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A qualitative analysis of ten K-12 gay and lesbian teachers' coming out experience in the classroom

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A qualitative analysis of ten K-12 gay and lesbian teachers' coming out experience in the classroom

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A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF TEN K-12 GAY AND LESBIAN
TEACHERS’ COMING OUT EXPERIENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
by
Alain E. Martino ssi
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
(Education)
August 1998
Copyright 1998 Alain E. Martinossi
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA 90007
This dissertation, written by
Alain E. Martinossi
under the direction of htS. Dissertation
Committee, and approved by all its members,
has been presented to and accepted by The
Graduate School in partial fulfillment of re
quirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
» v 5
* * * 'if'd tfitlu a t. Studies
- " Date ...................
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
Chairperson
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Acknowledgements
First, I wish to thank the men and women who participated in this study and
without whom this project would have been impossible. Their dedication to fighting
heterosexism and homophobia through their work as educators has been a constant source
of inspiration. I also want to extend my thanks to Bob Riddle and Cathy Figel who were
instrumental in helping me locate participants.
In undertaking this project, I enjoyed a tremendous amount of support and
guidance from the members of my dissertation committee: Laurie MacGillivray, Walter
Williams and David Yaden. As the dissertation chair, Laurie MacGillivray was
instrumental in helping me come out of the academic closet. First, her classes provided
me with a context in which I was able—for the first time in my career as a student—to
combine my academic endeavors with my personal struggle over sexual identity.
Throughout the process o f writing this dissertation, she remained—from
conceptualization to completion—a constant source of academic guidance and emotional
support Without her professional dedication, her faith in my work and her friendship,
this project would not have been possible. Many thanks are also due to Walter William s
whose undivided dedication to promoting research on gay and lesbian issues will
continue to inspire my future academic endeavors. Throughout this project, he helped me
sharpen my understanding of many gay and lesbian issues and provided me with much
support and encouragement I am also grateful to David Yaden for his constructive
criticism, encouragement and valuable feedback on the conceptual development of this
study.
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I wish to thank Elaine Mac Leod for taking the time to read parts of the
manuscript and for her feedback on my analysis of metaphors in Chapter four. My
discussions with Barbara Jager provided me with a much needed outlet during our regular
walks and, on one particular night, helped me get over a major case of writer’s block. All
the time spent with Karen Schmitt in countless classes and through our academic
collaborations was much appreciated and sorely missed when she had to move away. I
also want to thank Linda Neumaier for her emotional support during hard tunes and for
the many lunches, coffee breaks and relaxing dinners we enjoyed together. For years of
invaluable friendship, I especially want to express my thanks and my love to Julia Allen,
Pilar Bellver, David Caron, Steve Copley, Alejandro Herrero, Lorraine Jung and Donna
Sandomir.
I also want to acknowledge my parents, Antoine Martinossi and Benoite
Martinossi, my brother, Henri, and my sisters, Marie France, Marie Jo and Juliette for
their unconditional love and their support throughout the years. Finally, and most of all,
all my love and thanks to my partner, Edward Liegey, whose love, friendship and support
have been a driving force in my life and in my work.
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iv
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements............................................................................................. ii
Abstract............................................................................................................... vii
Chapter I: The Research Problem........................................................................ 1
Background and Statement of the Problem...................................................... 2
Purpose and Significance of the Study........................................................... 1 1
Research Questions........................................................................................ 12
Personal Motivations..................................................................................... 12
Chapter II: Related Literature.............................................................................. 14
Teaching........................................................................................................ 14
Deconstructing the Public/Private Split........................................................... 1 8
Relationships: Connection and Caring............................................................ 22
Gay/Lesbian Teachers and the Public/Private Split......................................... 25
Gay/Lesbian Teachers and Teacher/Student Relationships.............................. 28
Heterocentrism, Homophobia and Students.................................................... 31
Visibility as a Way to Reduce Heterocentrism and Homophobia..................... 36
Summary....................................................................................................... 40
Chapter El: Methodology.................................................................................... 42
Symbolic Interactionism and Phenomenology as a Theoretical Basis.............. 42
The Interview................................................................................................ 43
Selection of the Participants........................................................................... 47
Data Analysis................................................................................................ 49
Data Analysis for Chapter 4..................................................................... 51
Data Analysis for Chapter 5..................................................................... 53
Summary ....................................................................................................... 55
Chapter IV: Metaphorically Speaking.................................................................. 57
The Metaphorical Structuring of our Experiences........................................... 58
The Metaphor of the Closet........................................................................... 60
In/Out...................................................................................................... 62
Private/Public.......................................................................................... 63
Secrecy/Disclosure................................................................................... 64
Ignorance (Darkness)/Knowledge (Light)................................................. 65
The Metaphorical Expressions of the Closet: Some Implications.................... 66
The Individual as Embodying Sexual Orientation...................................... 67
The Individual as Object.......................................................................... 68
Metaphorically Speaking............................................................................... 70
Coming Out as War................................................................................. 7 1
Fighting for a Cause and Against an Enemy........................................ 71
Participating out of a Sense of Duty.................................................... 72
Awareness o f Danger......................................................................... 73
Using Weapons and Military Tactics................................................... 75
Coming Out as a Journey......................................................................... 79
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Being Closeted and Coining Out as a Performance.................................... 82
Heteiosexist Society as Water.................................................................. 84
Summary...................................................................................................... 88
Chapter V: Coming Out at School....................................................................... 90
The Participants’ Coining Out Experience..................................................... 90
How They Came Out............................................................................... 90
Coming Out Indirectly........................................................................ 91
Coming Out through a Declarative Statement...................................... 95
Declarative Statement as a “Teaching Moment” ............................ 96
Declarative Statement as an Answer to a Question........................ 100
The Rigidity of Categories Versus the Fluidity of the Coming Out
Experience in the Classroom............................................................... 101
Why They Came Out................................................................................ 102
Personal Reasons................................................................................ 103
Honesty.........................................................................................103
Frustration..................................................................................... 105
Professional Reasons........................................................................... 108
The Nature of their Role as Teachers..............................................108
Establishing Genuine Student/Teacher Relationships...................... I ll
Providing Support to Gay and Lesbian Students............................. 112
Socio-Political Reasons....................................................................... 114
Knowledge as an Agent of Social Change......................................114
Normalizing Homosexuality.......................................................... 118
Responses to their Coming Out................................................................. 119
Does Coming Out Carry the Risk of Giving Students the
Power to Harass?................................................................................. 122
Parents’ Fear of Recruitment............................................................... 123
The Role of Communication............................................................... 125
Gay and Lesbian Teacher as a Sexual Presence in the Classroom:
A Case of Double Standard................................................................. 126
What Can we Learn from their Experience?.................................................... 128
A Few Words of Advice........................................................................... 129
Strategies to Reduce Heterosexism and Homophobia................................. 134
Experiential-Schematic Function......................................................... 136
Coming Out.................................................................................. 136
Making Gay and Lesbian Historical Figure an Integral Part
of the Curriculum.......................................................................... 137
Social Expressive Function................................................................. 139
School Sponsored Celebration of Gay and Lesbian History
Month...........................................................................................139
Encouraging Allies to Come Out................................................... 140
Value Expressive Function.................................................................. 142
Appealing to Parental Values......................................................... 142
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Appealing to Professional Values...................................................143
Appealing to Respect for Diversity and Equal Rights..................... 144
Using Family Values with Elementary Students............................. 146
Defensive Function.............................................................................147
Providing Students with Accurate Information on Gay and
Lesbian Issues............................................................................... 147
Addressing Parents’ Fears of Recruitment and Child Molestation... 149
Summary........................................................................................................150
Chapter VI: Conclusion........................................................................................154
Research Questions.........................................................................................154
Personal and Socio-Political Forces that Prompt Gay and Lesbian
Teachers to Come O ut.............................................................................. 154
Job Security........................................................................................155
Gay and Lesbian Teachers’ Comfort Level Regarding their
Sexual Identity....................................................................................156
Philosophy of Teaching and Socio-Political Goals............................... 157
What Happens when they Come Out..........................................................158
Advice to Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Strategies to reduce
Heterosexism and Homophobia................................................................. 160
Further Thoughts............................................................................................162
Coming Out in the Classroom: Queering the Classroom or
Mainstreaming the Queer?........................................................................ 162
Promoting Homosexuality: Should we Refute it or Claim it?...................... 164
Recommendation for Further Research............................................................168
Questions Raised by the Pilot Study and the Present Study........................ 169
Questions Raised by the Present Study.......................................................170
References............................................................................................................173
Appendix A: The Interview Checklist................................................................... 182
Appendix B: Inform Consent Form...................................................................... 186
Appendix C: Prospectus for Participant Recruitment.............................................189
Appendix D: Participants’ Profile......................................................................... 1 9 1
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of ten K-12 gay and
lesbian teachers’ coming out experience in the classroom. Through in-depth interviews,
data was gathered on the following areas of inquiry: What are the personal and socio
political forces that prompt some gay and lesbian teachers to come out? What happens
when they do come out? Based on their experience, what advice do these teachers have
for other teachers struggling with the same issue?
A total of ten self-identified gay and lesbian teachers participated in this study:
two Caucasian females, five Caucasian males, one African American male, one Latina
and one Latino. They ranged in age from twenty two to fifty nine. Two teachers taught
at the elementary level, three at the junior high level and five at the high school level
All the participants used metaphors to express various aspects of their coming out
experience. Four main metaphorical concepts were identified as structuring some aspects
of the participants’ conceptual system in relationship to their coming out experience:
coming out as war, coming out as a journey, being closeted and coming out as a
performance, and heterosexist society as water.
All ten teachers came out at school using one o f two approaches. Seven identified
themselves as gay or lesbian to their students through a declarative statement and three
came out indirectly. These teachers invoked reasons o f a personal professional and
socio-political nature behind their decision to come out at schooL All ten teachers
reported students’, parents’, colleagues and administrators’ responses as ranging from
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viii
neutral to positive with only half of the teachers mentioning some occasional negative
responses from each group.
Based on their experience, these teachers offered some words of advice for other
gay and lesbian teachers contem plating the possibility of coming out. In addition, they
suggested various strategies to reduce heterosexism and homophobia. These strategies all
aimed at undermining one of Herek’s (1984,1986,1987,1991) functional model of
homophobia.
Some socio-political limitations imposed on openly gay and lesbian teachers in an
academic setting were discussed. Recommendations for further research were made.
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1
CHAPTER I
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
James Gaylord was fired from a Tacoma high school in 1972, after school
officials learned that he was homosexual. He had been teaching social studies
for almost 13 years, apparently with a good record... [A] homosexual teacher
in New Jersey... was ordered by the Paramus board of education to undergo a
psychiatric examination after he became president of die state’s Gay Activist
Alliance. (New York Times, 10/24/77, p. 28)
In Brooklyn, a high school teacher filed suit in Federal court charging she was
illegally fired after she disclosed she was a lesbian in a “rap session” with
students in a special drug rehabilitation program at an all-girls school. (San
Francisco Examiner, 914117, p. 22)
When you are a teacher, teaching our children on taxpayer dollars, I think we
owe you to a higher accountability and if you want to practice a deviant
lifestyle, one that is not in the normal mainstream of society, one that is
repugnant and unmoral to the majority of us and you want to practice it to the
point that it comes to the attention of die public and the school children, then
yes, I think you should be removed. (Senator John Briggs, public statement
collected by lesbian school workers)
Historically, teachers have always been under close societal scrutiny. Entrusted
with the education of the young, they have traditionally been expected to be perfect
examples of morality. In the past, as Fassinger (1993) points out, "teachers could be
fired from their positions for smoking, drinking, dancing, cursing, theater-going, divorce,
breaking the Sabbath, or (for women) staying out alter dark (p. 119)." Such restrictions
on the lifestyle of teachers appear nothing short of ridiculous today, yet they remind us
that the teaching profession has always been perceived as one reserved to the "virtuous".
Admittedly, the accepted social code of virtue has changed over the years and teachers
are no longer expected to lead a monastic life. However, they are still expected to
reflect, in their teaching and in their behavior, the values of mainstream society. Nearly
twenty years after Anita Bryant's successful "Save Our Children" campaign in Florida
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2
and Senator John Briggs* failed proposition 6 in California— both of which aimed at
barring homosexuals from teaching— the majority of gay and lesbian teachers remain
closeted in schools around the nation.
Background and Statement of the Problem
As transmitters of their culture's accepted knowledge, teachers are primarily
expected to indoctrinate students (Fassinger, 1993; Woods and Harbeck, 1992). As
Dressier points out, "[p]arents [...] guard their children zealously as the most vital
national resource. They expect teachers to indoctrinate their children in all those values-
- including heterosexuality— which the nation holds sacred...(cited in Fassinger, 1993, p.
121)" Thus, children are sent to school in order to be socialized within the existing
structure and ideology of our society. Acting as socializing agents, most schools are
heterocentric institutions in which heterosexuality is uniformly modeled, formally taught,
and indiscriminately demanded (Sears, 1991).
In such a context, the presence of gay and lesbian educators in the classroom
continues to be considered inappropriate (Levitt and Klassen, 1974; Newton and Risch,
1981). Indeed, education has been described as the most discriminatory profession
against gays and lesbians (Olson, 1987). Ironically, because single women and non
traditional men have historically been attracted by the teaching profession, a high
percentage of gays and lesbians are currently teaching in schools around the nation
(Fassinger, 1993; Harbeck, 1992). The majority of them, however, feel compelled to
remain closeted in a working environment which simultaneously denies and condemns
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their existence. While the closet keeps these teachers safe from overt discrimination, its
oppressive nature can negatively impact their lives and, by extension, their students' as
w elL
Most gay and lesbian educators experience tremendous psychological strain as a
result of having to maintain a dual identity by radically separating their private
(gay/lesbian) and their public (teacher) life (Fassinger, 1993; Griffin, 1992; Olson, 1987;
Woods and Harbeck, 1992). In an effort to protect themselves, many gay and lesbian
teachers seek to "pass" as heterosexuals and purposely limit their personal interactions
with colleagues and students (Grayson, 1987; Griffin, 1992; Kissen, 1996a; Woods and
Harbeck, 1992). As social isolation becomes synonymous with safety, their workplace
becomes a social desert (Fassinger, 1993; Grayson, 1987; Griffin, 1992; Kissen, 1996a;
Olson, 1987; Stein, 1988; Trent, 1978, Woods and Harbeck, 1992). As Grayson (1987)
concludes, "[e]ntire lifetimes and careers are conducted through a veil of fear and
dishonesty, rendering open communication with peers, colleagues, and families
impossible (p. 137)." In some cases, the resulting stress can lead to physical and
psychological symptoms and even to suicide (Kissen, 1996a).
Daily anxieties that they might be "outed" and fears over the ensuing
consequences forces these teachers to work in a hostile environment. Denied the right to
practice their profession in a safe environment, they cannot give themselves entirely to
their teaching. Instead, they must use part of their energy to conceal their true identity to
colleagues and students (Kissen, 1996a; Newton and Risch, 1981; Trent, 1978). As
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Newton and Risch (1981) explain, "[v]ery few of these teachers are ever totally free to
channel their full psychic energies into their work. Too much of their time and energy is
required to deal with a social system that constantly denies and denigrates a fundamental
aspect of their character (p. 192)." Unable to withstand the constant pressure, some
eventually resign (Kissen, 1996a; Olson, 1987). Ironically, many of these teachers are
highly motivated educators who have been publicly recognized by their communities for
their commitment to and excellence in teaching (Olson, 1987).
When gay and lesbian teachers are forced to remain invisible or driven to resign
from their positions, gay and lesbian students are deprived from the benefit of having
positive role models (Fassinger, 1993; Grayson, 1987; Stein, 1988; Uribe and Harbeck,
1992). Yet these students are in dire need of help. In 1989, the Department of Health
and Human Services issued a report stating that the rate o f gay and lesbian teenagers'
attempted suicide was five times higher than that of their heterosexual counterparts.
Thus, over 30% of annual teenage suicides can be attributed to struggles over sexual
orientation and sexual identity (Uribe and Harbeck, 1992). In addition, gay and lesbian
students have been found at higher risk for substance abuse and more likely to drop out
of school (Sears, 1991; Uribe and Harbeck, 1992). In order to respond adequately to
the needs of gay and lesbian students, schools need teachers who are able and willing to
address issues related to homosexuality (Rofes, 1989). Ironically, gay and lesbian
teachers continue to be perceived as threats instead of valuable educational resources.
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5
As long as they remain invisible in the classroom, they will be unable to help and support
their gay and lesbian students.
Ultimately, all students, regardless of their sexual orientation, are affected by the
lack of openly gay and lesbian teachers in the classroom. Homophobia, as Warren J.
Blumenfeld (1992) has argued, adversely affects all people in our society. In schools, as
Diane Elze (1992) points out, "young people know that we teach them as much by our
silences as we do with our words (p. 112)." Thus, the silence of most educational
institutions on issues related to homosexuality indirectly teaches homophobia. Yet
several educators have shown that homophobic attitudes, largely based on ignorance and
misinformation, can be successfully challenged in educational settings (Alida Roy, 1997;
DuBose Brunner, 1997; Mager and Sulek, 1997; Myers and Kardia, 1997; Sattell, Keyes
and Tupper, 1997; Uribe and Harbeck, 1992; Van de Ven, 1997). When teaching from
the closet, however, gay and lesbian teachers miss the opportunity to dispel common
myths about homosexuality as their straight students are denied the chance to knowingly
interact with a self-identified gay or lesbian teacher.
There are compelling reasons why gay and lesbian teachers need to break the
silence that has been imposed on them. First, being out in the classroom would allow
gay and lesbian teachers to invest all of their energy into more productive teaching
instead of having to devote part of it on the elaboration of strategies aimed at concealing
their sexual identity (Fassinger, 1993). Furthermore, the merging o f their public and
private identities would represent one step towards ending the dehumanizing exclusion
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of gay and lesbian teachers from important social interactions— freely enjoyed by
heterosexuals— such as sharing one's feelings and emotions or seeking support from peers
in times of troubles (Kissen, 1996a).
Second, the presence of openly gay and lesbian teachers in the classroom would
be helpful in addressing the needs of gay and lesbian students as well as in overcoming
myths about homosexuality in an effort to thwart the development of homophobic
feelings in straight students (Newton and Risch, 1981; Uribe and Harbeck, 1992).
Because heterosexuality is the only socially accepted form of sexual expression and
because sexuality remains taboo in education, "[vjisibility of sexual minority people and
issues [continues] to be critical to social and educational change (Fassinger, 1993, p.
141)." In that respect, gay and lesbian teachers can be instrumental in bringing a human
dimension to an abstract issue. As Uribe and Harbeck (1992) concluded from a study on
the effects of a year long implementation of PROJECT 101 at Fairfax high school in Los
Angeles,
gay and lesbian teachers can have very positive effect upon
attitudes toward homosexuality— both for heterosexual and
homosexual students— if these teachers affirm rather than conceal
their sexuality. In this way, discussions seemed to move from a
purely intellectual level to a heartfelt, humane, and tangible
situation that elicited more personal and emotional exchanges
that led to greater acceptance and insight, (p. 26)
l. PROJECT 10 is the first school-based counselling and educational program for gay, lesbian and bisexual
youth founded by Virginia Uribe during the academic year of 1985-1986 at Fairfax High School in Los
Angeles. Due to its success, this program is now being implemented throughout the Los Angeles Unified
School District It has also attracted die attention of other schools in the nation.
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However, because o f the risks that visibility entails, an awareness of the potential
benefits of disclosure does not always translate in a decision to disclose. Yet, as
Jennings' book One Teacher in Ten: Gav and Lesbian Educators Tell their Stories
(1994b) exemplifies, if coming out of the classroom remains a difficult or even
impossible choice for many, more gay and lesbian teachers than ever are progressively
refusing to remain closeted and are taking what still represents a substantial risk by
coming out to their students. Yet, to this day, very little is known about the experience
of gay and lesbian teachers who are out to their students.
Several studies have dealt specifically with the experience of gay and/or lesbian
teachers (Griffin, 1992; Khayatt, 1992; Kissen, 1996a; Martinossi, 1997; Olson, 1986;
Opfler, 1994; Ringer, 1994; Sciullo, 1984; Smith, 1985; Woods, 1990; Woods and
Harbeck, 1992). Khayatt, Martinossi, Opfler, Smith, Woods, and Woods and Harbeck
used open-ended interviews with 19 or less respondents. Olson sent out 512 mail
questionnaires, 97 of which were returned. She also conducted follow-up interviews
with 21 respondents. Ringer also used a questionnaire which was distributed to
members of the Caucus for Gay and Lesbian Concerns of the Speech Communication
Association. His study is based on the 27 questionnaires which were returned. Sciullo
wrote an autobiographical account of his experience as a gay teacher who was fired.
Griffin conducted a 15 month participatory research project with 13 lesbian and gay
educators which included open-ended interviews and group meetings. Finally, Kissen
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8
interviewed over 100 gay and lesbian school teachers, counselors, social workers,
librarians and administrators over a four year period.
Out of these eleven studies, only three specifically focused on the coming out
experience of gay and lesbian teachers (Martinossi, 1997; Opfler, 1994; Ringer, 1994).
Opfifer (1994) interviewed seventeen college instructors (tenured and assistant
professors, full time and part-time lecturers) in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. She
found that gay and lesbian teachers (1) gave serious consideration to the decision of
coming out in the classroom, (2) felt that their motivation to come out stemmed from
their commitment to teaching excellence and (3) perceived their coming out experience
as a dramatic event.
Ringer (1994) collected twenty seven questionnaires from college faculty who
were members of the Caucus for Gay and Lesbian Concerns of the Speech
Communication Association. He found that homosexuality was generally addressed in
class in a variety of ways but that twenty one out of twenty seven teachers had never
revealed their sexual orientation to their classes. Their reasons for not disclosing
included the private nature of one's sexuality, having never been asked, a perceived lack
of administrative support, and a perception of being implicitly out, therefore not needing
to come out explicitly. Finally, the respondents listed the following issues as particularly
important to consider when deciding to come out in the classroom: relevance to course
context, potential effects on the learning process, job security and effects on teacher
credibility.
