ABSTRACT
Schools are microcosms of the larger society. More specifically, “schools are microcosms of the communities they serve and thus often reflect the culture and values of the dominant group in the school” (Meyer, 2009, p. 23). Historically, schools have embodied and reproduced heteronormativity. The contents of the curriculum and the hidden curriculum reflect an entrenched belief system and pedagogical practices that exemplify heterosexuality’s elevated position in the sociosexual hierarchy. For instance, sexuality education is taught from a heterosexual perspective. Literature and language studies in secondary schools more often than not discuss the heterosexual aspects of literature. Perhaps Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet serves as the exemplar of the heterosexualized coverage of characters in literature. High school history texts rarely if ever reveal the sexual minority status (e.g., bisexual, gay, or lesbian) of historical figures. The list goes on and on. Bic Ngo (2003) puts it best by asserting, “educators are stuck in certain ways of thinking. These engrained ideas are barriers to imagining alternative sexualities outside of the (hetero) norm and possibilities for innovative teaching that effectively address LGBQ issues” (p. 122). Research on sexual minority youths’ experience in schools reveals that heterosexual and gender normative youth are privileged and that schools have shown little interest in making the school climate more hospitable for sexual minority youth (Payne & Smith, 2011).
