ABSTRACT

Many schools are taking action to become inclusive of gender and sexual diversity, however, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer teachers (LGBTQ) continue to exist at the margins of both schools and research. This study reports on interviews with a group of self-identifying LGB teachers in England. Subsequent thematic analysis examined the subject positions that are available, particularly around being ‘out’ (or not) in school. Findings suggest that LGB teachers take on complex identity work to maintain their status both as LGB and as exemplary teachers. For many, their desire was to become ‘authentic’ LGB teachers, which for them involved being out in school. However, this is arduous work for people who can be too easily positioned as ‘failing’. There are ways to navigate this, which principally involve becoming the agent of dominant discourses rather than their subject. Overall, there is pressure on the LGB teacher to exist, not because it is a discrete identity, but because of its marked absence from dominant discourses in schools. This is particularly relevant to the neoliberal context in which teachers are caught between performances of heteronormativity and diversity, and where sexuality is intimately related to authenticity.

摘要

许多学校正在采取行动，以纳入性别和性多样性，但是，女同性恋，男同性恋，双性恋，变性者和酷儿老师（LGBTQ）仍然在学校和研究的边缘存在。这项研究报告了对一群在英国自我识别的LGB教师的采访。随后的主题分析检查了可用的学科位置，尤其是在学校“外出”（或不在）中。调查结果表明，LGB教师要进行复杂的身份识别工作，以保持其作为LGB和模范教师的地位。对于许多人来说，他们的愿望是成为“地道的” LGB教师，这对他们来说是在学校里读书。但是，对于那些容易被定位为“失败”的人们来说，这是一项艰巨的工作。有很多方法可以解决这个问题，主要涉及成为主导话语而不是其主体的主体。总体而言，LGB教师存在压力，这不是因为它是一个离散的身份，而是因为它在学校中的主流话语中明显缺席。这与新自由主义的背景尤为相关，在新自由主义的背景下，教师陷入了异规范性和多样性之间，而性与真实性密切相关。