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9
I (Martinossi, 1997) conducted in-depth interviews with three teachers (one
lesbian who taught at the elementary level, one gay man who taught at the junior
high/high school level and one lesbian who taught at the college level)2 . First, I found
that these teachers’ invoked personal, professional/ pedagogical and socio-political
reasons for coming out in the classrooms and that these were similar to the reasons
invoked by closeted gay and lesbian teachers for wanting to come out. This finding
pointed to the need for further research to determine what additional factors influence
gay/lesbian teachers in their decision to come out in the classroom. Second, all three
teachers described their students’ reactions as overwhelmingly positive. On the other
hand, reactions from parents, colleagues and school administrators varied greatly for the
two female participants (mostly positive reactions) and the male participant (strongly
negative reactions). This finding led me to recommend further research regarding the
way gender, sexism and homophobia interact to shape the various reactions to a teacher's
disclosure of his/her sexual orientation.
These three studies are important as they represent the first step in exploring
issues related to the coming out experience of gay and lesbian educators. They bring to
the fore an issue never previously dealt with in formal research in spite of its significant
impact on the lives of many gay and lesbian teachers. In addition, these studies provide
us with the teachers' perspective on the various aspects of their experience and stress the
need for further research.
2 . This was the pilot study I conducted before undertaking the present study. I will refer to this study as my
“pilot study” in subsequent chapters.
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10
None of these three studies, however, specifically focused on the experience of
K-12 gay and lesbian teachers. Although coming out in the classroom represents a
significant challenge at any level of the educational system, certain factors might play a
part in making the coming out experience of K-12 school teachers somewhat different
from that o f college instructors.
First, K-12 school teachers do not deal with adults but with children and
teenagers. Parents are generally much more involved in the educational experience of
their children at that age. Fear of child molestation and/or beliefs in gay and lesbian
teachers' intentions to recruit children to a gay lifestyle are more likely to prompt them to
file complaints.
Second, childhood and adolescence are not considered, in our society, as periods
of life in which sexuality is an appropriate topic. Children, and even adolescents, are
perceived as too immature to express themselves sexually or even to deal with sexual
issues (Gonsiorek, 1993). As a result, dealing honestly with sexuality is not deemed
appropriate in most school settings. Instead, what represents one of the most critical
aspects of adolescents' physical and psychological development is a topic on which
schools tend to remain silent (Sears, 1991).
In such a context of sexual repression and misinformation, coming out as a K-12
gay or lesbian school teacher is a self affirming act of socio-political significance. As of
today, though, there have been no attempts at reaching a better understanding of this
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11
powerful experience. There are no studies available on the nature of the coming out
experience of K-12 gay and lesbian school teachers.
Purpose and Significance of the Study
Despite the tremendous social progress achieved through the gay and lesbian
liberation movement since the 1960s, gays and lesbians remain on the fringe o f society.
Negative stereotypes and myths about homosexuality continue to prevail. A greater
degree of visibility is needed in all areas of society in order to replace myths with
accurate information and in order to bring to the fore the reality of the daily oppression
experienced by most gays and lesbians. Speaking out against racial and gender
oppression, bell hooks (1990) argues that “true speaking is not solely an expression of
creative power; it is an act of resistance, a political gesture that challenges politics of
domination that would render us nameless and voiceless. As such, it is a courageous
act—as such, it represents a threat” (p. 210).
Similarly, by choosing to be open about their sexual orientation, gay and lesbian
teachers take an active part in challenging society's heterosexist assumptions and values.
The purpose of this study is to shed some light on the nature of their coming out
experience.
First, I seek to reach a better understanding of these teachers' subjective
interpretation of the various types of social interactions which have enabled and shaped
their coming out experience in the classroom. Second, I want to explore the impact that
coming out had on all aspects of their lives. Third, I wish to create a space where then*
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voices can be heard with the hope that their personal stories can become a source of
inspiration to others.
Thus, ultimately, my goal is to generate a thematic framework which will not
only contribute to deepening our understanding of gay and lesbian teachers' coming out
experience in the classroom but that will also constitute a research base from which gay
and lesbian teachers can draw to support and facilitate their coming out process.
Research Questions
Taking a phenomenological approach, this study will seek to explore the
conceptual world of gay and lesbian teachers in order to understand how they construct
meaning in relation to their coming out in the classroom. Therefore, I intend to collect
subjective information of a descriptive nature from the participants. To this end, the data
gathering will be guided by the following areas of inquiry: What are the personal and
socio-political forces that prompt some gay/lesbian teachers to come out? What happens
when they do come out? Based on their own experience, what advice do these teachers
have for other teachers struggling with the same issue?
Personal Motivations
First, as a gay man, I feel that my identity is at the core of my work. Because my
research interests focus on gay and lesbian issues, I am directly implicated in what I
write. The oppression I want to address and against which I want to fight is my own
oppression. As Joyce Trebilcot (1991) explains in relation to her own motivations as a
researcher, "motivation for me was a matter of how a particular issue was connected
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with who I am and who I want to be— a matter of why I should be working on this topic
(p.44)." Similarly, my motivation to study the coming out experience of gay and lesbian
teachers stems from the feet that I am a queer teacher who has been struggling with the
issue of coming out in the classroom for several years.
Second, as an educator, I have always considered teaching to be about
establishing genuine relationships with my students. However, my sexual identity has
often clashed with my professional one and, until recently, I have found myself forced to
base my relationships with students on a carefully constructed misrepresentation of who
I am In that respect, undertaking the present study represents an attempt as resolving
the tension between my own insecurities about coming out in the classroom and my
personal perspective o f my role as a teacher.
Finally, I believe visibility to be instrumental to the achievement of a greater
social acceptance o f homosexuality. For many years, gay and lesbian activists have been
fighting to bring homosexuality to the fore. Although much progress has been made, we
still need to achieve an even greater degree of visibility and to secure for ourselves the
right to develop a public identity. To that effect, I would argue that, as teachers, we
should not underestimate our potential for bringing about socio-political changes in
education. I believe that coming out in the classroom is an integral part of the political
struggle for gay and lesbian liberation, one to be continued until the word "struggle" is
no longer synonymous with the development and public acknowledgement of a
gay/lesbian identity.
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CHAPTER H
RELATED UTERATURE
In this chapter, I contrast a pedagogical approach focused on knowledge as
content to one which posits knowledge as socially constructed. These two approaches
lead to different types of teacher/student relationships. I argue in favor of the latter and
claim that affective relationships are integral to the teaching act. Because feminist
pedagogy has given a central place to the development of such relationships, I then focus
on the two claims which are basic to a feminist approach to teaching, namely the need to
deconstruct the private/public split and to emphasize the development of relationships
through connections and an ethics of caring. Third, I review the research on gay and
lesbian teachers in order to show how the classroom closet affects them as well as their
students. Finally, comparing the decision of some gay and lesbian teachers to come out
in educational contexts to the political actions of some gay and lesbian activists in other
public arenas, I argue that "visibility" (coming out) represents a important step towards
reducing heterocentrism and homophobia in educational settings.
Teaching
In the course of my very first teaching experience, one of my students' comment
caused me to ponder over the nature of the relationships teachers establish with their
students. Matt would often stop by my classroom after school. We would chat until it
was time for him to take the bus back home. On one occasion, as I made a reference to
how much I enjoyed being a teacher, he reacted by saying: "Oh but I dont think of you
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as a teacher, I think of you as a person." Even as I laughed and welcomed what was
obviously meant as a com plim ent, I was reminded of the feet that, in the mind of most
students, teachers did not qualify as persons.
I say that I was reminded o f that feet because Matt's comment did not surprise
me. As a teenager, it had been impossible for me to view any of my teachers as whole
human beings. In my mind, teachers belonged in the classroom and could not easily be
associated with any activities commonly done outside of it. Most unthinkable were any
activities that, directly or indirectly, involved the body. In retrospect, I realize that my
inability to view my teachers as full human beings was a direct result of a conventional
approach to teaching. As Maher and Thompson Tetreault (1994) explain,
“[conventional views about what happens in the classroom reflect the belief that the
material ofknowledge can be expressed and understood only through rational discourse.
In this context, 'pedagogy* signifies 'teaching methods' that will transmit the content of
knowledge” (p. 57).
This view of teaching posits the teacher as a disembodied intellect and an
authority figure thereby emphasizing the mind/body (public/private) split. As bell hooks
(1994) explains, "[t]he erasure of the body [in the classroom] encourages us to think that
we are listening to neutral, objective fects, facts that are not particular to who is sharing
the information (p.139)." In such a context then, the focus is on content. The social
interaction between the teacher and his/her students is reduced to a unidirectional
exchange in which feelings, emotions and dialogue are generally perceived as interfering
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with the learning process (hooks, 1994). What is being taught matters but knowledge is
dispensed solely by the teacher, the knower. Students are recipients and are usually not
expected to question the validity of the information they are receiving nor to expect any
engagem ent at the personal level As a result, teachers who are mothers, fathers, sons,
daughters, sisters or brothers lose their humanness the minute they walked into the
classroom and become, in the eyes of their students, lifeless commodities, mere
transmitters ofknowledge.
However, this conventional view of teaching has been challenged. Frank Smith
(1988), in his book Joining the Literacy Chib, defines learning as "primarily a social
rather than an individual accomplishment (p. vii)." Acknowledging the primacy of social
interactions in the learning process implies a reconceptualization o f the meaning ascribed
to the concept of pedagogy. For instance, Maher and Thompson Tetreault (1994) define
pedagogy as “the entire process of creating knowledge, involving the innumerable ways
in which students, teachers, and academic disciplines interact and redefine each other in
the classroom, the educational institution, and the larger society” (p. 57).
The words "interact" and "redefine" emphasize the relational nature of the
teaching/learning process. The unidirectional process according to which teachers
transmit knowledge (Le., the content o f the academic disciplines) to their students,
implicit in a conventional view of teaching, is replaced by one of interaction through
which knowledge is socially constructed. When knowledge is viewed as socially
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constructed by communities of people, relationships and dialogue become instrumental
to the learning process (Gawelek et aL, 1994).
Educational research aimed at uncovering ways of maximizing the learning
process, however, has generally focused on the development of new methodologies.
While I do not mean to underestimate the importance of methodology, I would like to
suggest that it has often been given too much importance and that more attention should
be paid to the pedagogical value of an affective relationship existing between teachers
and student As I see it, if we accept the argument that knowledge is socially
constructed, it follows that teaching is essentially about creating an affective relationship
with the students. By affective relationship, I mean that the teacher should strive to (1)
relate to students as unique individuals, (2) express a genuine interest in students' life
outside the classroom, (3) share some aspects of his/her private life with students and,
(4) convey feelings of respect, trust, and empathy for individual students, not only in
relationship to their classroom performances, but in relationship to them as human
beings.
Feminist pedagogy has given a central place to the development of relationships.
Indeed, feminists have criticized the rigid separation between the private and the public
spheres of our lives that is enforced in practically all educational contexts. They have
suggested that we break down the institutional "wall” that has traditionally stood
between teachers and students and, instead, extend to the classroom the construction of
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emotional bonds generally associated with home and private life (Grumet, 1988; hooks,
1994; Noddings, 1988; Pagano, 1990).
Deconstructing the Public/Private Split
Arguing the importance o f the private should not, in principle, appear all that
revolutionary. The private is, after all, the first world we know, the world in which we
develop our sense of self By virtue of being bom and socialized, we all participate in
the process of reproduction-biological and cultural— before we can join in the process of
production. Reproduction, thus, is engaged in a dialectical relationship with production
(Grumet, 1988; Lather, 1987). Materialist-feminists such as O'Brien (1981) argue that
reproduction (located in the personal sphere) should therefore not be relegated to the
margins of society but should, instead, occupy as central a place as production (located
in the public sphere) (O'Brien, 1981).
Madeleine Grumet (1988) offers three interpretations o f the concept of repro
duction: the biological (Le., the reproduction of the species), the ideological (Le., the
reproduction of cultural values) , and the critical which she identifies as the potential goal
of education. She suggests that, from a feminist perspective, the curriculum could be
used to counteract biology and ideology whose interaction reinforces the private/pubic
split (Grumet, 1988).
In the classic The Reproduction of Mothering. Nancy Chodorow (1978)
analyzes the interaction of biology and ideology in the development of our gendered
identities. In sharp contrast to the initial biological relationship of the mother to her
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child-mediated by culturally constructed expectations of the women's role— the no less
culturally constructed responsibility of fathers to insure the family's financial security
takes them away from home where the mother stays to care for the child, thereby playing
the major role in her/his social and emotional development.
The father’ s absence results in a stronger attachment of the child for her/his
mother during the preoedipal phase. As a result, the male child must distance/separate
himself from his mother in order to achieve his masculine gender identity, a process in
which the female child, by virtue o f her similarity to her mother, does not have to
engage. The masculine experience demands separation (from the mother/the private),
the feminine one allows connection (Chodorow, 1978).
In light of Chodorow’ s analysis, it follows that schools vitiate the feminine
experience. By excluding the mother’ s world from the curriculum and the classroom, the
masculine experience of separation from the mother and the private is no longer simply
constructed as "different from" but "superior to" the feminine experience because it is
made into a rule to which all children, regardless of their gender, must abide.
Summarizing women's educational experience, Pagano (1990) concludes, "we avert our
eyes from the maternal gaze where identity is first found and align ourselves with the
father's symbolic order (p. 142)." Framed in an educational context, one of the
fundamental feminist questions becomes: "Must we either stay at home or join the pro
cession of educated men (p. 142)?" By advocating the development of a dialectical
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relation between the public and the private spheres (Grumet, 1988; Pagano; 1990),
feminist pedagogy offers some alternatives to this either/or question.
In terms of the public/private split, the rejection of an either/or stance is clearly
illustrated by the celebrated feminist motto "the personal is political" which summarizes
the interdependence of the private (personal) and the public (political) spheres. The
relation between the two terms is reconceptualized from one of hierarchy to one of
interdependency: the personal is political. The use of the predicate "is" engages both
terms in a reciprocal relation, rendering a clear-cut separation semantically unsound. It
is this reciprocal relation that feminist pedagogy emphasizes and that traditional
education has ignored. As bell hooks (1994) points out, "the dualistic separation of
public and private [encourages] teachers and students to see no connection between life
practices, habits of being and the roles of professors (p. 16)."
Thus, in order to deconstruct the existing dichotomy between the private and the
public, personal experience must be valued and brought into the classroom. A
"conversation" between the language of home and that of the schools needs to be
established (Pagano, 1990). Teachers can play a significant role in establishing the type
of conversation between home and school that Pagano advocates. Modeling being an
important aspect of teaching, teachers need to challenge the traditional perception of
their own image in the classroom. If the private and the public are to finally meet in
schools, teachers cannot remain the disembodied, emotionless intellects they have
traditionally been expected to be. Aware of this problem, bell hooks (1994) criticizes the
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concept of the teacher’ s self "presumably emptied out the moment the threshold [is]
crossed, leaving in place only an objective mind— free of experiences and biases (p. 17)."
Surely, my high school student's inability to perceive his teachers as persons was partly
due to the feet that schools "are cut off from real living places where we love and labor
(Grumet, 1988, p. 210)."
Therefore, bridging the gap between the private and the public requires that
personal experience be valued as a valid source ofknowledge and, as such, be given a
central place in the classroom as an integral part of the learning process. Yet students
cannot be expected to bring their private lives in the classroom if teachers refrain from
participating in the exchange. Describing her own teaching practices, bell hooks (1994)
writes: "In my classrooms, I do not expect students to take any risks that I would not
take, to share in any way that I would not share" and concludes that teachers "must
practice being vulnerable in the classroom, being wholly present in mind, body and spirit
(p. 21)."
Implicit in bell hooks' claim that teachers must be "vulnerable" and "wholly
present in mind, body and spirit" is the assumption that trust, honesty and respect are
integral to the classroom dynamic and to learning. But in order for trust, honesty and
respect to be established in the classroom, teachers and students need to be able to
perceive each other as whole human beings so that authentic relationships can develop.
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Relationships: Connection and Caring
As we have seen, the genderization process, different for men and women,
accounts for the feet that a relational epistemology is a feminine epistemology (Stone,
1988). Males must distance and separate themselves from their mother in order to
achieve their masculine gender identity, whereas females can remain connected to her
(Chodorow, 1978; Grumet, 1988; Pagano, 1990).
In education, particularly in higher education, this gender dichotomy, in
accordance with the patriarchal tradition of valuing the masculine experience over the
feminine one, has been translated in the institutionalization o f "separate learning" and the
marginalization or exclusion of "connected learning." Indeed, teachers/professors have
traditionally praised the value of individual work and encouraged competition, both of
which are reinforced by the current systems of evaluation even when a certain amount of
collaborative learning is allowed (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger and Tarule, 1986).
In their writings about pedagogy, feminist theorists have claimed the value of
connection (Grumet, 1988; hooks, 1994; Noddings, 1988; Pagano, 1990). It is not to
say that feminists denigrate autonomy or individuality, but that they question the validity
of their superior status. As Noddings (1988) points out, "each of us is a relationally
defined entity and not a totally autonomous agent (p. 176)."
The displacement of the concept of connection to a more central position
challenges the devaluation of mothering hidden behind the romanticized and idealized
beauty of maternal instinct and love. When connection is valued, mothering, seen as the
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primal bond, the first connection, no longer carries a negative connotation. As a result,
the similarity between teaching and mothering can be brought to the fore without
reducing the intellectual image of the teacher but, instead, with the aim of offering ways
in which her/his role can be improved.
As Noddings (1988) explains, although the teacher-student relation is not
expected to "approach that o f the prototypical mother-child relation in either intensity or
intimacy... an appropriate form of caring must be found in every relation (p. 174)."
Therefore, the relationship that teachers establish with their students should not be based
solely on the transmission of factual knowledge but should develop out of what
Noddings (1988) refers to as "an ethic of caring [which] involves dialogue, modeling,
practice and confirmation (p. 176)."
According to Noddings (1988), if an honest and true dialogue is to take place,
"[t]eachers and student must know each other well enough for trust to develop (p. 177)."
Therefore, a feminist approach to teaching requires that everyone's presence in the
classroom be acknowledged and valued so that teachers can know their students as more
than a group of individuals gathered in a classroom, bell hooks (1994), for instance,
confesses to having been "most inspired by those teachers who...approach students with
the will and the desire to respond to [their] unique beings (p. 13)."
In addition, by striving to develop a genuine relationship with individual students,
teachers also engage in a process of modeling which carries the important message that
relationships matter (Noddings, 1988). Because knowledge is socially constructed by
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communities of people, relationships and dialogue are instrumental to the learning
process (Gawelek et aL, 1994). Fostering the development of student-student personal
relationships should therefore be an integral part of any educational project.
By encouraging students to share their experience with their classmates, teachers
can play a significant role in helping them reflect on the meaning of their differences
and/or similarities and the socio-political factors that shape them. Indeed, it was by
talking to each other that women raised the level of their consciousness and achieved an
ever deeper understanding of their position in a patriarchal society. Pagano's (1990)
speaks eloquently of the power of connection, of the dialogue it allows and of the
insights it can trigger. She writes:
We were divided from ourselves by the tales of our fathers...But
we did begin talking to one another. And as we talked we began
to inquire into the name of things, to understand the
responsibility involved in naming, and to evaluate the moral
implications of the relationships embedded in our acts of
signification, (p. 11)
Finally, just as the women Pagano writes about, teachers need a structure that
supports and encourages them in their effort to build a community outside their
classroom, a community of teachers and researchers. All should feel responsible for
sharing with the teaching community the insights gained from their classroom
experience, thereby strengthening their connection to other teachers by contributing to
their intellectual and professional growth (Noddings, 1988).
If we believe in the power of connection and in the transformative potential of
the knowledge we can acquire from sharing our experiences, we need to cease every
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opportunity to foster the development of an honest and open dialogue with and among
our students and our colleagues, bell hooks (1994) reminds us that ”[t]o engage in
dialogue is one of the simplest ways we can begin... to cross boundaries, the barriers that
may or may not be erected by race, gender, class...and a host of other differences (p.
130)."
However, establishing an honest and open dialogue with students and colleagues,
what bell hooks describes as "one o f the simplest ways" to cross the barriers that
separate us from others, is in fact one the greatest challenge faced by gay and lesbian
teachers. As Kissen (1996b) points out, "[fjor [gay and lesbian] teachers who must
constantly guard against the discovery of their true identity, being 'open' and 'receptive'
could invite serious danger (p. 62)." Indeed, in most educational settings,
heterocentrism and homophobia prevents gay and lesbian teachers from bridging the gap
between the public/private and from developing authentic relationships with their
students.
Gay/Lesbian Teachers and the Public/Private Split
While feminist pedagogy advocates the deconstruction of the private/public split
as essential to the development o f emotional bonds between teachers and students, gay
and lesbian teachers are often forced to use this separation as a protection. The "split"
becomes a safe place precisely because it provides a clear cut separation between the two
areas of their life which are in conflict. The fear of disclosure forces gay/lesbian
educators to maintain a dual identity by radically separating their private (gay/lesbian)
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and their public (teacher) life (Griffin, 1992; Woods and Harbeck, 1992). This is
achieved through various coping strategies. Although various individuals often devise
strategies specifically tailored to their unique situation, some types of strategies appear
to be more common than others.
One of the most common coping strategies is to "pass" as heterosexual (Grayson,
1987; Griffin, 1992; Woods and Harbeck, 1992). However, it is often necessary for gay
and lesbian teachers to go to great extremes in order to conceal their sexual orientation
successfully: pronoun switching when talking about a lover, laughing at homophobic
jokes, taking a friend of the opposite sex at school functions etc. As Grayson (1987)
concludes, "[ejntire lifetimes and careers are conducted through a veil of fear and
dishonesty, rendering open communication with peers, colleagues, and families
impossible (p. 137)."
Open communication is, indeed, greatly hindered by their desire to protect
themselves by precisely keeping others at a distance. This represents a different type of
coping strategy which consists in avoiding the kind of interactions likely to call for an
exchange of personal information (Griffin, 1992; Woods and Harbeck, 1992). The
rationale is simple: the less students and colleagues know, the easier it is to hide without
having to lie. The direct consequence, however, is that the workplace becomes a social
desert. Social isolation becomes synonymous with safety to which some feel compelled
to add physical distance (Le., living as far away from school as possible) as an additional
precaution.
