeling safer on the streets than in shelters or foster care.
According to the National Coalition of the Homeless (2009) LGBT youth are likely to be victims of sexual abuse prior to age twelve and this group are at higher risk of victimization, mental health problems and unsafe sexual behaviors. This coalition reported that 58.7% of LGBT youth have been sexually abused versus 33.4 % of heterosexual homeless youth. In addition, LGBT homeless youth are 7.4 times more apt to experience sexual violence when compared to their heterosexual homeless peers. Furthermore, LGBT youth have higher suicide rates than non queer homeless (62% vs. 29%).
Street youth have been reported to have higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia and Gonorrhea and many reported trading sex for money, sex, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes (Public Health Association of Canada, 2006).
From this one can extrapolate that even though many street youth accept their sexuality they are often literally kicked to the curb by those who are supposed to love them unconditionally and are a population at great risk!
References
de Castell, S. & Jenson, J. (2007). “No place like home” revised and reprinted in Mollie Blackburn and Carolyn Clark (Eds.) pp. 132-154. Literacy research for political action and social change, Peter Lang Press
ETFO, (2003). Challenging homophobia and heterosexism. Toronto: Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/viewitem.asp?siteid=15&menuid=5401&pageid=4717
National Coalition for the Homeless (June, 2009) LGBT homelessness. Washington, DC. Retrieved from: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/lgbtq.html
Gaetz, S., O’Grady, B., & Buccieri, K. (2010). Surviving crime and violence: Street youth victimization in Toronto. Toronto: JFCY &Homeless Hub
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). (2006). Street youth in Canada: Findings from enhanced surveillance of Canadian street youth, 1999-2003. Ottawa, ON: Author
Ray, N. (2006). Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth: An epidemic of homelessness. New York: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force PolicyInstitute and the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Saewyc, E. M. Skay, C. Pettingell, S. L. Reis, E. A. Bearinger, L. Resnick, M. Murphy, A. Combs, L. (2006). Hazards of stigma: The sexual and physical abuse of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents in the United States and Canada. ERIC Document Child Welfare League of America. P.O. Box 932831, Atlanta, GA 31193-2831. EJ740104
NB: For some reason when I attempted to use the tab key so I could reference using APA word press would not allow this does anyone have a solution to this?
Youth Culture 
