Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Issues in Education

Jackie M. Blount

Issues concerning same-sex desire and nonconforming gender identity have become among the most common and contentious ones facing education leaders today. Although persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), or queer long have worked or studied in schools, critical public attention has focused on them in recent decades. Activists in the LGBT rights movement have drawn attention to persistent employment discrimination experienced by school workers who defy sexuality and gender norms. Student organizers of gay/straight alliances in high schools have compelled school communities to confront the harassment, violence, and discrimination often directed toward LGBT and questioning students. Conversely, organized conservative religious and political groups have fought against the employment of school workers they claim corrupt the nascent gender and sexuality identities of students, the inclusion of curricular materials depicting LGBT persons in a positive light, or the founding of schoolbased groups that support the unique concerns of LGBT ...

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