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Other coping strategies further exemplify the psychological strain that gay and
lesbian teachers are made to experience within heterocentric educational settings.
Careful avoidance of any involvement with gay/lesbian issues (Woods and Harbeck,
1992), rehearsing responses to potential accusations of homosexuality so as not to be
caught offguard and cultivating the ability to appear calm and relaxed even when
experiencing intense anxiety and fear (Griffin, 1992) all attest to the tremendous
psychological and emotional pressure involved in the daily concealment of one's true
identity.
Although coping strategies offer the advantage of providing a sense of security,
the nefarious "side effects" are many. Gay and lesbian teachers are made to feel
dishonest for resorting to such strategies and for building their professional relationships
on carefully constructed misrepresentation of themselves (Grayson, 1987; Woods and
Harbeck, 1992). In addition, their self-esteem suffers from having to hide constantly,
making them feel untrue to themselves, to their own feelings and beliefs. Furthermore,
some report feeling like "traitors" on account of their inability to actively and openly
participate in gay/lesbian activism (Griffin, 1992; Woods and Harbeck, 1992). Finally,
some point out the irony of having to purposely limit their involvement with students,
thus reducing their effectiveness as teachers, in order to preserve their good reputation
and, ultimately, their positions (Woods and Harbeck, 1992). To be sure, the limitations
placed on students-teacher relationships in a heterocentric school environment have
considerable consequences.
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Gay/Lesbian Teachers and Teacher/Student Relationships
Sidney Jourard (1971), in his book aptly titled The Transparent Sel£ argues that
"[a]lienation from one's real self not only arrest personal growth; it tends to make a farce
out of one's relationship with people (p. 23)." Gay and lesbian teachers are often forced
to hide their "real self" in the classroom and to base the relationship they develop with
their students on a lie . By not being able to present themselves as whole individuals,
their ability to create emotional bonds with their students is impaired (Stein, 1988; Trent,
1978).
In his article, "Educators, Homosexuality, and Homosexual Students: Are
Personal Feelings Related to Professional Beliefs?", Sears (1992a) stresses the
importance of the influence all educators could have on their students' educational
experience. He writes:
It is the educator who chooses how to teach the prescribed
sexuality curriculum; it is the educator who challenges or winks
at homophobic comments or jokes among students; it is the
educator who comforts or ignores a student suffering from the
hetero sexist tirades of peers or doubts about her sexual identity;
it is the educator who fosters dialogue among fellow
professionals about the penalties all pay in a heterosexual-
mandated society, (p. 61)
However, the impact o f heterocentrism on all student-teachers relationships often
reduces the potential influence of educators described by Sears. As gendered
individuals, virtually all of our interactions with others are invariably shaped by the cul
tural values and gender roles of our society. Consequently, many well-intentioned
teachers find themselves prisoners of their own internalized, and unexamined,
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heterocentrism. As a result, some of their efforts are thwarted by the strength of their
socially constructed tendency to automatically, and unconsciously, censor many of their
impulses. Many teachers, for instance, might find themselves worrying about not making
physical contact when trying to comfort a student (Olson, 1987). Others, insecure about
their own gender identity, hesitate to challenge homophobic jokes for fear it might create
doubt about their own sexuality.
But particularly striking is the paradoxical nature of the need for many
gay/lesbian teachers to distance themselves from students in spite of the feet that the
teaching profession precisely calls for social interaction. Yet, compelled to find ways to
protect themselves, they wind up limiting the extent o f their personal interaction with
their students. Some, for instance, strive to be perceived as a strict disciplinarian in an
effort to dissuade students from even attempting dialogue (Griffin, 1992). As one
teacher explains:
I have a tendency not to get too over friendly or warm to my
students. I always keep this little front up and sometimes I think
the front is sternness. Not that I am a stem teacher, but I hold
this front a little bit to kind of keep everybody at arm's length.
So that maybe they dont want to pursue too much my personal
life. (Woods and Harbeck, 1992, p. 152)
Ironically, precisely because of having to conceal their sexual orientation, most
gay and lesbian teachers cannot safely establish the type of caring relationship Noddings
(1988) advocates as essential to the teaching act. Dialogue and modeling-two
important components of Noddings' ethics of caring— are not easily compatible with gay
and lesbian teachers' need to keep their sexual identity secret. According to Noddings an
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honest and true dialogue can only take place when "teacher and student [have gotten to]
know each other well enough for trust to develop (p. 177)." Yet as Kissen (1996b)
points out, "gay [and lesbian] teachers cannot risk such openness, for it involves giving
up control over how much of their identity they will reveal (p. 63).” Modeling is equally
problematic for gay and lesbian teachers. Noddings (1988) argues that teachers need to
model "desirable ways of interacting with people (p. 177)." Central to her claim is the
notion that teachers model caring by developing genuine relationships with individual
students. Yet because gay and lesbian teachers "cannot present themselves authentically,
they can neither serve as positive role 'models' nor 'model' caring by responding to the
needs of students, especially gay and lesbian students (Kissen, 1996b, p. 63)."
Indeed, afraid for themselves, gay/lesbian teachers often feel unable to reach out
and help their gay/lesbian students even though they are painfully aware o f their needs.
Their dilemma is clearly illustrated in the words of a physical education teacher:
There are some students that I would love to be able to talk
with, but that's one place where I'm afraid. I would not sit down
and talk to anyone and give them any counseling about being
gay. That's something that's really important that the students
have someone to talk to, but unfortunately, I dont feel like I
could do that now. (Woods and Harbeck, 1992, p. 155)
In addition to being unable to support their gay/lesbian students, closeted gay and
lesbian teachers often miss the opportunity to challenge homophobic co m m ents. For
instance, Woods and Harbeck (1992) report that all the participants in their study
typically refrained from intervening whenever students expressed homophobic feeling s .
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Yet the very same teachers admitted they would have felt entitled, even obliged, to act
had students attacked any other minority group.
On top of exacting a tremendous psychological strain, being closeted prevents
gay and lesbian teachers from establishing genuine relationships with all their students
(Kissen, 1996a) and from caring for their gay/lesbian students by helping them in their
struggle against homophobia (Woods and Harbeck, 1992). Therefore, heterocentrism
and homophobia not only put limitations on gay and lesbian teachers' freedom to be the
caring teachers they could be, it also negatively impacts the experience of all students.
Heterocentrism, Homophobia and Students
Childhood and adolescence are not considered, in our society, as a period of life
in which sexual activity is appropriate. Even adolescents are perceived as too immature
to express themselves sexually. As Gonsiorek (1993) points out n[t]he incongruities
between the biological, cultural, and psychosocial realities of adolescence contribute to
the general confusion about adolescent sexuality (p. 471)" and, I would add, to the
repression of its natural expression.
As a result, sexuality, one of the most critical aspects of adolescents' physical and
psychological development, remains a topic on which schools tend to be silent. In
contrast, the compulsory nature of heterosexuality pervades all areas of the curriculum.
Thus, students are socialized into stereotypical rigid gender and sexual roles while at the
same time being denied honest and accurate information about the reality of sexual
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32
diversity (Fassinger, 1993; Sears, 1991). Denouncing this politic of silence and/or
misinformation, Sears (1991) writes:
In many school districts, developing critical thinking skills is a
stated priority, yet few districts extend these skills across the
curriculum. Sexuality education is a case in point: sexual values
are taught, not explored; sexual danger is stressed while sexual
pleasure is minimized; heterosexual intercourse is presented as
the apex of sexual desire, (p. 35)
As guardians of heterosexual hegemony, heterocentric educational institutions
purposely limit students' knowledge, understanding and acceptance of sexual diversity.
As a result, common misconceptions and myths about homosexuality are not being
challenged. Instead, the silence kept on the topic exacerbates homophobic feelings and
all students, regardless of their gender and/or sexual orientation, are hurt in the process.
Ironically, only a limited amount of research has been devoted to documenting the ways
in which homophobia is psychologically damaging to students (Sears, 1992a; Uribe and
Harbeck, 1992). As Uribe and Harbeck (1992) point out, "[i]t appears that the literature
substantiates the feet that school-based homophobia is psychologically damaging, but the
nature and extent of the damage has yet to be determined (p. 18)."
One of the effects of homophobia is to stigmatize anyone who is perceived as
potentially gay, lesbian or bisexual, regardless of their actual sexual orientation
(Btumenfeld, 1992). Adolescence being a time when "fitting in" is of paramount
importance, students are often prevented from pursuing their natural abilities, skills or
interests for fear of being singled out as a "fag" or a "dyke". Such a fear is justified since
activities not deemed "appropriate" for the gender of the person engaging in them are
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33
automatically associated with homosexuality (Grayson, 1987). For instance, women who
express too much interest in athletics, as well as men who do not express enough, all run
the risk of becoming sexually suspect.
Friendships, particularly among male students, are also negatively affected by
homophobia. Females have traditionally been perceived as emotional, sensitive and
caring. Although the attribution of such qualities as essentially feminine has often been a
way of discriminating against women, it has nevertheless allowed them to develop strong
same-sex friendship without jeopardizing their femininity. Males, on the other hand,
having traditionally been taught to repress their feelings, are much more affected by the
ghost of homophobia towering over their behavior. As a result, the reinforcement of
rigid gender roles that takes place in school heightens their homophobic feelings. These,
in turn, prevent them from acknowledging love as a valid emotion a male can feel for
another (Lehne, 1992). Avoidance of intimacy becomes a pattern that will shape much
of the same-sex friendships they develop in their adult life.
Schools being a context in which strict gender roles and homophobia so
fundamentally shape the behavior of all students, gays and lesbian students' school
experience can, and often does, become a psychological nightmare. Fischer's book, The
Gav Mystique (1972), reminds us o f the type of treatment gay/lesbian students faced in
schools not so long ago. He writes: "In high school, any student who is suspected of
having homosexual tendencies is likely to be sent for 'guidance' or compelled to undergo
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34
psychiatric treatment (p. 175).” Although psychiatric treatments are, fortunately, no
longer a common option, gay/lesbian students continue to be the victims of homophobia.
In their article "Addressing the Needs of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youths: The
Origins of PROJECT 10 and School-Based Intervention," Uribe and Harbeck (1992)
identified low self-esteem, isolation, alienation and inadequacy as common feelings
among the gay/lesbian Fairfax High School population. They concluded that "these
young homosexuals perceived themselves to be stranded in an environment that shunned
their very existence (p. 19)." The failure of most schools to acknowledge the existence
and needs of their gay/lesbian students puts these adolescents at risk.
Because homosexual adolescents are either ignored or the objects of bigotry and
hate, they do not benefit from the traditional support structures (Le., physicians,
educators, mental health professionals and clergy) available to others. For instance,
gay/lesbian students' perception of family and school physicians as hostile generally
dissuades them from seeking medical help or information when needed (Uribe and
Harbeck, 1992). Struggling alone, many of these youths are at high risk for peer abuse,
alcoholism, drug addiction and prostitution (Uribe and Harbeck, 1992). Not
surprisingly, they represent a group for whom the drop out rate is particularly high
(Sears, 1992a). Out of school, with little or no psychological support and often relying
on drugs for the "help" they do not get anywhere else, many gay/lesbian adolescents
resort to suicide as an escape from their daily nightmare. Indeed, although the accuracy
of these findings has been questioned (Shaffer, Fisher, Hicks, Parides and Gould, cited in
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35
Jordan, Vaughan and Woodworth, 1997), polls have indicated that gay/lesbian teenagers
are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts and that
over thirty percent of all teenage suicide may be attributed to emotional distress over
issues of sexual orientation (Fassinger, 1993; Uribe and Harbeck, 1992; Jordan, Vaughan
and Woodworth, 1997; Woods and Harbeck, 1992).
Finally, those who do not contemplate suicide as a possible solution to their
problem still have to devise coping strategies to face the often violent expressions of
hostility they encounter at school everyday. The most common, because deemed most
effective, strategy among gay/lesbian students appears to be the concealment of their
sexual orientation. However, "the result of these strategies [is] to cripple them
emotionally and socially (Uribe and Harbeck, 1992, p. 19)."
Afraid of being "discovered", many of these adolescents refrain from establishing
close friendships as well as from actively participating in class and extra-curricular
activities. In other words, they are excluded from full participation in what represents
the major part of their social world. They become social outcasts, victims of a
heterocentric school system which, by reinforcing compulsory heterosexuality, routinely
sacrifices a substantial percentage of its student population.
In order to meet the needs of gay and lesbian students, teachers who are able and
willing to address issues related to homosexuality are needed in every schools (Rofes,
1989). As long as gay and lesbian teachers continue to be perceived as threats instead of
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36
valuable educational resources, they will be unable to help and support their gay and
lesbian students. Furthermore, the presence of openly gay and lesbian teachers in the
classroom could also contribute to dissipating myths about homosexuality, thereby
reducing the development of homophobic feelings in straight students (Newton and
Risch, 1981; Uribe and Harbeck, 1992, Waldo and Kemp, 1997). For instance, a year
long study at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles showed that, when gay and lesbian
teachers disclosed their sexual orientation to their students, "discussions seemed to move
from a purely intellectual level to a heartfelt, humane, and tangible situation that elicited
more personal and emotional exchanges that led to greater acceptance and insight (Uribe
and Harbeck, 1992, p. 26)." Thus, in educational institutions where heterosexuality
represents the only socially accepted form of sexual expression and where sexuality
remains taboo, "[vjisibility of sexual minority people and issues [continues] to be critical
to social and educational change (Fassinger, 1993, p. 141)."
Visibility as a Way to Reduce Heterocentrism and Homophobia
Attempting to reduce heterocentrism and homophobia in educational contexts
and, by extension, in our society undoubtedly represents quite a monumental task. In her
article "And Gladly Teach: Lesbian and Gay Issues in Education," Fassinger (1993)
identifies several types of actions essential to the fight against homophobia and
heterosexism. I wish to focus on the one which directly pertains to the focus of the
present study, namely increasing the visibility of gay and lesbian teachers.
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Institutional homophobia, not homosexuality, is responsible for the psychological
distress experienced by most gays and lesbians. The feet that homosexuality is not
pathological has been convincingly documented (Gonsiorek, 1991). Learned early at
home and reinforced by schools, by the media and by virtually every social institutions,
rigid gender roles are the only models readily available. Therefore, how can gay/lesbian
adolescents develop into psychologically balanced adults? How can we alter the existing
social structure which breeds homophobes who unwittingly participate in the limitation
of their own potential as social and sexual human beings? At least part of the answer lies
in the word "visibility".
Although a tremendous progress has been made as a result of the gay/lesbian
liberation movement, we still need to achieve a greater degree o f visibility. The decision
of some gay and lesbian teachers to come out in the classroom mirrors some of the
political actions taken by gay and lesbian activists in other public arenas. For instance,
the political group Queer Nation aimed at challenging all areas o f local and national
social communication by transgressing the accepted norms and, most importantly, by
becoming visible. By invading the areas of "normality" such as malls, bars, or any public
places, and by producing queer versions of popular mainstream culture (Le., Queer Bart
Simpson T-shirts), Queer Nation imitated mainstream (thus redefining "normality" by
claiming it) while at the same time reasserting its different identity (Berlant and Freeman,
1993). Queer nation, having understood the power of the media to produce cultural
norms, produced its own as a way to gain queer visibility.
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The notion o f visibility is crucial as it underlines the feet that the ultimate aim of
gay/lesbian activism is not only to gain the right to privacy but particularly the right to
develop a public identity. By refusing to be silenced and by presenting its own positive
queer images, Queer Nation also countered mainstream culture tendency to either
eliminate queer images or to present only negative ones. Similarly, by refusing to remain
closeted, openly gay and lesbian teachers challenge the heterocentric assumption (wish?)
that they dont exist and seize the opportunity to present to their students and colleagues
a more positive and accurate image of homosexuality than is traditionally conveyed.
Doty (1993) and Dyer (1993) have shown that queer authorship in films,
television and books has traditionally been misrepresented or silenced. The manipulation
of the representations of queer identity by the media appears sadly obvious in the case of
Rock Hudson. As a young handsome man, he invariably represented the all American
boy, straight and (consequently?) healthy. He only embodied homosexuality at the very
end of his life, as a sick gay man (a redundancy for many) dying of AIDS (Crimp, 1993).
The sexual identity o f movie directors, actors and authors has generally gone (and often
still goes) unacknowledged or been carefully dissimulated. In the process, the possibility
that their sexual identity might have contributed to the quality of their art and therefore
to their appeal to the general (assumed straight) public was dutifully ignored. Similarly,
many gay and lesbian teachers are highly motivated educators who have been publicly
recognized by their communities for their commitment to and excellence in teaching
(Olson, 1987). When such teachers choose not to dissociate their sexuality from their
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39
public identity, their excellent teaching records invalidate the heterocentric claim that
homosexuality is incompatible with good teaching.
Visibility is crucial in every areas of our lives, regardless of whether they have
been traditionally deemed as private or public. As educators, increasing our visibility in
the classroom can have a strong positive impact on students. Gonsiorek (1993) claims
that gay and lesbian adolescents have not received much support from adults, even from
the adult homosexual communities He explains, “young persons struggling with sexual
identity benefit from sound and complete information about human sexuality and from
clear and consistent messages that sexual orientation does not determine the value of a
person, mental health status, or the quality of life” (p. 480).
In order to assist students in their sexual development, providing accurate
information about human sexual behavior should be the responsibility of educational
institutions. Every time schools fail to provide students with this kind of support, they
are short changing all of them, straight or gay. Gay/lesbian educators who refuse to be
silenced can act as role models for their gay/lesbian students, but they can also challenge
the negative stereotypes associated with homosexuality (Herek, 1984; Newton and
Risch, 1981; Uribe and Harbeck, 1992). By giving a full human dimension to
homosexuality, they counteract the tendency to reduce it to a mere sexual behavior. In
addition, they also challenge the concept of compulsory heterosexuality and force
students, faculty and parents to acknowledge what a heterocentric social structure
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renders invisible, namely that gay and lesbian persons exist and are present in all spheres
of society.
Strommen (1993) writes about the concept of heterosexual assumption according
to which heterosexuality represents a category to which people belong by default. In
other words, membership is systematically assumed. As Strommen points out, "[p]eople
with homosexual identities are therefore not only invisible to others, but are also
misclassified by others as heterosexuals (p.249).'' This "misclassification" is, in feet, an
erasure. In our society, more than a mere assumption, heterosexuality is an obligation to
embrace a particular way of living, loving and behaving.
As teachers we are expected to actively participate in the reproduction o f the
compulsory heterosexual lifestyle through our work in heterocentric institutions where
students learn to shape their behavior according to rigid gender roles. By refusing to be
invisible, gay and lesbian teachers can (re)create the story o f their experience and present
it as one version of the many variations ofhuman experience, neither more nor less valid
than any other.
Summary
Pedagogy is the theory of how to teach, how to share knowledge. Therefore, the
pedagogical approach one chooses is largely based on how one defines knowledge.
When knowledge is perceived as created collaboratively through social interactions, the
development of relationships and dialogue among the participants becomes central to the
teaching/learning process.
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Recognizing the importance of social interaction in the construction of
knowledge, feminist theorists have emphasized the need to bridge the gap between the
private (home) and the public (school) and to foster the development of personal
student-teacher affective relationships. However, as the research indicates, when gay
and lesbian teachers are closeted, (1) they are forced to use the public/private split as a
refuge/protection, (2) they are prevented from establishing honest and open relationships
with their students and (3) all students, regardless of their sexual orientation, are
negatively affected.
In light of the negative impact that the classroom closet has on gay/lesbian
teachers and their students, coming out in the classroom arguably represents a step
toward (1) improving the personal and professional lives of gay/lesbian teachers, (2)
providing psychological and emotional support to gay/lesbian teenagers struggling with
issues of sexual orientation in a homophobic society and (3) using visibility as one of the
ways to reduce heterocentrism and homophobia in educational contexts and, by
extension, in society at large. Therefore, we need to gain more insight into the
experience of gay/lesbian teachers who have refused to remain in the classroom closet.
Their coming out represents a valuable source of experiential knowledge which remains,
as of today, insufficiently explored.
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CHAPTER m
METHODOLOGY
This chapter introduces and describes the research methodology I used to explore
the coming out experience of ten K-12 gay and lesbian teachers. First, I present
symbolic interactionist theory and show its relevance to this study as the theoretical basis
for a phenomenological approach to qualitative research. Second, I review the three
basic approaches to interviewing, explain my rationale for selecting the interview guide
approach and describe the interview process. Third, I turn to the process of participant
selection and offer some biographical information about the ten participants in this study.
Finally, I explain the two approaches I used for data analysis.
Symbolic Interactionism and Phenomenology as a Theoretical Basis
From a symbolic interactionist perspective, the meaning we attribute to a given
phenomenon can be seen as the product of the interaction between that phenomenon and
our interpretation of it (Mead, 1934; Blumer, 1969). The people, objects, or events that
shape our experience do not, in and of themselves, possess meaning. Rather, we create
meaning through social interaction. Symbolic interaction theory opposes the essentialist
view of the “self’ as intrinsic and objective. Our “self’ is a social construction, the sum
of the interaction between our perception of ourselves and our interpretation of how
others perceive us (Bogdan and Bilken, 1982). Therefore interpretation, essential to the
process of meaning construction, occurs through social interaction. As Bogdan and
Bilken (1982) explain:
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Interpretation is not an autonomous act, nor is it determined by
any particular force, human or otherwise. Individuals interpret
with the help of others— people from their past, writers, family,
television personalities, and persons they meet in settings in
which they work and play— but others do not do it for them.
Through interaction the individual constructs m eaning, (p. 33)
In order to translate symbolic interaction theory into a research method, I now
turn to phenomenology. The goal of a phenomenological approach to scientific research
is to give an accurate description of a specific aspect o f subjective human experience
(Husserl, 1952; PoQdnghome, 1988). Phenomenologists believe that we interpret our
experiences in multiple ways through our interactions with the world. In turn, the
meaning we attribute to our experience constitutes our reality. A phenomenological
study, therefore, is one which seeks to explore the conceptual world of the participants
in order to understand how they construct meaning in relation to a specific event
(Bogdan and Bilken, 1982).
The phenomenon under investigation in this study is the coming out experience
of gay and lesbian teachers to their students and colleagues. Therefore, I set out to
explore the nature of their subjective interpretation of the various types of social
interactions which had shaped their coming out experience in the classroom.
