ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chaptersof this book. The book describes how students spoke and wrote about specific issues, including heteronormativity, religion and sexuality, and transgender identity. Sexual orientation is often confused or conflated with gender identity, but in fact the concepts, while related, are distinct. Addressing gender identity and sexuality is essential in teacher education for several reasons. Teacher candidates also need to understand how hostile school environments can be for LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming youth, and they need to know how to help change those environments. Homophobic and transphobic attitudes position LGBTQ parents and their children as unwelcome in schools, and they place barriers between children's home and school lives. Positioning theory offers us a series of tools through which to map the shifting relationships, the shifting positions, taking place in those interaction and others.
