ABSTRACT
Arthur Noble Applebee's research on literature curriculum and instruction paved the way for the research on reading lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)-inclusive literature with queer and ally students both inside and outside of schools. As his comprehensive study of the literature curriculum in US secondary schools made clear, there were then significant literary absences in most English language arts classrooms. Applebee's work reveals the consistent lack of diversity in the primary literary texts being taught in high school classrooms, whether public, parochial, or independent. He never directly named LGBTQ youth in his work, his scholarship coupled with what people know about the damaging school experiences of queer youth is foundational for showing why bringing LGBT-inclusive literature and queer students into curricular conversations is vital. In the current social, cultural and political milieu of US education, demanding that adults in schools, most especially teachers, offer queer students images of them and their histories may feel risky.