The Interview
In the case of a phenomenological study, the data consists of the participants’
descriptions of their subjective experience of a particular event. Although descriptions
can be gathered in a variety of ways, interviews and written statements are the most
common. Interviews are preferable when a large amount of information is needed,
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when there is a need to be flexible in gathering data from each different respondent
and, finally, when it is of importance to probe certain topics as they come up and to
assist the respondents in interpreting the questions (Chamberlin, 1969).
Patton (1987) outlines three basic approaches to interviewing, namely the
informal conversational interview, the standardized open-ended interview, and the
general interview guide approach. For the purpose of this study, I selected the general
interview guide. This approach to interviewing calls for the preparation o f a list of
questions or areas of inquiry which need to be explored with each participant. Using
an interview guide was a way to insure that I would have more control over data
gathering than I would have had with an informal conversational interview. Indeed,
the latter, by virtue of taking the form of a casual conversation, makes it very difficult
for the interviewer to know ahead of time what direction the interview will take and,
consequently, what questions will or will not be possible and/or appropriate. The
interview guide approach, on the other hand, allows the researcher to structure each
interview so that the same topics are covered and the same type of information is asked
of each respondent (Patton, 1987).
Although there is some structure built into the interview guide approach, it is
not necessary for questions to be fully worded as would be the case with a
standardized open-ended interview. Whereas the rigidity of the standardized open-
ended interview makes it almost impossible for the researcher to pursue topics which
have not been anticipated before, yet might prove instrumental in reflecting the
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participants’ unique experience, the interview guide merely serves as a checklist to be
used during the interview while at the sam e time giving the interviewer the freedom to
be spontaneous and to adapt the wording o f each question to the personality of each
respondent. In addition, it offers the possibility to explore a specific area further if
needed (Patton, 1987).
Therefore, I selected the interview guide approach because it offered a perfect
balance between structure and freedom, both o f which were needed in my study. On
the one hand, I needed structure so as to ensure that I obtained the same type of
information from all participants and that I gathered as much pertinent data as possible
during the amount of time the participants could devote to me. On the other hand, I
needed the freedom to explore specific areas further if needed and to adapt questions
to the personality of each participant so as to capture as accurately as possible the
particularity o f their experience.
I developed an interview check list (see Appendix A) in order to keep track of
the questions I would ask and of the areas which would be covered during the
interview. In most cases, the questions were not fully worded on the outline. I hoped
that only a short reference to the focus o f the question would allow me to better adapt
the wording to the style and personality of each participant. To ensure that the same
type of information was obtained from all participants, I put check marks in front of
each area of inquiry once it had been satisfactorily covered. Because the questions
were not fully worded on the interview checklist, the number of questions appearing on
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it does not necessarily correspond to the number of questions which were asked during
the interview. Often, several questions had to be asked in order to cover a specific
point.
The main areas of inquiry were (1) the respondents' personal, educational and
professional background, (2) the respondents' initial realization of their sexual
orientation and their personal coming out process, (3) their feelings about their
motivation to come out in the classroom, (4) the various aspects of their coming out
experience in the classroom and (5) their personal reflections on their experience.
Throughout the interviews, I strove to establish an atmosphere of trust so that
the participants would feel comfortable talking about their personal experience. Since
the setting plays a major part in creating an atmosphere conducive to a relaxed
conversational exchange, all the interviews were conducted in a relaxed, informal
atmosphere, that is to say either in the respondent’s home or in my own. The choice of
either location was left to the participants.
Before starting the interview, I reminded the participants of the purpose and
focus of my research. I then asked the participants to read and sign the consent form
(see Appendix B). Any questions concerning the study or its format were then
answered. Finally, I kept the signed copy for my records and also gave the participants
a copy. At this point, the interview began. There was no pre-determined length of
time for each interview unless imposed by the participant’s schedule. However, the
interviews all ranged in length between one and a half to two and a half hours.
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Selection of the Participants
Certain states have been historically more liberal than others. Similarly, large
urban areas such as Los Angeles or New York City are known to be significantly less
conservative than rural communities. Thus, both the geographical location and the
demo graphical characteristics of an area are likely to have an impact on the coming out
experience o f any openly gay or lesbian teacher. Indeed, the ideological "climate" does
vary from one community to the next and, consequently, so do the school
administrators, parents and students with whom gay and lesbian teachers interact.
Ultimately, it will be important to include the potential differences in the
experience o f gay and lesbian teachers based on the interaction between the types of
schools (Le., urban versus rural) and their geographical location (Le., Northeast,
South, Midwest, West Coast). However, since this study represents the first attempt
to explore the coming out experience ofK-12 gay and lesbian teachers, it is necessary
to gain more insight into the overall nature of their experience before considering how
a set of variables might influence it. Consequently, I chose to focus my study
exclusively on the coming out experience ofK-12 gay and lesbian teachers in the Los
Angeles area.
My criteria for the selection of the participants were (a) self-identification as
gay or lesbian, and (b) disclosure of sexual orientation in the school setting. In order
to find and select participants, I (a) attended two of the United Teachers of Los
Angeles (UTLA) Gay and Lesbian Issues Committee meetings at the UTLA
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Headquarters building, (b) attended a meeting of the Gay and Lesbian Educational
Commission (GLEC) at the Los Angeles Board of Education and (c) sent an email
message describing my study, its purpose and my need for volunteers to the moderator
of the Gay and Lesbian Education Network (GLSEN) listserv.
Finding participants for this study did not turn out to be as easy as I had
anticipated it. At each of the three meetings I attended, I was given a few minutes to
present my study and distribute a one page prospectus describing the purpose of the
study, my need of volunteers and how to contact me (see Appendix C). Some teachers
expressed their interest in participating in the study, others asked for extra copies of
the prospectus to distribute to friends. However, nobody contacted me. In retrospect,
I realize that it was a mistake to leave it up to prospective participants to contact me.
Instead, I should have circulated a sign up sheet and asked anyone interested to write
their name and phone numbers. This would have allowed me to contact them at later
date.
My contact with GLSEN, on the other hand, turned out to be more productive.
First, the moderator o f the GLSEN listserv forwarded my message to several of the
members, then he included my prospectus in a bulk mailing going to all the members of
the GLSEN Los Angeles chapter. Nine GLSEN members responded to this m ailing and
agreed to participate in this study. In addition, one teacher was referred to me by Walter
Williams, one of my committee members.
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A total of ten self-identified gay and lesbian teachers participated in this study:
two Caucasian females, five Caucasian males, one African American male, one Latina
and one Latino. They ranged in age from twenty two to fifty nine. Two teachers taught
at the elementary level, three at the junior high level and five at the high school level
The number of years of teaching experience ranged from two to thirty five (see Appendix
D).
Pseudonyms will be used to identify the participants. Five participants (Alex,
Betty, Kathie, Larry and Tyler) chose their own pseudonyms. The remaining five
participants (Brian, George, Clive, Edward, and Kurt) did not have any preference
regarding the name by which they would be identified in this study. Consequently the
pseudonyms used to identify them are the ones I assigned.
I made no attempt at validating the accuracy of their account through a process
of triangulation (Le., interviewing students and colleagues) because my intent was to
gain an understanding of how these teachers, themselves, interpreted their experience
and because when people “define situations as real they are real in their consequences”
(Thomas and Zaniecki, cited in Sears, 1992b, p. 148).
Data Analysis
Originally, I had planned to interweave the process of data collection and data
analysis (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). However, the circumstances surrounding my
difficulties in locating volunteers for this study prevented me from using this approach.
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When my search for openly gay and lesbian teachers finally started to yield positive
results, I decided I would not risk losing any prospective participants by trying to
schedule interviews so as to allow myself time to start the analysis process before
completing the interview process. Instead, the interviews were scheduled based on the
participants’ availability. As it turned out, because of scheduling constraints, nine of the
ten interviews were conducted within a period of three weeks. As a result, since I
personally transcribed each interview and since I needed to send a copy of the transcript
to each participant, I was forced to postpone the data analysis until all interviews had
been transcribed. However, through the transcription process, I started noticing
common themes and patterns which later guided my analysis of the data.
After transcribing each interview, I sent two copies to each participant, one for
their record and one to be sent back to me in a self addressed stamped envelop. This
was meant as an opportunity for participants to add, delete or correct anything they
might perceive as an inaccurate reflection of their experience. Seven participants sent
back a corrected version of the transcript. The only corrections made were to clarify
groups of words I had been unable to decipher during the transcribing and only occurred
in places where I had mentioned “some words I can’t make out.” However, none of
them added or deleted any information pertaining to their coming out experience. This
seemed to indicate that, a few weeks after the actual interview, these participants were
still satisfied with the way their coming out experience was reflected in the transcript.
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Transcripts averaged about filly double-spaced pages bringing the total amount
of data to about five hundred pages. First I proceeded to read through each transcript
again in order to further familiarize myself with the specificity of each participant’s
experience while, at the same time, starting to identify some of the similarities between
participants. During this process, some of my observations led me to adopt a different
method of analysis for the data presented in Chapter IV and Chapter V. I will describe
each process separately.
Data Analysis for Chapter IV
While reading through the transcripts, I was struck by some of the metaphors
the participants chose to use as a way to describe some aspects of their experience. I
began to entertain the thought that these might represent a window into the
participants’ subconscious conceptualization of their coming out experience. This
assumption was based on the theoretical work of Lakoflf and Johnson (1980). In their
book Metaphors we live by. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argue that “our conceptual
system is not something we are normally aware o f’ (p. 3) and that “ we can use
metaphorical linguistic expressions [...] to gain an understanding of the metaphorical
nature of our activities” (p. 7).
In light of this argument, I decided to follow what was originally a hunch. I
began re-reading each one o f the transcripts and circling each metaphorical expression
as I proceeded. Next, I made a complete list of these metaphorical expressions and
came up with a total o f over one hundred and twenty. In order to facilitate the process
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of analysis, I decided to make a separate list of metaphors for each of the participants.
Each metaphor was followed by a brief description of the context in which it had been
used.
As I read each list, I started writing a one or two word descriptor next to each
metaphor in order to indicate the kind o f imagery it conjured up. Some of the
descriptors inchided: battle, wind, weapon, swimming, acting, sailing, wearing a mask,
water temperature. Then, I made a list of all the descriptors and started looking for the
presence of themes. Eventually, I was able to group most of the descriptors/metaphors
under four main thematic categories: war (Le., battle, weapon), journey (Le., wind,
sailing), performance (Le., acting, wearing a mask) and water (swimming, water
temperature). A few originally resisted categorization and were grouped under the
heading “miscellaneous.”
My next step was to schedule a meeting with a graduate student friend of mine,
Elaine Mac Leod. I presented her with my preliminary analysis. Her input supported
my analysis and helped me strengthen the existing four categories. Through our
discussion of my preliminary findings, we were able to group most of the metaphors
which had remained in the “miscellaneous” group under one of the four main thematic
categories.
I then made new lists, this time grouping metaphors according to the category
to which they belonged. I went back and forth between these lists and the transcripts
in order to consider the metaphors both in and out of context. This was meant to help
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me appreciate the imagery conjured up by each metaphor as well as its implication
within the context in which the participant had used it. Through this analytical process
based on the concept of metaphorical language introduced by Lakoff and Johnson
(1980), I was able to identify four metaphorical concepts which structured the
participants’ conceptualization of some aspect of their experience: coming out as war,
coming out as a journey, being closeted and coming out as a performance, and
heterosexist society as water. These findings are discussed in Chapter IV.
D ata Analysis for Chapter V
I went back to the transcripts and re-read each one several times. As I read, I
began to identify the broad topic of each paragraph or groups of paragraphs by writing
short descriptors in the margin. Because I had systematically inquired about specific
aspects of these teachers’ experience and asked similar questions to each of them,
there was a great deal of similarity in the topics addressed by each participant. As a
result, I was able to organize the entire account of each participant’s experience under
fifteen descriptors: personal school experience as a student; personal coming out;
professional history; role as a teacher; motivation for coming out at school; sexuality
and teaching; description of school where they came out; coming out at school; ways
of coming out; reactions to their coming out; impact of their coming out; advantages
and drawbacks to coming out; activism; advice to gay and lesbian teachers;
homophobia reduction strategies.
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Next, I created a separate computer file for each o f the above categories. Then
I proceeded to cut out the parts of each interview pertaining to each different category
and to paste them in the appropriate category computer file. The result was fifteen
category files each containing the account of all ten participants’ experience as it
related to this particular category. I then read each file several times in order to
familiarize myself with the nature of each of these specific aspects of the participants’
experience.
During this process, I began to break down each of the categories into
subcategories. For instance, I divided the category “reactions to their coming out”
into subcategories such as “student’s reaction, parents’ reactions, colleagues’ reactions
and administrators’ reactions.” In turn, each of these subcategories were divided into
positive and negative reactions. As another example, I divided the category “coming
out at school” into subcategories such as “how they came out” and “why they came
out.” The subcategory “how they came out” was subsequently subdivided into
“indirect coming out” and “coming out in a declarative statement” whereas the
category “why they came out” was subdivided into “personal reasons; professional
reasons and socio-political reasons.”
Using the analytical process described above, I was able to identify three
central aspects o f the participants’ coming out experience, namely the manner in which
they chose to come out, their motivation for coming out and the reactions their
disclosure provoked. These findings, along with these teachers’ advice to other gay
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and lesbian teachers and suggestions of effective homophobia reduction strategies are
discussed in Chapter V.
Summary
This phenomenological study investigated the coming out experience of a
group of ten gay/lesbian K-12 teachers’ coming out experience in the classroom. The
criteria for the selection of the participants were (1) self-identification as gay or
lesbian, and (b) disclosure of sexual orientation in the school setting.
Nine of the participants responded to a prospectus describing the purpose of
the study and my need for volunteers. One of the participants was referred to me by
Walter Williams, one of my committee members. The data were gathered through in-
depth interviews. For the purpose of this study, I selected the interview guide
approach. The interviews ranged in length between one and a half to two and a half
hours. I tape recorded each interview and later personally transcribed them.
Two different analytical processes were used. For the data presented in
Chapter IV, I analyzed the participants’ use of metaphorical expressions to describe
some aspects of their coming out experience by developing a thematic framework
organized around four main metaphorical concepts: coming out as war, coming out as
a journey, being out and coming out as a performance, and heterosexist society as
water. For the data presented in Chapter V, I developed analytical categories and
subcategories through a process of coding used consistently throughout the ten
transcripts. Through this process, I identified three main aspects of the participants’
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experience: the manner in which they came out, their motivation for coming out and
the reactions their disclosure provoked.
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CHAPTER IV
METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING
The concepts that govern our thoughts are not just matters of the intellect
They also govern our everyday functioning, down to the most mundane details.
Our concepts structure what we perceive, and how we relate to other people.
Our conceptual system thus plays a central role in defining our everyday
realities
Lakoff and Johnson (1980, p. 3)
The purpose of this study is to gain some insight in the nature o f the coming out
experience ofK-12 gay and lesbian teachers to their students and colleagues. To this
effect, the language they used when relating their coming out experience represents a
source of data which can help us reach a better understanding of the conceptual system
which structures their own understanding o f that experience. As Lakoff and Johnson
(1980) argue,
[0]ur conceptual system is not something we are normally aware
of In most of the little things we do everyday, we simply think
and act more or less automatically along certain lines. Just what
these lines are is by no means obvious. One way to find out is
by looking at language. Since communication is based on the
same conceptual system that we use in thinking and acting,
language is an important source of evidence for what that system
is like. (p. 3)
This chapter will be devoted to analyzing/exploring the participants’ use of
metaphors to describe their coming out experience. First, I will discuss the concept o f
metaphorical language as introduced by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) in an effort to show
how it relates to the use of metaphors by the participants in this study. Second, I will
discuss various implications in the use of the metaphor of the closet, the most common
metaphorical way of talking about the concept of hiding/disclosing one’s homosexuality.
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Third, I will turn to the participants’ use of metaphors as a way to conceptualize some
aspects of their coming out experience at school.
The Metaphorical Structuring of our Experiences
According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980) a metaphor is essentially a linguistic
process by which we understand and experience one kind of thing in terms of another.
They argue that “human thought processes are largely metaphorical (p. 6).” The
metaphorical expressions we use in order to speak of our experiences are the reflection
of the metaphorical structuring of our conceptual system. Consequently, an analysis of
such metaphorical expressions will help us gain an understanding of the way in which we
make sense of our experiences (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980).
One of the examples given by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) is the common Western
metaphorical concept “time is money.” This metaphorical concept gives birth to a series
of metaphors, such as “You’re wasting my tim e (p. 7 )”, “How do you spend your time
these day? (p. 8)”, and “I’ve invested a lot of time in her (p. 8).” Lakoff and Johnson
conclude that
[corresponding to the feet that we act as if time is a valuable
commodity—a limited resource, even money—we conceive o f
time that way. Thus we understand and experience time as the
kind of thing that can be spent, wasted, budgeted, invested
wisely or poorly, saved or squandered, (p. 8)
Thus, the process of tracing metaphorical expressions such as “you’re wasting
my time” to the metaphorical concept “time is money” allows us to understand how the
concept of time is often conceived of in our culture and gives us additional insight on
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how we experience that particular concept. Similarly, my purpose in analyzing the
metaphors used by the participants in this study, is to uncover some of the metaphorical
concepts which structure their conceptual system as it relates to their coming out
experience.
The next step is to understand how metaphorical concepts are grounded. How
does a particular concept come to be understood metaphorically? Spatial concepts such
as “up” and “down” , for instance, are more easily understood since we can experience
them physically in our interactions with our environment (Le., going up the stairs, falling
down, etc). In other words, we understand concepts like “up” and “down” through our
daily physical activity. Emotional concepts, on the other hand, are less easy to grasp
because they cannot be directly linked to any concrete (Le., physical) experience. Lakoff
and Johnson (1980) conclude that “[ajlthough a sharply defined conceptual structure for
space emerges from our perceptual-motor functioning, no sharply defined conceptual
structure for the emotions emerges from our emotional functioning alone (p. 58).”
Thus, abstract concepts tend to be conceptualized in terms of more concrete
ones. In the case of spatial concepts versus emotional ones, Lakoff and Johnson (1980)
offer the following explanation:
Since there are systematic correlates between our emotions (like
happiness) and our sensory-motor experiences (like erect
posture), these form the basis of orientational metaphorical
concepts (such as HAPPY is UP). Such metaphors allow us to
conceptualize our emotions in more sharply delineated terms and
also to relate them to other concepts having to do with general
well-being (e.g., HEALTH, LIFE, CONTROL, etc.). (p.58)
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Thus, the metaphorical concepts which structure the way we express ourselves
metaphorically become grounded in a set of correlations that we subconsciously establish
between our experience of abstract concepts and that of concrete ones. In the process,
the latter provide the conceptual structure which facilitates and shapes our understanding
of the former. In the next section, I win show that this process of correlations between
concrete and abstract experiences is indeed at the basis of the metaphor of the closet.
The Metaphor of the Closet
Whether to disclose or to keep secret one’s sexuality is central to the experience
of virtually every gay or lesbian person. Whether the decision is an easy or an
excruciating one, the very feet that homosexuality remains marginalized forces gays and
lesbians to choose between secrecy or disclosure or, as is often the case, to alternate
between the two. As Kosofsky Sedgwick (1990) argues, “for many gay people [the
closet] is the fundamental feature of social life; and there can be few gay people,
however courageous and forthright by habit, however fortunate in the support of their
immediate communities, in whose lives the closet is not still a shaping presence (p. 68).”
Indeed, we have all become familiar with phrases such as “he/she is in/out of the
closet” and “he/she is closeted”. Precisely because these expressions have become the
standard way of talking about hiding/disclo sing one’s homosexuality, they are typically
not perceived as metaphors but as ‘normal’ every day language. However, whenever we
use metaphorical expressions to talk about a given situation, the way we conceive and
even experience that situation is metaphorically structured (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980).
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Simply put, we literally understand and conceive o f the experience of hiding one’s
homosexuality as being in a closet and the experience o f disclosing one’s homosexuality
as coming out of a closet. Thus, before turning to metaphorical expressions specific to
each participant’s coming out experience, it becomes important to examine the one
metaphor which lies at the very core of the homosexual experience: the metaphor of the
closet.
How, then, does the experience of hiding/disclosing one’s homosexuality
correlate with the concept of being in/out of a closet? In order to answer this question, I
will first consider what we know about actual closets. A closet primarily serves a
practical purpose. In most cases, it is a relatively small space in which we store a variety
of items when they are not being used. Although out of sight, these items are easily
accessible. Most o f them are typically taken in and out periodically according to our
needs, but some items end up being forgotten or ignored for long periods of time. A
closet is usually viewed as a private place, regardless of its content. When the door is
closed, it is a dark space where we can even keep things secret. Yet the privacy and/or
secrecy a closet affords us is limited. Unless it is locked, its door represents the only
barrier between the inside (unknown) and the outside (known). The content (unknown)
can thus be easily revealed (known) if anyone opens the door or fails to close it In
short while an item is stored in a closet it is private, possibly even secret, unknown to
the public and, in some cases, even to ourselves. On the other hand, an item taken out of
the closet is made public. Its existence is disclosed and therefore known.
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Thus, the concept of the closet can be organized around the following four
binarisms:
In / Out
Private / Public
Secrecy / Disclosure
Unknown (dark) / Known (light)
I will now use these four binarisms as my framework to outline the correlation
between the (abstract) experience of hiding/disclosing one’s homosexuality and the
(concrete) concept of the closet.
In/Out
First and foremost, hiding one’s homosexuality means, quite literally, keeping it
out of sight—trying to pass as heterosexual in the eyes of others, avoiding the gaze of
others. This experience directly correlates with that of a closet since items stored in it
are also kept out of sight. In addition, while some gays and lesbians choose—or feel
compelled—to dissimulate their sexual orientation from everyone, others choose to
either hide it or reveal it depending on the circumstances and the people involved. The
latter, then, alternate between “taking out” and “storing away” that aspect of their
identity much as one would retrieve an hem from a closet in order to use it and put h
back later, when h is no longer needed/required.
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Private/Public
Many aspects of our lives are regulated by the private/public dichotomy.
Although what is considered private or public varies from one individual to another,
there are—presumably in every culture—some universals which guide how comfortable
people feel with sharing certain aspects of their lives. In Western culture, sexuality
generally frills into the realm of the private. Indeed, the very feet that we commonly refer
to genitals as “private parts” is a significant linguistic indication of where sexuality is
positioned along the private/public continuum. As a result, with the exception of
celebrities whose lives are increasingly becoming part of the public domain, the decision
of whether to discuss one’s sexual orientation is usually a personal one, informed by the
context and the degree of intimacy shared by the participants. The outcome of the
decision regarding whether to come out, however, does not necessarily represent an
indication of how one feels about his/her sexual orientation. For instance, a gay man or a
lesbian might choose to keep his/her sexual orientation private although he/she feels no
shame, guilt or uneasiness about it. The preference for privacy is much more an
indication of how one views sexuality in general (Le., a private matter according to
Western culture) than of how one views one’s sexual orientation. The notion of privacy
differs in this respect from the notion of secrecy— which I will address in the next
section— where the potential stigma associated with one’s sexual orientation is taken
into consideration.
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Similarly, regardless of its content, a closet is a private place to which only a
selected few (Le., family members, a lover, close friends, etc...) are usually granted
access. Imagine how you would feel if one of your guests suddenly decided to explore
all your closets and went from one to another, opening the doors and examining the
content. As the owner of the house, you would likely deem such a behavior as
inappropriate and would probably feel somewhat violated, even if some cardboard boxes
and a broom were all that was revealed. On the other hand, if the same guest examined
closely any item publicly displayed in your house, his/her close scrutiny of that particular
item would not be perceived as invasive, even if the object were much more personally
and emotionally meaningful to you than cardboard boxes and brooms. In other words, it
is your perception of what you consider private or public which matters, not necessarily
the nature of what is being revealed.
Secrecv/Disclosure
Given the feet that heterosexuality rem ains the norm in Western societies, there is
a host of compelling reasons for gays and lesbians to hide their sexual orientation,
ranging from the fear of rejection from loved ones to the fear for personal safety. In
such cases, one’s sexual orientation is not only private but kept secret. It is important to
distinguish the concerns surrounding the issue of secrecy/disclosure from those raised by
the private/public split Indeed, the decision to disclose is likely to be based on the
perceived emotional, psychological and/or physical safety surrounding the disclosure
rather than on the level of intimacy (public/private). For instance, one might feel
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threatened by the idea of disclosing to a parent while relatively at ease disclosing to a
non-homophobic colleague, thereby keeping something secret in the realm of the private
(the family) and choosing to disclose in a public space (the workplace).
Similarly, we can use a closet to hide any item which, for whatever reason, we
wish to keep secret. Our decision to reveal its existence is not likely to be based on our
perception of whether our closet is a private or a public space but, rather, on the identity
of the person to whom the item will be revealed as well as on the consequences that can
be reasonably expected from the revelation. I might, for instance, take out my partner’s
Christmas gift out of the closet to show it to a neighbor while making sure my partner
never sees it.
Ignorance fdarkness) /K now ledge flight!
In Western societies, the concept of darkness/light is commonly associated with
the concept of knowledge (Le., light is knowledge and darkness the lack thereof). In
English, this metaphorical association is clearly exemplified in expressions such as “I’m
in the dark about this issue,” “to shed light on a subject” or in verbs such as “to
enlighten.” Thus, what is “in the dark” is unknown and what is “in the light” is known.
Whether our sexual orientation is known or unknown therefore lends itself to a
metaphorical conceptualization which incorporates the concept of darkness/light. If our
homosexuality is kept hidden or if we are at a point in our personal development where
we are still unable to acknowledge it, part of our identity remains unknown to others as
well as to ourselves (Le., part of our identity is in the dark). On the other hand, when we
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choose to reveal our homosexuality to others or reach a point in our personal
development where we can finally embrace it, additional knowledge is gained and our
identity is more fully revealed (Le., light is shed on it).
Similarly, a closet is a dark place unless the door is open and a light is turned on.
Thus, the content of the closet is not only hidden behind the door, it is in the dark (Le.,
unknown). Sometimes the content is unknown even to the owner. We have all
experienced the surprise of finding in our closets items which we did not know— or had
forgotten—were there. When items are retrieved and taken out (Le., out of the dark and
into the light), their existence is revealed (known) to others and sometimes to ourselves.
Thus, the metaphorical concept of the closet, grounded in the correlation
between the concrete concept of the closet and the abstract concept of hiding/disclosing
one’s sexual orientation, finds its linguistic representation through the use of
metaphorical expressions which structure the experience of hiding/disclosing one’s
homosexuality. As Bruner (1986) reminds us, “[/i]ow one talks comes eventually to be
how one represents what one talks about, (p. 131).” Therefore, let us turn to actual
expressions generated by the metaphorical concept o f the closet in order to consider how
they shape our understanding o f the experience ofhiding/disclosing one’s homosexuality.
The Metaphorical Expressions of the Closet: Some Implications
The metaphorical concept of the closet structures our understanding of the
experience of hiding/disclosing one’s homosexuality through commonly used
metaphorical expressions such as he/she is in the closet; he/she is closeted; he/she was
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outed; he/she came out of the closet. In this section, I wish to discuss two implications
that can be derived from the use of these metaphorical expressions: the individual as
embodying sexual orientation and the individual as object.
The Individual as Emhodvrnp Sexual Orientation
The metaphorical concept of the closet gives birth to metaphorical expressions
which posit the individual—not his/her sexual orientation—as hiding in or coming out of
the closet. In all the above metaphorical expressions commonly used to express the
concept of hiding/disclosing one’s homosexuality, the subject of the sentence embodies
the person whose sexual orientation is being discussed. What is actually being hidden or
revealed, however, is the individual’s sexual orientation (it). Yet, it is the individual
himself or herself— through the use of the pronouns “he” or “she”—who is depicted as
being in/out the closet. Consequently, the common use the phrase “he/she is in the
closet” instead of “if is in the closet” indicates that the individual is not dissociated from
his/her sexual orientation. In other words, when people think of gays and lesbians, their
marginalized sexuality prevails as the identifying factor. This is in accordance with
Foucault’s (1978) account of how homosexuals came to be defined after the nineteenth
century. He explains:
The nineteenth-century homosexual became a personage, a past,
a case history, and a childhood, in addition to being a type of
life, a life form, and a morphology, with an indiscreet anatomy
and possibly a mysterious physiology. Nothing that went into his
[sic] total composition was unaffected by his sexuality. It was
everywhere present in him: at the root of all his actions because
it was their insidious and indefinitely active principle; written
immodestly on his face and body because it was a secret that
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always gave itself away [...] The sodomite had been a temporary
aberration; the homosexual was now a species, (p. 43)
Thus, paradoxically, while gays and lesbians are typically expected—and often
expressly required—to keep their sexuality private or, at the very least, to downplay that
particular aspect of their identity, society as a whole only views gays and lesbians in
terms of their sexual orientation. Thus, hiding or downplaying that “particular aspect” of
one’s identity becomes virtually impossible since it is perceived as representing the whole
individual rather than a single aspect ofhis or her identity. Indeed, as reflected in the
four metaphorical expressions, homosexuality, whether it be acknowledged as being
hidden or whether it be deliberately revealed, automatically becomes the defining factor
in the individual’s identity. Thus, present in the metaphorical expressions is the
underlying assumption that homosexuality can only remain hidden if the individual
remains hidden. Therefore, because the metaphorical expressions which we commonly
use posit the individual as the embodiment of his/her sexual orientation, ft follows that
any acknowledgement o f the individual’s existence is a disclosure and, by extension, its
concealment an erasure.
The Individual as O hiect
As we all know, the primary use of closets is to store inanimate objects. Thus,
inherent in the metaphorical concept of the closet, lies the potential for objectification of
the individual to whom the expression refers. In the expressions “he/she is closeted” and
“he/she was outed,” the process of objectification becomes apparent. Indeed, the use of
the passive form indicates that the grammatical subject of the sentence is not the agent.
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Thus, the metaphor performs the dehumanizing process of positing the individual as an
object to be either put in the closet or taken out of it at someone else’s will.
In addition, the expression “he/she was outed,” generally followed by a specific
agent, underlies the lack of agency of the person being outed at the same time as it
emphasizes the identity of the one responsible for the revelation (Le., when a celebrity is
outed by a journalist). The expression “he/she is closeted,” on the other hand,
paradoxically indicates that the individual’s homosexuality is known—at the very least by
the person who utters the sentence—while at the same time stating that his/her sexual
orientation remains hidden. More importantly, the passive structure and lack of specified
agent in the phrase “he/she is closeted,” imply that the “closeted” status results from
some unspoken, undefined outside force which creates a social context in which the
individual either cannot or does not wish to reveal his/her sexual orientation publicly.
The absence o f a specific agent is arguably due to the feet that, contrary to the
expression “he/she was outed” where the agency is clearly attributed to a specific person,
the process of “closeting” an individual cannot be attributed to a single person, a single
act but rather to the heterosexist nature of the social context. In other words, the agent,
if we were compelled to add one to the phrase, would be compulsory heterosexuality.
Indeed, as Kosofsky Sedgewick (1990) points out,
hetero sexist presumption means that, like Wendy in Peter Pan,
people find new walls springing up around them even as they
drowse: every encounter with a new classful of students, to say
nothing of a new boss, social worker, loan officer, landlord,
doctor, erects new closets whose fraught and characteristic laws
of optics and physics exact from at least gay people new
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surveys, new calculations, new draughts and requisitions of
secrecy or disclosure, (p. 68)
An example of the process Kosofsky Sedgewick writes about can be found in this
very study. Although my intent is to explore the coming out experience of gay and
lesbian teachers, because university policies force me to conceal the real names of the
participants, I find myself engaging in the process of “closeting” them. Thus, simply by
complying with university policies, I unwillingly and paradoxically erect new closets
around each of the participants even as I attempt to bring their coming out experience to
the fore.
Metaphorically Speaking
Throughout the interviews, virtually all the participants used various types of
metaphors to express various concepts. As I read and re-read the transcripts, I first made
a list of all the metaphorical expressions I could find. Then, I looked for the presence of
themes across all the metaphorical expressions in order to determine what metaphorical
concepts could be argued to structure some aspects of the participants’ conceptual
system. I found four main recurring themes which account for the existence of four
main metaphorical concepts: coming out as war; coming out as a journey, being closeted
and coming out as a performance, and hetero sexist society as water. In this section, I
will discuss each of these four metaphorical concepts separately and offer evidence from
the transcripts to show how the participants understand some aspects of their coming out
experience metaphorically. I wish to point out that my analysis of the participants’ use
of metaphors in this chapter is not meant to be seen as a complete representation of their
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coming out experience but, rather, as indicative of how some aspects of it are
conceptualized metaphorically. The following chapter will address broader issues and,
together with this one, will attempt to provide a more complete picture of these teachers’
coming out experience.
Commp Out as War
This metaphorical concept was the most prevalent. Eight of the ten participants
used metaphorical expressions which framed some aspects of their experience in terms of
war. These expressions revealed how their conceptualization of several aspects of
warfare structured the way they conceived of and experienced some aspects of their
coming out. Thus, through the use of war metaphors, coming out at school was
portrayed as a fight for a cause and against an enemy and as a conflict in which these
teachers participated out of a sense of duty. In addition, war metaphors allowed the
participants to express their awareness of the danger involved in coming out and of the
need to use weapons and military tactics.
Fighting for a cause and against an enemy. In the process of coming out, gays
and lesbians face everyday the consequences of refusing to conform to the demands of a
heterosexual society and the stigma that results from being marginalized. Indeed, several
o f the participants referred to various aspects of their coming out process as a fight
against hetero sexism and homophobia. For instance, Larry attributes his tendency to be
an overachiever in school to the feet that he “had to beat out all these heterosexuals.”
His drive to be the best, seemingly a reaction against discrimination, was expressed in
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terms of physical assault against heterosexism and homophobia personified, in this case,
by all heterosexuals. Similarly, Kathie, who describes herself as “a fighter,” explained
that her political involvement in the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educators Network
(GLSEN) came about as an answer to questions she kept asking herself After being
defeated in an election o f president of a teachers’ union, she re-considered her choices
and wondered: “Where are my battles? Where am I supposed to be doing the fight?”
She concluded: “I realized that where I hold a special place is in being a lesbian. That’s a
fight that needs to be had and that’s not a fight that anybody can pick up and do. And I
realized: you know what? That’s a fight I can do.”
These teachers’ use of metaphors indicates that they both, at different periods of
their lives, conceptualized their decision to resist the (hetero)sexual order in terms of
having to defend a cause (the right to their sexual identity) against the enemy
(heterosexism and homophobia).
Participating out o f a sense of duty. For some of the teachers, the decision to be
“out” seemed to be perceived as more than a self-actualizing process but, rather, as a
duty to a cause they believe in. At times, their choice of words to express their
involvement in gay and lesbian activism conveyed a sense of duty similar to that expected
of a soldier. Clive, for instance, talked about his decision to come out in the school
setting and to actively promote a better understanding of gay and lesbian issues on
campus as representing a difficult task, yet one he was compelled to carry out. He
explained: “It’s like I’ve been given this assignment from something, someone,
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somewhere and I’m not done with it. I’m still working on this assignment.” Thus,
although Clive’s decision was arguably a personal and a political one, his words portray
it as a mission assigned to him from an unknown source just as a soldier would report
having followed an order, simply out of a sense of duty, without necessarily knowing at
what level of the military hierarchy it had been issued.
But soldiers are not only expected to follow orders. In times of crisis, they are
often called upon to volunteer their services. Kathie’s decision to come out at school
comes across as a decision to volunteer for what she repeatedly refers to as a “fight.”
Although she reports her coming out as being ultimately triggered by her anger at a
student’s homophobic remark and at his teacher’s unwillingness to address it, she refers
to that period of her life as one in which she was “stepping forward more and more.”
Her use of such a metaphor conjures up images of soldiers lined up and asked to “step
forward” to volunteer for a special mission. Her decision to come out and her prominent
involvement in GLSEN are likened to a willingness for combat. “I’ve always been a
fighter” Kathie says when asked about activism, “I’ve always stepped up to leadership
positions.”
Awareness o f danger. Danger is indisputably one of the constants of war which
exists on both sides of the conflict. When relating their coming out experience, several
teachers used metaphors to express their awareness of the danger they sometime laced
because of discrimination as well as of the danger they sometimes represented to the
established sexual order for being open about their sexual orientation.
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Some teachers' coming out experience included a sense of endangering the
established (hetero)sexual order. George reported having no major problems at his
school, a feet he attributed to his not being “perceived as a threat” Although George
reported no conflict his choice of the word “threat” indicated an awareness that the
disclosure of his homosexuality could have been perceived as a challenge to the norm. In
addition, while George’s statement “I’m not perceived as a threat” served as an
indication of his being accepted as an openly gay teacher, it still carried the implication
that perceived as such or not his disclosure remained potentially threatening. Kathie
acknowledged this potential Part of her decision to come out was triggered by a
conscious decision to challenge: “you know what? i’m gonna define me. You’re not
gonna define me any more.” Her statement: “I’m a fighter so I don’ t necessarily get
scared by a good fight” indicates her readiness for battle and her confidence in her ability
to wield change.
Other teachers expressed their awareness of the danger involved in being open
about their sexual orientation. Edward reported being successful at concealing his
homosexuality all through high school and likened the process of passing as a
heterosexual to that of being hunted down: “I was pretty good at covering my tracks.”
Later, as a novice teacher, Edward chose to come out to the very first class he ever
taught. Although his students’ reaction turned out to be overwhelmingly positive, his
feelings while disclosing testify o f his awareness of the danger inherent in his decision: “I
was a bundle of nerves...thoughts flashed through my mind.”
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Larry, on the other hand, did experience some problems at school. Several of his
students took the opportunity of an anonymous assignment to turn in homophobic
stories describing what they thought should happen to homosexuals. He explained:
“[my] students realized where [my] buttons were and they pushed them.” The metaphor
of “buttons being pushed” evokes the launching of missiles or some other weapon of
destruction aimed at a specific target. In this particular case, the simple feet that he had
revealed his homosexuality made Larry the target of homophobia.
Using weapons and military tarries Although the dynamics of modem warfare
have undoubtedly become quite complex, taken in its most basic form, warfare consists
of offensives and defensives orchestrated through the use of various weapons and
military strategies. Similarly, through the use of various metaphors, several teachers
portrayed the act of coming out either as a violent attack or a means o f defense.
First, some teachers portrayed their coming out in their personal lives as a violent
act. As a high school student, Edward chose not to come out because “it would have
been a big explosion,” and Kathie’s disclosure to one of her brothers sounded as if she
had physically assaulted him: “I hit him with it at the right time.” Both statements
suggest a subconscious awareness on the part of Edward and Kathie that the mere act of
disclosing their homosexuality could be perceived, in and of itself as an act o f violence
and, as such, could reasonably be expected to trigger a violent response in retaliation.
Aware of this risk but no longer willing to conceal his sexual orientation, Alex expressed
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his readiness to face the challenge as one would a battle: “I’m armed with this sort of
world experience.”
Second, coming out in the classroom through a declarative statement was also
perceived by some as a violent act. For instance, Tyler, who told her students she was a
lesbian during a class discussion, felt like she had “dropped a bombshell” on them.
Brian, on the other hand, expressed his doubts as to the necessity of coming out through
a declarative statement by saying: “Why chib people over the head with it?” Both
teachers portrayed the act of coming out in a declarative statement through the use of
metaphorical expressions invoking the use of weapons with the intent to kill or injure,
thereby indicating their expectation that their disclosure would be perceived as (an)
offensive.
Whether done through a declarative statement or through other means, coming
out in school only represented the first step for several of these teachers. Their
motivation to promote awareness of gay and lesbian issues on campus and to broaden
their students’ views by being openly out was expressed as a continuation of the “fight”
they had initiated by coming out. Tyler, for instance, perceived her efforts as “a constant
struggle.” Her determination to bring about change by trying to invite a speaker to talk
about gay and lesbian issues on campus was likened to the process of making the enemy
retreat further by gaining territory: “I’m gonna push, push, push.” Similarly, even before
she actually admitted to being a lesbian in front of a class, Kathie refused to ignore
homophobic comments made in her classroom and made a point of “addressing it as the
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issues were hit.” Thus, through Kathie’s words, heterosexism and homophobia were
portrayed as the targets at which each o f her interventions were aiming. In addition, she
later talked of the advantages of being out in the classroom as a way to launch direct
attacks against heterosexism and homophobia. According to Kathie, by being out in the
classroom, “you’re blowing away ignorance.”
But a war amounts to more than a series of attacks conducted alone and
haphazardly. It involves, among other things, building alliances, being on the look out
for possible offensives, and sometimes opting for negotiations instead of brute force.
When talking about strategies to reduce heterosexism and homophobia in school, Clive’s
use of metaphors echoed these various aspects of warfare. First, he stressed the need to
build alliances: “I think a [strategy] that is important to me is assessing the situation and
what I mean by assessing is looking at who your allies are.” He also brought up the
difficulty of finding willing allies: “How are we gonna recruit straight people for this?
How do you recruit someone who is out of the club?”
Second, Clive spoke of the need to be cautious and to “[listen] when you hear
conflict.” As a member of the school faculty, he was aware of being associated with the
institution and of the possibility of its becoming the target. Thus, as part of preparing for
an eventual attack, he recommended “working with the administration on this issue
because they’re gonna be catching heat at some point” and “they generally like to know
where their fires are gonna be before they hit.” Thus, Clive’s attempt to educate and
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inform the members of the school administration, one o f his strategies to reduce
heterosexism and homophobia on campus, took the shape of military training.
Finally, Clive emphasized the importance of negotiations as another strategy.
Talking about his options when feeing opposition, Clive explained: “It would have been
easy for me to react and smother these people.” Yet he reported adopting a different
approach: “You lean up against people and you’re nudging them toward the direction
you’re trying to get them into. You’re not gonna blast them over with a truck cause
you’ll flatten them. You won’t actually get them [where you want them].” Thus,
according to Clive, responding to an direct attack with a counter attack does not always
yield the best results. Here, again, his words evoke a conceptualization of the situation
in terms of military tactics involving negotiations. Even though his aim is to avoid direct
confrontation, the process of engaging in discussions with heterosexist and homophobic
individuals still comes across as part of a military operation in which an effort is made to
reach an agreement and avoid further conflict.
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) give “argument as war” as their first example of a
metaphorical concept embedded in our linguistic system and therefore representative of
the way we conceptualize our understanding of an argument. If such a claim is accurate
and this metaphorical concept is, indeed, deeply ingrained in our conceptual system, the
metaphorical concept “coming out as war” could be argued to represent a variation of
the metaphorical concept “argument as war.” Indeed, the controversial nature o f coming
out is such that gays and lesbians are likely to expect the disclosure of their sexual
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orientation to trigger argumentative reactions. Thus, it seems reasonable to conclude that
an experience such as coming out which is highly controversial and expected to trigger
arguments—regardless of whether the expectation is fulfilled or not—would likely be
conceptualized in the same way.
Cominp Out as a Journey
The New Illustrated Webster’s Dictionary (1992) defines a journey as a “passage
from one place to another.. .a direct going from a starting point to a destination,
ordinarily over a considerable distance (p. 529).” Half of the participants in this study
spoke of some aspects of their coming out experience as if it represented such a passage,
a journey through which they progressed from hiding out to coming out. Their
‘ journey” involved careful preparation, discovery of new territories, deciding between
different possible paths, refusing to turn back, and a sense of having been pioneers.
Before embarking on a journey, a certain amount of preparation is necessary in
order to insure that the travelers will reach their destination safely. When talking about
coming out in the school setting, Clive emphasized both the need to be prepared so as to
not “run up against walls you are unaware o f’ and that of knowing “which way the wind
is blowing.” Thus, in Clive’s experience, just as travelling safely involves mapping out
the itinerary and insuring that the meteorological conditions are favorable, the process
of coming out requires a step by step approach (Le., itinerary) to educate people
progressively and effectively so as to avoid unexpected negative reactions (Le., walls you
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are unaware of) as well as the need to know where and who your allies are (Le. which
way the wind is blowing).
Yet prepared or not, some described their journey as involving a certain amount
of exploration. En route towards a specific destination but not quite sure of how to get
there, Kathie explains: “You know how it is when you are getting frustrated and you are
trying to find the right path and you finally just go ‘argh!’ and then you exhale and then
you see it and it’s right there!” Kathie’s words illustrate the challenge involved in
venturing into uncharted territories. Although there can be no guarantee that the
destination will be reached, the decisions which have to be made each step of the way are
central to the process of exploration and discovery. Kathie seems quite aware that her
coming out experience is a quest for self-actualization, a process of “being on a path of
understanding that the most important thing is to stay true to [her]self.”
Similarly, Clive spoke of the beginning of his coming out process as involving the
type of choice an explorer may be called upon to make when coming upon different
paths, knowing that choosing one over the other will have an impact on the rest of the
journey. Having been in a heterosexual marriage for eleven years, Clive is fully aware of
embarking on a different “path.” Describing his process of self-discovery, he explains:
“It’s like here’s a fork in the road. I walk down the road and there is NO reason for me
to go back.”
This choice to keep moving forward is reminiscent of the attitude of many
explorers whose determination to reach their intended destination is often so strong that
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they would not consider turning back as an option, even when facing less than ideal or
even life threatening circumstances. Similarly, Edward spoke of his coming out as a
process which, once initiated, could not be stopped. Having decided to come out to his
parents during Spring Break, Edward called to announce his arrival and inform his
parents that he “had something to tell them.” Once the call had been made, regardless of
his fear and apprehensions of possible consequences, Edward reported feeling that he
“was locked into [coming out].”
Finally, when a journey has ended and the destination has been reached, explorers
typically share what they have learned and discovered and, in doing so, often inspire
others to follow in their tracks. Similarly, when reflecting on their coming out
experience, some of the teachers expressed a sense o f hope that their experience might
prove to be beneficial to other gay and lesbian teachers. Kurt, for instance, perceived
his coming out experience at school as potentially beneficial to others. He explained:
“Just that I’m willing to share my experience is beneficial, but it’s also been positive. I
have traveled through these fears and I have some insight into it.” Similarly, Alex
reported feeling that his coming out experience had made an impact in his school: “A
teacher came out to the staff that’s pretty major, not directly because of me but I think I
paved the way a little bit.” Thus, both Kurt and Alex shared a sense that their own
‘ journey” from hiding out to coming out, apart from representing a personal
accomplishment, had the potential of motivating others to follow in their tracks.
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None of the metaphors used by the participants conjured up images of the kinds
of modem day traveling which make it possible to cover considerable distances in a
relatively short time. On the contrary, these teachers talked about their coming out
through metaphors referring mostly to more rudimentary modes of traveling (Le., on foot
or by sea) in which the distance is covered progressively, at a slow speed and where a
range of outside forces can, at any time, endanger the safe completion of the journey.
This probably indicates that they perceived and understood their coming out experience
as having been—or still being—a gradual, sometimes even laborious, process. As
George put it, “it’s beat a process of outing myself rather than a moment.”
B eing Closeted and Coming Out as a Performance
At times, some of the participants spoke metaphorically about being closeted and
about coming out, describing both processes in terms o f a performance. Diane Fuss
(1991) argues that “sexual identity may be less a function of knowledge than
performance or, in Foucauldian terms, less a matter of final discovery than perpetual
reinvention (p. 6-7).” Reflecting on their experience either in or out of the closet, some
of the participants spoke of having taken on different identities at different stages of their
lives, adapting to each circumstances and each time “reinventing” themselves.
Edward remained closeted all through high schooL During that time, he felt it
necessary to construct for himself an identity tailored to his perception of what was
expected of him: “I had to keep a smile on my face. I always had to act cheerful and
exuberant because if I didn’t, then people might find out that something was wrong.” In
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order to conform to the heterosexual norm without having to be sexually active, Edward
invented for himself a whole personae: “I had girlfriends and the whole nine yards. I
played a good act. I’d say: I’m very religious, so I’m not gonna have sex until I get
married.” Thinking back to this period of his life, Edward concludes: “You have to
know how to wear the mask in order to make it through.”
But if high school is a time when coming out is particularly threatening and when
“acting” heterosexual is the choice of many, other periods bring about the rejection of
that identity which was taken on as a protection. Alex, for instance, also closeted in high
school, reached a point when he was no longer willing to pretend. Talking about his
motivation to come out to his relatives, he explains: “You know, you’re living that lake
role I described when I was in high school” Similarly, once Edward left high school and
started college, he decided: “Okay, it’s time to take off the mask.” Thus, all through
high school, both Alex and Edward “performed” a heterosexual identity which they
decided to discard at a different period of their lives.
Coming out in school was also perceived as a performance by some of the
participants. Clive, for instance, stressed the need to “know your audience” when
coming out in the school setting, leaving little doubt as to his awareness of the
performing aspect of the process. Tyler decided to come out to her students because she
felt that it took “for too much energy to put on a facade or to be something different than
who [she is] in the classroom.” However, the minute she told her students she was a
lesbian, she found herself unable to sustain their gaze: “I turned around real fast because
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I was afraid of what they were looking a t” Thus, if being closeted in the classroom had
felt like playing a part, her disclosure had instantly cast her in another role, one in which
she embodied her own sexuality. No longer playing the part o f a heterosexual woman,
she was still performing in front o f her students, this time as an open lesbian, her fear of
“what they were looking at” not unlike stage fright.
Heterosexist Society as Water
More than half of the participants in this study illustrated some aspects of their
coming out experience with the use of metaphors based on some o f the ways in which
we experience water. As I listed these water metaphors and read them repeatedly, both
in and out of context, I began to realize that they all conveyed various ways in which the
participants had been affected by their interaction with society during their coming out
process. In other words, they used these metaphors as a way to conceptualize their
experience of the abstract concept of (heterosexist) society in terms of the concrete
concept of water.
Indeed, water is a concrete concept with which we are all familiar since it
represents an integral and essential part of our daily physical experience. We drink it,
bathe and swim in it, use it to wash, to cook and for a host of other things. Society, on
the other hand, is an abstract concept yet one with which we are equally familiar because
it represents an integral part of our daily emotional and psychological experience as we
interact with others in virtually all areas of our personal and professional lives. By
conceptualizing, through the use of water metaphors, the abstract concept of society in
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terms of the concrete concept of water, some o f the participants were able to convey
their experience and understanding of abstracts concepts such as the limits imposed by
society on sexuality, the various degrees of social acceptance of homo sexuality, the
social pressure imposed on gays and lesbians to conform to the heterosexist norm, the
need for some social acceptance and discrimination as socially acceptable.
When talking about coming out in the school setting, Clive emphasized the need
to proceed cautiously and gradually: “It would be like going into a swimming pool with
your eyes closed. You know there’s a wall but you just need to swim very carefully into
the walL” Just like water is contained within the swimming pool walls, the range of
socially accepted behaviors—sexual or otherwise—is determined by a set of moral
values acting as boundaries. In other words, just like the size of a pool physically limits
how for one can swim, society regulates the behavior of its members according to a set
of implicit rules. One difference, though, lies in the feet that while the limits a pool
imposes on a swimmer are plainly visible and fixed, the limits society imposes on us are
not. Clive, however, does away with this difference by depicting a swimmer with closed
eyes. In his metaphor, the swimmer is aware o f the pool limits but cannot actually see
them. Thus, he/she has to proceed with caution in order to swim as fer as possible
without injuring him/herself. Similarly, while in the process of com ing out in a
heterosexist society, Clive is aware that there exists a limit to the degree o f social
acceptance he can reasonably expect. Yet, because this limit is not visible or palpable, he
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must proceed gradually and with caution, expecting to encounter resistance—the wall—
at any moment.
Yet if the pool size limits how fer one can swim, the temperature of the water—
either too cold or too hot—determines whether one is able to get in the water at alL
Two of the participants depicted their coming out as checking the water temperature
before attempting to get in. For instance, describing his gradual coming out in the
school setting, Clive explained: “I started getting in the pool I first put my toes in the
water.” Similarly, Brian saw his experience as potentially beneficial to other gay and
lesbian teachers because it sent the message: “Come on in the water is fine.”
Accordingly, his advice to gay and lesbian teachers who want to come out in the
classroom was to “test the waters.” Thus, in the metaphors used by both of these
teachers, water temperature became synonymous with the degree of social acceptance
they encountered or expected to encounter. Furthermore, these metaphors illustrated
these teachers’ awareness of the feet that social acceptance could not be taken for
granted. Therefore, they needed to proceed cautiously since the public disclosure of
their homosexuality could result in their being ostracized (freezing water) or antagonized
(scalding water).
It is true that caution is advisable when dealing with water. Indeed, if water is
essential to life, it can also be deadly. Two of the participants in this study used
metaphors which exemplified the potential of water either to destroy or foster growth.
Larry, for instance, based his metaphor on water as a dissolving agent whose power
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ranges from the dissolution of a mere lump of sugar to the erosion of entire canyons. In
reference to the period of his life prior to his coming out, Larry commented: ‘ 1 was
diluted in the past” This powerful metaphor aptly illustrates the effect of the social
pressure imposed on gays and lesbians to conform to a heterosexist norm. To dissolve,
according to the New Illustrated Webster Dictionary (1992), is “to change a substance
from a solid to a fluid condition. To cause to pass into or combine with a solution, (p.
284)” As a closeted gay man, Larry’s homosexual identity was denied (dissolved) as he
felt compelled to pass as heterosexual in an effort to assimilate to (combine his identity
with) the heterosexist society (water) in which he functioned. Edward, on the other
hand, also referring to the period of his life prior to his coming out, used a metaphor
based on water as an agent of growth. Reflecting on his experience from the vantage
point of having come out to family, friends, students and co-workers, Edward
remembered the time when he was still closeted as a period when he “ hadn’t bloomed
yet.” Just as plants and flowers cannot bloom without water, Edward needed a certain
degree of social acceptance for his personal growth.
Social acceptance, however, is never guaranteed. In spite of some significant
progress achieved through gay and lesbian activism, discrimination against gays and
lesbians is still common and widely accepted in our heterosexist society. George talked
about his being the only openly gay teacher at his school and about his being well
accepted by the school community. Even in his case, however, discrimination still occurs
from time to time. Using another water metaphor, George commented: “The word
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‘faggot’ floats across [the high school]” thereby conjuring up images of logs floating
along, their weight and shape allowing them to be supported by water. Similarly,
homophobic epithets continue to be commonly used because they are supported, directly
and indirectly, by society’s condemnation of homosexuality. As a result, some parents
feel entitled to complain when their children are taught by an openly gay or lesbian
teacher. Kathie, for instance, reported having a conversation with administrators at her
school who complained about their office being “flooded with phone calls” from parents.
Here again, the water imagery portrays a portion of society—parents—as water flooding
the school Furthermore, the metaphor of the flood a devastating manifestation of the
power of water, serves as a way to emphasize the potential strength of homophobic
reactions from parents who perceive the presence of openly gay and lesbian teachers in
the classroom as a possible threat to their values and who can, like water during a flood
invade school and exercise their power to discriminate.
Summary
According to LakofF and Johnson (1980), the metaphorical concepts which
structure the way we express ourselves metaphorically are grounded in a set of
correlations that we subconsciously establish between our experience of abstract
concepts and that of concrete ones, the latter facilitating and shaping our understanding
of the former.
When taking a look at the metaphor of the closet—the most common way of
referring to the experience of disclosing/hiding one’s homosexuality— the process of
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correlation between abstract and concrete concepts suggested by Lakoff and Johnson
(1980) becomes apparent. Indeed, the concept o f the closet can be organized around
four binarisms (in/out; private/public; secrecy/disclosure; unknown/known) which serve
as the basis for the correlations between how actual closets are concretely experienced
and how hiding/disclosing one’s homosexuality is metaphorically (abstractly)
experienced. Grounded in these correlations, the metaphorical concept of the closet is
linguistically represented through the use of metaphorical expressions (he/she is in the
closet; he/she is closeted; he/she was outed; he/she came out of the closet) which shape
our understanding o f the experience of hiding/disclosing one’s homosexuality by positing
the individual as an object and as embodying his/her sexual orientation.
Virtually all the participants in this study used metaphorical expressions to
express various aspects of their coming out experience. After making a list of all the
metaphors used by the participants, I looked for the presence of themes in order to
determine what metaphorical concepts could be argued to structure some aspects of then-
conceptual system in relationship to their coming out experience. The themes I found
revealed four mam metaphorical concept: coming out as war, coming out as a journey,
being closeted and coming out as a performance, and heterosexist society as water.
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CHAPTER V
COMING OUT AT SCHOOL
The ideal of our profession demand that we come out. The teachers we all
remember best and cherish most are the ones who were models of integrity in
the classroom and in their lives, the ones for whom the search for justice and
truth did not represent empty words. If we decline to take this challenge, we
will be foiling our students and ourselves.
John D’Emilio (1987, p. 52)
The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, it represents an attempt at reaching
a better understanding of the process of coming out in a K-12 school setting by
examining three specific aspects o f ten K-12 gay and lesbian teachers coming out
experience, namely the various ways in which these teachers chose to disclose their
sexual orientation at school, the reasons behind their decision to disclose and, finally the
reactions their disclosure provoked. Second, based on these teachers’ experience, it
offers some advice on ways gay and lesbian teachers can maximize their chances of
coming out successfully in a K-12 school setting as well as some effective strategies
which can be used to reduce heterosexism and homophobia with students, parents and
colleagues. Throughout this chapter, I will quote the participants extensively in an effort
to share their experience fully.
The Participants’ Coming Out Experience
H ow They Came Out
Although each teacher’s experience was unique in nature and circumstances, all
came out at school using one of two approaches. Seven o f the ten teachers identified
themselves as gay or lesbian to their students through a declarative statement. For the
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remaining three, the process of corning out at school occurred indirectly through their
decision not to make any attempts at passing for heterosexual and through being actively
involved in promoting gay and lesbian issues on campus or acting as representative of
gay and lesbian organizations such as PROJECT 10 and GLSEN.
Coming Out Indirectly
George, Clive and Brian described their coming out experience in the school
setting as a process which was not initiated by a declarative statement. For George,
“there was never a moment of coming out. There was never an announcement.”
According to him, from the very beginning, people at school just assumed he was gay:
“I was 39 years old. I wasn’t married. I was a drama teacher at the time. Please!! How
many stereotypes do you have to add before people kind of fell all over themselves?” In
addition, after Virginia Uribe created PROJECT 10, George started a chapter at his
school:
PROJECT 10 gave me an instrument. We have a daily bulletin
that the teachers read in the classrooms. On Wednesdays and
Thursdays I put in there PROJECT 10 for gay and lesbian
students, rap session in room 307, Thursdays 3:15 and then my
name. So it's there and that appears twice a week. Then every
once in a while IH throw in a thing like Pm gonna put in next
week for the gay and lesbian prom. If anybody wants a ticket
they see me. And the [gay and lesbian student] scholarship that's
coming up next month, anybody who wants to enter the
scholarship contest, the essay contest, see me. So every once in
a while my name appears in the context of som ething gay and
lesbian that's school wide.
Thus, George’s coming out was not so much a process o f deliberately disclosing
information about himself as it was a refusal to lie or hide any aspect ofhis life which
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might serve as an indication ofhis sexual orientation. Implicit in George’s statements is
the assumption that the particulars ofhis life are, in and o f themselves, a disclosure. In
other words, through his lifestyle as well as his academic and political interests, he
perceived himself as performing his sexual orientation and, therefore, as embodying the
declarative statement he no longer needed to make. As he explains, “I always had these
signals there and anybody who wanted to pick up on the signals [could do so].”
Similarly, Clive spoke ofhis coming out at school as a process of sending out
“signals” about his sexual orientation through his teaching. Already out to several
colleagues, he talked to eighth graders about his work with AIDS patients and also
taught sex education to fourth and fifth grader. According to him, students figure out he
is gay because of the types o f teaching he dispenses:
I don’ t know that I ‘came out’ but that someone wfao’d have
such intimate information about this...they figure it out...I’ve
been doing all o f their sex education and I talked extensively
about HIV and AIDS and some of my own experiences with my
work up in Oregon. So I know that those kids who are
enlightened get it.
Whether informed by the content ofhis teaching or by other cues, some students
seem to ‘get it’ since a colleague approached Clive wondering how to answer students’
questions about his sexuality. He explains: “One of the junior high kids wanted to know
[if I was gay] and the teacher wanted to know how I wanted to respond to this. So I
never talked to them directly but I gave the teachers information to be able to talk to
them about it.”
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Clive’s choke to let some decode signals and to provide others with information
seems to be dictated by his own understanding of the process of coming out which he
describes as “a progressive thing [that] is done in stages.” He stresses the importance of
proceeding gradually, comparing the process of coming out to jumping through a set of
“concentric circles” starting with the smallest circle in the middle—yourself— and
moving to larger circles progressively, one at a time, step by step. Since his goal is to
“ jump out into the circles in a way that is not gonna be uncomfortable for the people
who are getting the information,” Clive is willing to devote a lot ofhis time to work
individually with each person to whom he comes out:
I’ve talked to about a dozen teachers this year at different times.
Basically, the whole year I’m waiting for that moment to occur
with various people and, as soon as it does, then I’ve got to go
with that person and work with them, then this other one and I
work with him.
Since it would be virtually impossible to devote this type of individual attention
to each and every student, Clive might have considered an indirect approach as the most
appropriate. Indeed, coming out in this manner allowed him to fulfill his need to be
“honest” while respecting his belief in the need to come out gradually by giving the
students the time to process the information at their own speed.
Like George and Clive, Brian chose to disclose his sexual orientation by sending
out strong cues. Indeed Brian, already out to some ofhis colleagues, was one of several
faculty members to put his photo on a banner which read “June is Gay and Lesbian
History Month.” However, he insisted on the importance of striking a balance between
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not making a deliberate effort to hide that he is gay and not making “an issue’ of it, an
attitude he described as “treating it naturally.” He explained:
[The students] will say: ‘Is that your photo there?’ And I’ll go:
‘Yeah, that’s me!’ And they don’ t go any further with it. I’ve
never had a kid ask me if I was gay. I don’t know how I would
respond. I know I’ve had kids ask: ‘Do you do drugs?’ And I
don’t but I don’ t want to separate myself from [it], so I say: ‘I
don’t ask you about your personal life, don’t ask me about m y
personal life. I respect your privacy, you respect mine.’ So
that’s the way I might respond to a question like that, a question
about being gay. I would just treat it naturally.
Brian’s desire to be out at school seems to have been in direct opposition with his
need for privacy. In order to accommodate both, he chose to disclose his sexual
orientation in such a manner that he provided students with enough information to reach
their own conclusion without ever having to ask, thereby coming out indirectly without
having to verbalize it. Thus, it was not the disclosure ofhis sexual orientation per se but
rather the speech act which Brian perceived as an invasion of privacy. In other words,
letting people at school know about his sexual orientation did not represent an invasion
of privacy as long as it remained unsaid.
However, the refusal to answer the question “Are you gay?” does carry the
potential of sending the wrong message to students. Indeed, Brian’s example ofhis
response to the question “Do you do drugs?” as an example of how he might respond to
an inquiry about his sexual orientation serves as an example of the potentially negative
effect of such a response. By treating in a similar manner the disclosure of one’s sexual
orientation and the disclosure of one’s drug habits, one runs the risk of establishing an
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implicit parallel between both behaviors, thereby sending the message that being gay, just
like taking drugs, is harmful.
The choices made by George, Clive and Brian may or may not be representative
of those made by other gay and lesbian teachers. However, they give us some insight
into possible reasons behind some gay and lesbian teachers’ choice to disclose their
sexual orientation indirectly. First of all, like George, some might—for various
reasons—perceive themselves as the relatively obvious embodiment of their sexual
orientation. Consequently, not trying to pass as heterosexual at school—in itself a
statement—renders a declarative statement redundant. Others, like Clive, might be
guided in their choice by their perception of the coming out process at school as
necessarily gradual and thereby conflicting with the sudden impact of a declarative
statement. Finally, others still, like Brian, might perceive the verbalization of the
disclosure as an invasion of privacy and opt for an indirect approach through which the
disclosure can be non-verbal (silent).
Coming Out Through a Declarative Statement
All the other teachers in this study identified themselves as gay or lesbian through
a declarative statement made during class. Their disclosure varied in terms of whether
the statement was made as part o f a “teaching moment” or simply as a relatively matter
of feet answer to a question.
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Declarative statement as a “teaching moment”. Four o f the seven teachers who
came out in a declarative statement were able to contextualize their disclosure in such a
way that its educational intent prevailed as the driving force.
Kurt and Tyler—both high school teachers—planned their initial coming out
carefully so as to make it coincide with the content of their class. Kurt decided to come
out in the context of a unit on civil rights. He reports thinking that this unit represented
a perfect opportunity for him to discuss discrimination and prejudice against gays and
lesbian by offering his perspective as a gay man. He recalls:
I was so nervous! I just introduced it, I said: ‘You know we’ve
been talking about civil rights and I want to talk about the issue
of gay and lesbian civil rights. What I want to do is share some
personal experiences with you as a gay man.’ I just kept going
and my voice was shaking. And then I said: ‘I’ll come back to
the legal prejudice but I want you to kind of understand what it’s
like to be gay.’ I’ m not even so sure that that was even related
to the topic. I was coming out in class and that was the
framework that I had to do it in... When I started I just kind of
tuned the students out and so I just tried to do my own
discussion about gay men and civil rights and then I said: ‘ Do
you have any questions?’ And someone said: ‘Does it just have
to be about gay and lesbian civil rights?’ And I said: ‘ No, it can
be about anything.’
Similarly, Tyler came out to her Health Education class during a unit on diversity
in which she had always included a section on gay and lesbian issues. Prior to that day,
however, she had never personalized the content of the unit.
In the past, when I talked about gay and lesbian issues in the
class, almost every semester I get one kid who makes some kind
of comment, like “Oh, we should put them all on a island!” and
what I’ve always done in this situation is put it back on them:
What if your sister was gay? Or what if your brother was? Or
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what if your mother was? What would you do then? Would you
still want to put them all on an island? I had never personalized
it. So I thought what a perfect very non-agenda-ish kind of
thing, just a regular teaching moment! If someone made some
kind of comment like that, I would say: ‘ I find that personally
offensive.’ I really had the whole phrase: ‘You know I find that
personally offensive because I’m a lesbian.’ So it was all
perfectly set up. Of course things never really work out the way
you want them to (we both laugh). The first time in my four
years that I go through the whole thing and the kids are like
“okay, that’s cool!” I was like “Oh great!” and my heart was
racing. But what happened was that we got into a discussion of
whether or not you can be fired if you’re gay and the whole
discrimination thing, so I settled down the argument and said:
‘Well actually you know how there is a Federal law saying that
you cannot be fired because of your race or because of your
religion. Well, sexual orientation is not included. So in the
private sector, someone can be fired if [they]’ re gay.’ I said
‘ Now in education it’s a little different.’ And this just kind of
came out, I said: ‘In California, you can’ t be fired if you’re gay.
I’m a lesbian and I can’ t be fired simply because I’m gay.’ And I
said it just like that and turned around and started writing on the
board, doing something cause my heart was racing. I couldn’t
believe I had said that. And then I turned back around, after I
wrote something else on the board and I said: ‘You know, I just
dropped a bombshell on you. Does anyone have any questions?’
And of course today, I would never say: ‘I dropped a bombshell’
cause I don’ t think it’s a bombshell but, at that point, I thought it
was a bombshell.
Thus, the subject matter of Kurt’s and Tyler’s classes provided them with a
curriculum bound context in which to come out. In addition, although the experience
remained emotionally charged, they retained—at least initially— more control over how
and when they would come out, increasing—but by no means guaranteeing—then-
chance of ensuring that the experience would be positive.
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In contrast both with an implicit disclosure where the teacher lets the students
decode various types of cues and the planned declarative disclosure where the teacher
can choose an academic context particularly appropriate for the disclosure, Kathie’s and
Alex’s spontaneous disclosures were framed within an event they had not initiated and to
which they were reacting spontaneously.
Both Kathie, a junior high physical education teacher, and Alex, an elementary
school teacher, had been contemplating the possibility of coming out to their students,
although neither one had reached any definitive decision as to how or when it would be
done. In the end, their coming out was not well planned out or rehearsed but, instead,
occurred in reaction to a situation involving homophobia.
Kathie reports her coming out as having been triggered by a student’s
homophobic comment directed at her and by his teacher’s unwillingness to address it.
During a quick trip to her office in the middle of her class, Kathie heard a student from
another class yell “The coach is gay!” while his teacher, standing by, ignored the
comment. Infuriated by the teacher’s lack of sensitivity to the student’s homophobic
behavior and determined not to ignore it, Kathie confronted the student, thereby coming
out to him even before she came out to her class. She recalls:
I said ‘Look! I don't have a problem with the feet that I am gay.
I have a problem with the feet that you have disrespected me. I
dont disrespect you and I dont expect you to disrespect me.’ So
I went back to my class and as I'm walking back I'm
thinking...well now IVe been gone longer than the two minutes
that I should have been gone. Do I just go to class and just blow
it off or do I talk to the kids? And I just decided I would talk to
them. So I called all the kids to the carpet and I just told them
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exactly what had happened and I told them exactly what I told
the boy. So then the kids wanted to ask to a couple questions. I
answered a couple but then I just said "Well, you know.."
because then they started to get a little bit more personal, I said
"Well, I dont think that's appropriate for the classroom
discussion. I was just letting you know what happened." And I
did let them know a little bit about harassment and that kind of
stuff
Alex, on the other hand, reacted to a homophobic comment made by one ofhis
students about another. This was not the first tim e Alex had had the opportunity to
address the issue. On two previous occasions, he had had impromptu class discussions
on the negative effects of name calling after overhearing one ofhis student—a child
actor—being called a “fog.” However, the name calling did not stop and Alex took
advantage of a situation having developed spontaneously to come out to his class as a
way to personalize the discussion on the effects of name calling and discrimination- He
recalls:
To be honest, I wanted to come out to the kids and I wanted to
find the most appropriate context to do it. So this little boy
asked the kid [who is an actor]: are you gay? I overheard. So in
that context, I used that as an opportunity to say: ‘When you say
those names, not only is it hurtful to whoever you’re saying
them to, [but] it hurts me too because I’m gay and because
you’re doing that in a negative way.’
Neither Kathie’s physical education class nor Alex’s 2n d grade classroom readily
provide the type of curriculum content which facilitated Kurt’s and Tyler’s coming out.
Yet a situation which developed spontaneously (Le., a student’s homophobic behavior)
created an appropriate context for their disclosure since it made it an integral part of a
“teaching moment” about discrimination and respect.
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Declarative statement as an answer to a question. The remaining three teachers
came out spontaneously in responses to students’ direct questions about their personal
life. Because of their age, Betty’s first grade students, did not phrase their question in
terms of sexual orientation but in terms of whether she had a boyfriend. Betty simply
answered “No, tengo una novia [No, I have a girlfriend],” an answer which satisfied their
curiosity and did not lead to more questions. Larry’s high school students, on the other
hand, were more direct and asked “Are you gay?” He described his willingness to
answer his students’ question as an extension ofhis refusal to be closeted in any context:
“I openly admit that I’m gay. If anybody asks I tell them I’m gay, even my students at
my high school...It’s just a feet of life today, like I’m six foot tall and I weigh two
hundred pounds. It’s just a feet of my life.”
Finally, Edwards’ coming out differed from all the others in that it occurred
before he had had the chance to develop any kind of rapport with his students. On the
very first day ofhis very first year as a high school biology teacher, Edward initiated a Q
& A session during which he was given the opportunity to come out to his students. He
remembers:
I had a pride necklace on. My pride necklace is a part of my
wardrobe. I get up in the morning and I put it on. I don’t think
about it. And I really didn’t think that it was something I had to
hide. The first day of school I said: ‘Do you have any questions?
This is your time to ask me personal questions, go ahead!’ So
they asked me about where I came from, what school I went to
and eventually someone asked about the necklace: ‘Gay Pride.’
‘Okay, well...are you gay?’ ‘Yes I am. Does anyone have any
questions about it?’
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Thus, the manner in which Betty, Larry and Edward came out could be argued to
have carried two statements in one. Indeed, beyond revealing their sexual orientation,
these teachers’ matter of feet disclosure had the effect of de-emphasizing its potentially
controversial nature, their approach implicitly adding to their verbal statement a non
verbal “so what?”
The Rigidity of Categories Versus the Fluidity of the Coming Out Experience in the
Classroom
Throughout my discussion of how these teachers came out, I have included
details of each and every participant’s experience in an effort to render its complexity
somewhat more accurately. I have found the latter quite challenging primarily because
the very process of writing tends to build rigidity into an experience which, in reality, is
quite fluid and changing. Even though the teachers themselves described their coming
out primarily in terms of one approach or the other, a closer look at their experience
sometimes revealed that their approach changed depending on the circumstances.
Tyler, for instance, reported coming out in a declarative statement when asked to
describe her coming out in the classroom. However, her Health Education classes
turned out to be the only ones in which she came out declarative^, a diversity unit
facilitating the inclusion of gay and lesbian issues and therefore setting the stage for her
disclosure. In her math and biology classes, on the other hand, she reported doing
“things that would lead kids to think I’m gay but I don’t specifically say ‘I’m a lesbian.’”
Similarly, George reported that in his coming out experience at school there had never
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been “an announcement.” Yet be described a recent interaction which precisely brought
about a declarative statement As a transfer students asked whether he had a wife and
children, George responded, “I’m gay. I don’t want to get married. I’m not going to
have children.”
Regardless of how they came out, however, all the participants set relatively
strict boundaries in terms of what they deemed private. Beyond the actual disclosure,
mentioning the existence of a boyfriend or a girlfriend was the extent of what most were
willing to share regarding their life outside the classroom. As a rule, any question
pointing toward sexual activities were not considered appropriate. Resisting society’s all
too common tendency to view gays and lesbians as essentially sexual, these teachers
insisted on their coming out at school as representing a refusal to hide their social
identity, not as a desire to inform anyone about their preference in terms of sexual
practices. Echoing the other teachers’ opinion, Betty stated, “Whatever it is that I do in
my home, that is my home right there. I don’t bring that to the classroom. I bring to the
classroom just who I am. I don’t talk about my sex life, that’s for the home.”
Why They Came Out
Throughout the interviews, each one of the teachers in this study invoked various
reasons behind their decision to come out at school. I was able to identify three major
categories, namely personal, professional and socio-political reasons. First, I included in
the category “personal reasons” the types of reasons which found their origin in these
teachers’ personal lives and developed independently of their work as educators although
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eventually influencing their decision to come out in the classroom. Second, the category
“professional reasons” presents the reasons based on these teachers' philosophy of
teaching and on the connection between the disclosure of their sexual orientation and
their role as teachers. Finally, the category “socio-political reasons” introduces the
reasons which denoted these teachers’ commitment to social change by reducing
heterosexism and homophobia.
Personal Reasons
At the personal level, honesty and frustration appeared to have been the two
driving forces behind the participants’ decision to come out at schooL Indeed, some of
the teachers reported a strong desire to be honest—with themselves and with others—as
having played a significant part in their decision to come out at school Others, on the
other hand, included their feelings of frustration at being closeted, at witnessing
homophobic behavior around them, or simply at how long it had taken them to self-
identity as gay or lesbian among the factors having led them to the decision to disclose.
Honesty. For some of the teachers, concealing their sexual orientation was
perceived as a form of self-denial and, by extension, coming out as a way to rem ain true
to oneself. Referring to the period when he was closeted at school Alex concludes, “I
wasn’ t being true to myself” For Kathie, coming out at school was a logical extension
of the process of self-affirmation she had started before teaching: “Before I even got
into teaching, I had been out as a lesbian and so in a sense I was very definitely a self-
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identified lesbian long before a teacher. I knew going into teaching that I would not
compromise that.”
Other participants emphasized the need to be honest with others as a major factor
in their decision to come out. Indeed, when asked why he had decided to come out at
school, Brian simply answered, “Just to be honest. This is who I am.” Similarly,
misrepresenting himself was a major concern for Kurt: ‘ 1 was going to school and not
being honest and it was affecting me.”
Yet these teachers were also unapologetic about their disclosure. Behind their
desire to be honest lay the strong conviction that their sexual orientation was not
something they should be expected to hide as if it were shameful. As Betty pointed out,
“I want to be honest. There’s no reason for me not to be honest, not to be who I am and
say it’s okay because that’s the thing: it js okay! There’s nothing to really question or
ponder.” Similarly, Tyler simply refused to hide what she considers her true personality.
She explained, ‘ T just can’ t hide how I am in the classroom. For me it takes far too
much energy to put on facade. In the classroom, I am very much who I am outside the
classroom.”
For Clive and Kurt, the issue ofhonesty was particularly important in relationship
to their commitment to their partners. For both of them, being closeted at school implied
having to deny the existence of their romantic relationship, something they perceived as a
betrayal. They explained:
To me, it would disrespectful of our relationship not to be
honest with people about what’s going on and what his role
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is...I have to be honest with him, with who he is in my life.
[Clive]
Once, I was out with my boyfriend and I saw some students and
they later asked: “Who was that guy7’ I think that was actually
when I denied my relationship in class that I [realized] I couldn’t
do it anymore! I just wasn’ t prepared to do it anymore! [Kurt]
Thus, the desire to be honest expressed by several teachers represented a mix of
concerns for themselves and others. Wanting to be truthful to oneself and to others
functions both as a self-actualization process (self-oriented) and as a personal code of
ethics for social interaction (other-oriented). While striving to avoid the psychological
strain of being closeted, these teachers are concerned about the truthfulness of the
relationships they establish. Their personal motivation to come out at school both
includes and transcends a search for their own well being.
Frustration. For several teachers, the decision to come out at school was, in part,
a reaction to frustrations that resulted from either their present or their past closeted
status. For Larry who reported having never been closeted in the classroom, the
decision to come out at school was an easy one to take. He explains:
It was a very easy decision because I had lived in the closet
before and it’s a horrible place to be and I don’ t ever want to be
back there again. I suppose if extreme conditions like
Auschwitz came back, then I guess there might be a reason to be
in the closet. But other than such extreme conditions, you
know, I don’t have to put myself in that misery, in that
straightjacket, always having to check my tracks to make sure
that I didn’t leave hints of being homosexual behind me which I
always did. It was so obvious but it was just a real waste o f my
energy and a drain of my life force, trying to protect my little
secret which I never was able to do.
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Tyler, on the other hand, had assumed she was heterosexual until she fell in love
with a woman at the age o f thirty. Some of her frustration came from thin king about the
time she had “lost” and from wanting to enjoy folly her newly discovered self As a
result, she came out to all her friends and relatives within three months and, within less
than a year, came out to one o f her classes. Thinking back to that period, Tyler explains:
It was like I had spent ten years of my life being straight when I
wish I knew I was gay!! So I thought I might as well get it over
within three months [with friends and relatives] because there
was too much to do and I was excited about being gay, you
know (she laughs). I was happy! So I wanted to come out at
school and I was getting antsy that no one else was.
She admits she would have preferred not being the first one to come out at her
school but finally got “tired o f waiting for all the other gay and lesbian teachers at school
to come out because none of them would.” Thus, frustrated at having been a late
bloomer and by the absence o f openly out teachers at her school, Tyler came out to her
first class—a health education class—within a year of having self-identified as a lesbian.
Finally, although Kathie reported various reasons behind her desire to be openly
out at school, She described her decision to come out for the first time as having been
triggered by anger. Things had not been going very well for Kathie in the few days prior
to her disclosure to one of her classes. She had lost the election of president of a
teachers’ union—a defeat she partly attributed to homophobia—and had found out that
several teachers at her school had voiced their uneasiness at the prospect of having to go
to her house for a school function she planned to host. Fueled by these events, Kathie’s
anger had been rising steadily and eventually reached its peak when a male student’s
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homophobic remark—directed at her—went unacknowledged by the student’s teacher.
Kathie recalls:
You know, I get to that point where I can get so angry and it’s
like: ‘This is what I’m gonna do and I don’ t care!!’ I was
talking with the sixth grade teacher who’s the social committee
chair and I told hen ‘Well, I guess it’s just becoming obvious to
me that there are some things that I didn’t think were an issue
for people but I guess I have to be a little bit more blatant about
it and I guess it’s time for me to bring it to the surface.’ I had
had that interaction, so a couple of days later when [the problem
with the student and his teacher] was happening, I was
like...You know what? Let’s call it what it is. Ifpeoplehavea
problem with it, let’s put it on the table and let’s start discussing
it...It was anger!! I had had enough and that was it...It was not
well planned and I always tell everybody that I got angry and
that’s why I came out but it has definitely been the best thing
that I’ ve ever done.
Thus, these teachers made the personal decision to come out based on an aspect
of their experience which made the closet obsolete. Larry had experienced the closet,
rejected it in his personal life and refused to be thrust back in it in the classroom Tyler’s
happiness at her newly found sexuality was simply incompatible with the process of
having to hide. Consequently, the classroom closet was for her a source of frustration as
was the decision of other gay and lesbian teachers at her school to remain in it. As for
Kathie, although she had never disclosed her sexual orientation to any of her classes, the
door of her closet was already cracked open. She was already out to the faculty and
perceived as a lesbian by many students. Her decision to come out was more a way to
confront homophobia through self-affirmation than the revelation of a well kept secret.
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Professional Reasons
Some of the reasons for coming out evoked by the teachers found their origin in
their perception o f the nature of their role as teachers. Therefore, it is necessary to gain
a better understanding of what they conceive that role to be.
The nature of their role as teachers. Several teachers felt that their role as
educators went beyond transmitting knowledge related to the subject matter they were
hired to teach. They stressed as an important part of their responsibility the need to
foster students’ growth both at the academic and the social/personal leveL In other
words, these teachers saw their role as preparing students to deal—both intellectually
and emotionally—with the world in and out o f school and, for that purpose,
recommended providing them with a wide range of experiences.
English is my primary subject now, but [my role as a teacher is
to teach] people skills generally, to prepare them for life.
[George]
[In my health class], I try to provide them with a lot of
experiences and information so that when it comes to their own
life, they can make intelligent educated choices. And I bring that
into my math class and biology class too, that life is not just
mathematics and that there are other things that are more
important. So, if I can enlighten them in the way they make their
choices for how they live their life, then I think I’ve done
something. [Tyler]
I know that the percentage of my students who are going to
grow up to be scientists is like.. .you can count them on one
hand in my entire lifetime. But all of them have to be able to
survive their lifetimes in healthy ways and anything I can do to
help them do that, I think is important. [Clive]
I’m supposed to not only help them with biology and science but
I’m supposed to help them grow as persons, disregarding
science altogether, just grow as a person. And that means
accepting personalities they didn’t think they could accept,
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mature and get along with people they didn't think they could
deal with. At the end of the year, they could all pretty much
work with each other and I think that’s part of being a teacher as
well. [Edward]
I want to give them life skills. I want to teach them how to live
their life, how to benefit the most from what they want and use
their skills to their maximum. So I do differ from a lot of math
teachers who just believe that their job is just to teach people
how to solve equations or something. I think I go way beyond
that as a teacher. I think knowing how to solve equations is a
wonderful skill but there’s so much more that’s necessary in life.
So I think that’s my role. [Larry]
In addition, several teachers acknowledged their desire to motivate students and
to instill in them what they deemed positive social values, either by explicitly correcting
students’ behavior or by role modeling the desirable behavior.
As a teacher, I believe, my role is to help children become
positive members of our society. As an educator, there's the
whole social aspect, the social value of things. You are dealing
with children, you are definitely teaching them values. Some
people say: ‘School is just to teach the academic.’ That's not
true because if a child is being lazy or is lying or is being
dishonest, part of helping [him/her] to become a positive
member of society is correcting those behaviors that you feel are
inappropriate. [Kathie]
My role as a teacher is to basically encourage the students to do
something with their lives and to prepare them basically to
participate in our society. I’m very practical about that sort of
thing. I don’t believe in learning for learning’s sake. I believe in
learning to apply it to life. [Brian]
I think my most important role as a teacher is to be a role model
before educating. Whenever I teach history, I’ m not under any
illusion that my kids are gonna leave remembering everything
that I taught them about American history but I do think that
they learn valuable lessons by seeing how I treat them and how I
encourage them to treat each other and the environment I create
in my classroom. So I think that’s my most important role as a
teacher. [Kurt]
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I think [my role is] to be inspiring and to motivate and teach kids
to feel good about themselves, to teach them skills, to teach
them tolerance and give them hope and inspiration and relate to
them in a way that makes them feel like they’re important and
what they do matters and to give them a sense of
accomplishment and to know what’s out there, that the world is
their oyster. [Alex]
I feel like I’m in there to educate and, personalty, I don’t think
my role is so much focused on academics but more like personal
growth, learning simple things as respect and respect differences.
I think that’s one of my main roles to help send that message out
to my kids that I am a person you respect whether I’m fat or thin
or brown or white. So I think I’m there to hopefully get that
message across. I think that’s one of my main roles along with
the academic field. [Betty]
Thus, these teachers’ views o f their role break away from a conventional notion
of teaching as the mere transmission of content and the teacher as primarily interacting
with brains rather than whole human beings. On the contrary, their pedagogical
approach—similar to the one discussed in Chapter II—posits teaching as a social
interaction through which dialogue is established and knowledge constructed. Their
professional intent is not to merely share their expertise with their students in a given
subject area but rather to provide them with a meaningful experience both at the
academic and at the social level.
Growing out of their convictions regarding the nature of their role as teachers,
their professional reasons for disclosing their sexual orientation focused on two major
concerns: the importance of establishing genuine student/teacher relationships and the
need to function as a support for gay and lesbian students.
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Establishing genuine student/teacher relationships. For Clive, being out at school
was deemed instrumental to the quality o f the rapport he wants to establish with students
and colleagues: “The nature of what I do and what I can offer people really requires a lot
of honesty and open communication and I can’ t have that if I’m not able to function
property and that’s not okay because I think I’ve got a lot to offer.”
Similarly, Tyler’s decision to present herself to her students as a fully social (and
therefore sexual) being stems from her conviction that developing a closer rapport with
her students allows them to perceive her as a whole person rather than as a disembodied
intellect. Based on her own experience as a student, Tyler believes that establishing a
genuine relationship with her students increases her effectiveness as an educator.
I remember how I felt my teachers were not human. I was
always shocked when I’d see them in the market or somewhere.
I’d be walking and I’d go to my mom “Oh my God! That’s my
Math teacher!”...I think it’s important for them to see me as
who I am because they’re gonna learn from me. You learn
probably more from your teacher’s experiences and life
experiences and bringing that into the classroom than [you] will
from a textbook.
Echoing Tyler’s argument, Edward and Kurt also expressed their motivation to
come out in the classroom as part of their belief in the pedagogical potential of
student/teacher relationships. For Edward, being out to his students was a way to gain
their respect. He explained: “If they know where I’m coming from they’ll respect me
more than If I try to keep it a secret.” Kurt, on the other hand, emphasized the feet that
being closeted negatively affected the quality ofhis relationship with his students, forcing
him to keep distant. He recalls: “ I would avoid talking to kids. You know kids come in
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and like ‘Hi, how was your weekend? What did you do?’ I would avoid talking to kids
about what I did on the weekend.”
Providing support to gay and lesbian students. Other professional reasons which
prompted these teachers to come out at school came from their desire to function as a
support for their gay and lesbian students, first by improving gay and lesbian students’
overall school experience and, second, by acting as role models.
Improving gay and lesbian students’ school experience was one o f Clive’s
reasons for wanting to be out at school On several occasions, using the following
argument, he addressed the school faculty and tried to sensitize all its members—
regardless of their sexual orientation— to the issues faced by gay and lesbian students:
We have kids who are gay who are in our classes. We have had
them come back to the school and tell us that they’re gay and
they have talked about their experience. You have heard their
stories of how they were treated. You were upset by that but
you didn’ t do anything then. Now we have students who are
second or third graders who may be showing some signs of
being gay or lesbian. How are we gonna develop healthy self-
esteems for those children (1) till they recognize it, (2) so that
they can be functioning and not have to be encumbered by this
particular issue?
Similarly, part of Brian’s motivation to be out at school was to provide an
accepting atmosphere for kids who might be gay or lesbian. He pointed out that in his
classroom, “gays and lesbians are not made fun of They’ve made contributions to the
world and that sort of thing.”
Several teachers also voiced their desire to support gay and lesbian students—
directly or indirectly— by being effective role models or, at the very least, by representing
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a visible gay or lesbian presence in the school. George, for instance, resolved never to be
closeted in school again after one of the school’s alumni committed suicide. He explains:
His name was Jack and he sat in my homeroom, the record
room. I saw him once a day for roll taking, official roll taking
and I knew he was gay. I just knew he was gay. I was 25 years
old. It was 1963 or 1964 and I was not going to say anything.
Two years after he graduated from high school, he committed
suicide. Now, he might have committed suicide anyway but
maybe I could have prevented it if I had said something to him.
And that's my motivation! I said I would never allow something
like that to happen again without making some effort [By
deciding to be out], all I wanted to do was let the gay men and
women know that there was a gay person in a teacher’ s position.
Although their decision was not based on as painful an experience as George’s,
several other teachers echoed his intent to insure that gay or lesbian students at their
school would have at least one gay or lesbian adult to identify with instead of feeling
isolated.
I figured if there’s one kid in that school who’s having feelings
that maybe he or she is gay or lesbian and they don’t know a
single person who is comfortable enough or proud enough to be
out, then they internalize that all the time. So if there’s one kid
who [thinks] ‘Oh, [this teacher] is out so maybe that’s okay
then, maybe what I’m doing isn’ t so wrong cause she’s kind of
cool and kids kind o f like her,’ I figure if there’s one student a
year that knows that, then that kid is much happier...I really felt
like it was important for the kids. You know that there’s those
kids there that are gay and that are just...either they’re oblivious
to it like I kind of was or they are struggling with it and if they
only knew someone else beside Melissa Etheridge and K.D.
Lang, you know! Everyone else as far as they’re concerned is
afraid to be out. [Tyler]
Part of it was knowing that if there was one student who was
gay, lesbian, bisexual in my class who would even question their
sexual identify and they saw me, it might help them just a little.
Maybe they’d be a little bit more comfortable in class. [Edward]
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I know how important it is to be a role model for gay students
and I knew that in one of my classes, one of my kids was gay.
[Kurt]
Well, I felt I wasn’t doing them a service by being in the closet,
you know. What kind of role model was I being? [Alex]
Thus, these teachers’ pedagogical reasons from coming out found their origin in
their philosophy of teaching and in their desire to provide their students with the type of
support which had not been available to them in their own school experience.
Socio-Political Reasons
When speaking of the reasons behind their decision to come out, the teachers
referred to ways in which they felt their coming out could be instrumental in working
towards social transformation as a way to reduce heterosexism and homophobia.
Although they each highlighted different aspects of the process, coming out at school
was presented as addressing two major socio-political concerns: using knowledge as an
agent of social change and normalizing homosexuality.
Knowledge as an agent of social change Several teachers spoke of coming out
as a multi-purpose pedagogical tool Indeed, coming out was presented as a way to fight
ignorance by giving all students—regardless of their sexual orientation— the opportunity
to knowingly interact with a self-identified gay or lesbian, to challenge the traditional
stereotypes usually associated with gays and lesbians, to raise students’ awareness of gay
and lesbian issues, and to teach respect for diversity.
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Kathie, for instance, remembers her own ignorance surrounding gay and lesbian
issues as she was growing up. Now, as a teacher, she wants to provide her students with
some of the educational opportunities which were not available to her. She explained:
You know, just even one day of me standing up and telling them
[that I am a lesbian], that child has received something that I
never got and that one day will forever change their life.
Actually, if I have a goal, [it is that] I don't want a single child
who comes to our school to be able to become an adult and say
‘Oh, I never knew anybody who was gay or lesbian.’ That's not
gonna happen you know! They will have known one person. I
never knew anybody that I knew was gay or lesbian by the time I
became a young adult...So I continue to come out because I
want one less child to grow up the way I did, in ignorance, you
know.
In addition, Betty and Edward argued that being out to students was also a way
to help them question the accuracy of the stereotypes usually associated with gays and
lesbians. Edward explained, “I wanted to let any students know that I’m gay and I don’t
fit all those stereotypes. I guess I fit some and don’t fit others but I’m just a person, a
person like any other person.” Similarly, Betty remembered her own experience as she
was growing up in a Latino neighborhood:
I know that I grew up with stereotypes of what a gay person is.
Normally they’re negative people, you know, lesbians [are]
butch and act like men, wannabe men or gay men.. .you know,
different stereotypes. Not all of them! Not all of them! There’s
a range o f gay and lesbian people just as there are a lot of
different people: Latinos— and not all of them are gonna belong
to gangs—Anglo Americans, African Americans, you know.
Well, I’m a Latina and I’m gay and...also when I came out, I
thought I couldn’ t be a lesbian because I [wasn’ t] like.. .1
remember seeing one girl in the neighborhood. She was big and
tough and I’m not like that. And I thought also, even after
college, that gays and lesbians were only white people because in
my neighborhood you didn’t really see them and if you did see
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116
one it was that BIG woman, you know. So, I thought I’m not
that and Pm not that, so I can’ t be! You know? But then, you
know, you learn more and you get to know yourself more and
you realize: it doesn’t mean that one lesbian is like all lesbians.
There are different types of lesbians, of gay people.
Thus, because ofher own experience sorting through sexual and racial
stereotypes, one of Betty’s reasons for coming out to her first graders was to challenge
whatever misconception her students, although quite young, had already acquired.
The kids already at that age know what is a “faggot”, a “sissy”, a
“dyke”... They’re first graders, so they’re like six years old.
They know ‘maricon’, they know ‘ joto’ [Spanish slang words,
equivalent of ‘faggot’] and they will name call each other. Sol
just decided, you know, I’m gonna come out to them and let
them know that this is my teacher and she’s a lesbian and see
how they take it from there, again because of the stereotypes. I
think they can probably see stereotypes already at that age if
they know how to name call. So I always want to come out so
they can remember me: ‘She wasn’t what we thought that they
should be like or dress like. She was our teacher. She just did
her job.’
Other teachers pointed out that being out in class allowed them to increase
students’ awareness of gay and lesbian issues by bringing in their personal experience.
Tyler, for instance, felt that her class discussions on discrimination against gays and
lesbians had more impact now that she could personalize them.
I don’t anymore say ‘I have some friends who are gay and I
realty find that personalty offensive.’ I can say ‘I’m a lesbian and
I find that offensive.’ And those kids are instantly...they’re very
very much more aware of what they’re saying around anyone,
not just me but they’re more aware. It’s certainty a big general
education right off the bat, just by being out.
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Similarly, by being out, Kurt feels he can sharpen his students’ sensitivity to gay
and lesbian issues by using his personal experience to teach that being gay is not the
same as being straight.
I don’t want my kids to think that [being gay is the same as
being straight] because I think in realizing that, they are more
sensitive to gay issues and to the feet that we’re still an
oppressed minority. When you think people are the same and
you see gays protesting, you don’ t pay much attention to it or
you dismiss it.
Finally, Alex and Betty talked about how being out in the classroom allowed
them to teach students respect for diversity. Betty who teaches first graders, and was
told by her principal to stay away from the topic of homosexuality, stressed the need to
start educating children as early as possible. She explained:
The kids are gonna run into many different kinds of people and
we have to start teaching them from a very young age how to
respect different people. And I think I’m the greatest role
model I’m polite. I’m nice. I’m there because I want to teach
them and get them to think. So why can’ t I throw in that I am a
lesbian? And so, you know, we talk about that when they bring
those words in my classroom. Why do you say that? You might
grow up and you might meet someone who is a “joto” (Spanish
slang, equivalent of ‘faggot’) and I repeat those words because
that’s what they know but [I tell them] there is a word that we
say and it’s ‘gay/lesbian’ even though I’m not supposed to even
touch those terms. But if they know “joto” why can’ t I tell them
this is the correct way?
Similarly, when coming out to his students, Alex tried to use his visibility as an
openly gay teacher to sensitize the students to the existence of gays and lesbians in all
spheres of society. Alex remembers telling his students:
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It’s good to know that there are gay people. It’s good to know
that there are gay teachers, and policemen and doctors and
lawyers. We are your uncles, your cousins and your brothers
and your parents maybe. So I told them that it was realty
important that they just know that.
Finally, several teachers expressed their awareness regarding the need to educate
their colleagues and the administrators. For Clive, being out at school represents a way
to focus the attention of the school faculty and of the administration on the need to
address gay and lesbian issues in an effort to improve the school experience of gay and
lesbian students. As he points out, “I try to take it away from me and to a larger issue.”
Similarly, part of Brian’s motivation for coming out at school was to “educate the other
teachers and people in the administration.”
Normali7inp hr>mr>«a»xiialftv- Three of the teachers spoke of coming out as a
way to normalize homosexuality. It was hoped that, once given a chance to interact and
develop a caring relationship with someone gay or lesbian, students would no longer
consider someone’s sexual orientation as the primary factor on which to judge their
personal worth but simply as one characteristic among others, neither more nor less
acceptable.
I wanted to be able to share with my students cause I’d like for
them to walk away and say ‘Well you know I had a gay teacher
and it was no big deal. We had some really neat
conversations...or we had discussions about songs we liked.’
You know? It’s a non-issue! [Clive]
What I really wanted them to achieve was to know that
somebody they liked and respected and learned from and like to
hang out with was gay. I wanted them to know that. [Kurt]
I want them to be exposed to someone who’s a lesbian and feel
that it’s okay, you know. She’s my teacher, she’s okay, she
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119
looks normal. I just don’t want them to see me as a woman and
a teacher and not know that [their] first grade teacher was a
lesbian. By the end of the school year I do expect them, when I
bring up and say ‘my girlfriend’ that they’ll smile...so it’s that
which I expect, you know, that hopefully they’re comfortable
with the idea that a woman can have a woman lover, that not all
people are gonna have an opposite sex partner, you know. I
expect them to feel comfortable with the feet that there are gays
and lesbians and that they remember this so when they grow
older and they learn about different things they will remember it.
[Betty]
Therefore, whether its purpose be to promote social acceptance of homosexuality
through education or through a process of normalization, achieving visibility by coming
out represents for these teachers a necessary political act whose impact can potentially
be felt within and beyond the school setting.
Responses to Their Coming Out
All ten teachers received strikingly homogeneous responses to their coming out
at school. Virtually all the teachers reported students’, parents’, colleagues’ and
administrators’ responses as ranging from neutral to positive with only half o f the
teachers mentioning some occasional negative responses from each group.
On the whole, students did not seem to have any major problems with their
teacher’s coming out. Teachers repeatedly reported that their coming out was “no big
deal” for their students and that they were “okay with it.” In some cases, the lack of
reaction these teachers received made them feel like they were “talking about the
weather” or that the students’ silence was their way of saying “tell us something we
don’ t know.” Generally, though, responses tended to be more neutral than outwardly
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120
supportive. Three teachers received significant positive feedback from their students and
four reported some occasional negative responses.
Just like students’, parents’ responses were mostly neutral to positive. When
asked about parents’ reactions, most teachers answered “no problems” or “no
complaints,” some adding that this had actually surprised them. For instance, Larry
admitted that parent’s reactions was what he “feared the most, but no parent has ever
objected.” George summed up the feeling expressed by most teachers by concluding, “If
it’s a problem for the parents, they haven’ t [expressed it].” Two teachers reported
outwardly positive reactions and four mentioned fairly rare instances of individual
negative responses.
All the teachers reported receiving some support from their colleagues. As with
students and parents, responses tended to be more neutral than outwardly positive.
Often, teachers simply stated that their colleagues had been “very supportive” without
elaborating on the kind of support they had enjoyed. Only two teachers mentioned
specific instances in which they felt their colleagues had shown their support and four
teachers experienced some negative responses. In terms of administrators’ support, the
feeling expressed by most teachers was that support was generally promised but not
always delivered. Two teachers, however, reported being successful when seeking the
support o f their principal.
The overall positive nature of these responses as well as the lack of variation
between teachers cannot be attributed to a lack of diversity in the student body, the
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121
faculty or the administration in terms of either socio-economic background or ethnicity.
Indeed, the institutions represented ranged from schools catering exclusively to students
from working class background to schools catering mostly to students from upper
middle class or upper class backgrounds. In addition, the range of ethnic backgrounds
was representative of Los Angeles multicultural mix and therefore quite diverse.
However, five main factors might account at least partially for this result—the
first three being inherent to the design of this study. First, all teachers interviewed for
this study lived and worked in Los Angeles. Second, the Los Angeles Unified School
District is particularly well known for being one of the most supportive of gay and
lesbian students and teachers in the nation. Third, Los Angeles is a major cosmopolitan
city with a visible gay and lesbian presence. Consequently, the likelihood of dealing with
students, parents, colleagues and administrators having previously interacted with gays
and lesbians—although by no means a guarantee—can reasonably be said to have been
higher for these teachers than it would have been in more conservative and/or rural parts
of the country. Fourth, these teachers’ philosophy of teaching indicated a strong belief in
establishing genuine relationships with students and providing them with a m eaningful
experience both at the social and at the academic leveL This feet may have contributed
to creating an emotional bond between them and their students, thereby lessening the
likelihood of negative responses. Finally, all these teachers reported having received
good teachers’ evaluations and gained the respect ofboth administrators and some
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parents due to their professional achievements, a feet which might have also influenced
the type of responses they received.
Although the negative responses were relatively few, several lend themselves to
further analysis as they illustrate some important issues related to coming out at school
and the presence of gay and lesbian teachers in the classroom.
D oes Coming Out Carry the R isk o f Giving Students Power to Harass?
The dynamics of a typical student/teacher relationship usually predispose the
teacher to be in a position of power. However, at least part of the institutional power
bestowed on a teacher comes from his/her traditional role as a promoter of accepted
social values. Therefore, students’ knowledge of their teacher’s sexual orientation can
potentially destabilize the unidirectional nature of the student/teacher power relation by
positioning the teacher outside the realm of socially accepted values, thereby lessening
his/her credibility as its promoter. Thus, students might feel entitled to challenge their
teacher’s authority now “tainted” by the knowledge of an aspect of their private life
which marginalizes him/her.
Several teachers reported some instances of students’ resistance to authority in
the form of homophobic attacks. George, for instance, reported that on a few occasions
over the course of twenty years, students had used homophobic shirs when angry with
him about a school matter. He gave the following instance as an example, “One little
student got [angry]. I didn’ t want to let him do what he wanted to do, so he walked out
of the room and said ‘fuck off faggot!”’ Similarly, Larry taught a computer class in
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which his student took the opportunity of an anonymous assignment to turn in essays he
described as “Hitlerian type scenarios of what should happen to homosexuals.”
Yet other teachers’ experience seem to contradict the notion that coming out to
students gives them the power to harass. Tyler never experienced any homophobic
outbursts from students, either before or after her coming out. Kathie, on the otter
hand, did experience harassment at school and believes her coming out was instrumental
in putting an end to it. She explains, “I can’t even remember when was the last time that
somebody shouted down the hall ‘ Dyke!’ or ‘You’re a lesbian!’ It doesn’t happen
anymore. Everybody here knows that, what’s the big deal?”
The question of knowing whether coming out gives students power is further
complicated by the feet that a teacher’s disclosure sometimes confirms assumptions more
than it reveals new information. Indeed, Kathie was harassed at school prior to her
coming out and Larry reported coming out in response to his students’ questions as to
whether he was gay. In both cases, non verbal cues informed the students. Indeed,
Kathie describes herself as a “ typical dyke” and Larry believes, “It’s just the way I act,
my demeanor, the way I talk. I think they just assumed I was gay.” Thus, the power
students could gain from Kathie’s and Larry’s disclosure becomes questionable.
Parents’ Fear of Recruitment
Two teachers in this study reported negative parents’ reactions triggered by a
fear of recruitment. First, Betty reported having a child transferred out of her first grade
class by a parent who claimed that she was “teaching the girls to like girls and the boys
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124
to like boys.” Alec, on the other hand, had one parent—whose child was not in his
class—threaten to go to the m edia because she objected to his use of alternative feiry
tales3 in the classroom and pursued the matter long enough to put Alex through a
significant amount of professional and emotional strain.
These two incidents illustrate the feet that the fear o f recruitment operates on
two levels. First, there is the fear that gay and lesbian teachers will “teach” their students
to become gay or lesbian. This argument is the most often used because of its
sensationalistic and alarmist nature and because it justifies—in the minds of those who
subscribe to it—parents’ concern for their children and, consequently, the need to
“protect” them through legal means. Thus, Betty’s experience represent a typical
example of a negative reaction triggered by a belief in the claim— widespread in spite of
a lack of any empirical evidence in its support—that gay and lesbian teachers not only
intend but have the power to influence their students’ sexual orientation.
Yet the fear of recruitment goes beyond protecting children from any interference
with the development of their (hetero)sexual orientation. Indeed, the objection to
Alex’s reading of alternative fairly tales did not hinge on a accusation of his intent to
impose his sexual orientation on his students. However, it stemmed from a desire to
prevent the inclusion of gay and lesbian issues in the curriculum and therefore the chance
that the development of homophobia in young children might be significantly reduced.
3 . The alternative feiry tale that Alex had read to his students was about a little girl who is a dragon slayer
and saves her village but has to dress as a boy to do so because, in die tradition of her village, girls are not
allowed to be dragon slayers. He also read Heather has two mommies and Mv daddy** rrwnmatp children’s
books with gay and lesbian themes.
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Therefore, implicit in this attempt to ban Alex’s inclusion of alternative feiry tales in the
curriculum, lies the fear that children will be recruited simply as allies likely to question
and challenge traditional gender roles.
The Role of Communication
In several cases, what appeared to be at the basis of negative reactions coming
from colleagues was a lack of communication. After putting his picture in full view on
the Gay and Lesbian History Month banner in the hallway of his school, Brian was
accused of recruiting by one of his colleagues. However, he managed to win his
colleague’s approval by explaining the rationale behind his decision. The opposition
Brian faced, resting mostly on a lack of information, could have potentially developed
into a conflict but was easily defused through his willingness to engage in a dialogue with
his colleague.
Kathie also experienced some resistance at school She complained about many
of her colleagues’ responses to her coming out in terms of how they had handled
students’ reactions to it, regularly sending them to the principal’s office when a comment
was made about her. She felt that this approach tended to make her coming out “a
bigger deal than what it should have been” and deplored the feet that none of these
teachers came to discuss the issue with her. Yet if we compare Kathie’s experience to
Clive’s whose colleagues responded the way Kathie wishes hers had, the importance of
establishing open communication becomes apparent again. Indeed, Clive took the time
to establish a dialogue with his colleagues, often on an individual basis and stressed the
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importance of “keeping the lines of communication open.” Kathie, on the other hand,
admits that she had “known [these teachers] for five or six years already’ but that she
“had never had a direct discussion [with them] about [being a lesbian].” She concludes,
“Part of it was my own ignorance too. I didn’ t realize that it was such an issue for
them.”
Thus, unfair as it may seem that the burden of disseminating information and
establishing dialogue should necessarily fall on the shoulder o f the gay/lesbian teacher,
the experience of several teachers in this study seems to indicate that establishing a
dialogue with colleagues and “educating” them on gay and lesbian issues may sometimes
play a significant role in determining how supportive they will turn out to be (Williams,
1997).
Gav and I -eshian Teacher as a Sexual Presence in the Classroom: a Case of Double
Standard
As part of a family unit she was covering with her first graders, Betty had
included some literature on gay and lesbian families but was told by her principal that she
could not bring in literature with the word “gay” or “lesbian.” Similarly, Kathie’s vice
principal told her she could not come out to her junior high students because it was
“inappropriate for children this age to talk about sexuality.” In addition, Kathie once
answered a parent’s phone call and, after introducing herselft was greeted by “Oh, you’re
that lesbian teacher!” to which she answered, “I’m a teacher who happens to be a
lesbian.”
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The type of parents’ and administrators’ reactions reported by these teachers
illustrate the tendency—discussed in Chapter IV—to view gays and lesbians as the
embodiment of their marginalized sexuality. As a result, their mere presence in the
classroom is perceived by some as a purely sexual presence and therefore as particularly
threatening in a context which has traditionally been desexualized. However, this
“reading” of gay and lesbian teachers’ presence in the classroom as essentially sexual
tends to obliviate the feet that h etero sex u ality is also a sexual orientation. Consequently,
the type of sexual “text” whose presence in the classroom some parents object to in the
case of gay and lesbian teachers is and has always been present—even if silenced—in the
classroom. Indeed, all teachers, regardless of their sexual orientation, bring a sexual
“text” to the classroom, one that many students are quite skillful at reading. Reminiscing
on his experience in high school, Litvak (1995) offers the following analysis:
[Tjhere are ways of being that our teachers carried into their
classrooms and communicated to us, whether or not they wanted
to, as much as if not more than they did the authorized subject
matter of algebra, American history, English, and [...] French...
It was becoming clear to me [...] that acquiring cultural
literary—as one is supposed to do in school— meant, to no small
degree, acquiring sexual literacy, not learning how to exclude
the private from the public but learning how to read the private
as it is everywhere obliged to manifest itself in public, (p. 20)
Thus, behind any attempt to prevent gay and lesbian teachers from disclosing
their sexual orientation in the classroom or to include gay and lesbian issues in the
curriculum lies an often unacknowledged refusal to recognize the inherently
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discriminatory nature of heterosexual privilege. In her interaction with her vice
principal, Kathie rightfully pointed out the workings of this double standard:
For me to say I’m a lesbian is just like you writing your name on
the board ‘Mrs...’ Just because you are writing your name up on
the board like that doesn’t mean that the children are envisioning
what you and your husband do sexually. You are just m aking a
statement about who you are and about your life.
Finally, I would add that the some of the children may, in feet, envision what
Kathie’s vice-principal does sexually with her husband. Anybody who has ever been in
contact with children knows that their interest in sex develops without the help of any
formal instruction. This feet, however, does not prevent teachers from wearing wedding
rings or from mentioning the existence in their private life of a husband, a wife, and
children. Therefore, any claim that the presence of an openly gay or lesbian teacher in
the classroom—in and of itself— is more sexually charged than that of a heterosexual
teacher stems from a refusal to acknowledge sexuality as an intrinsic part of human
nature. Furthermore, it functions as a way to disallow the possibility that the presence of
openly gay and lesbian teachers in the classroom may eventually contribute to the
destabilization of the heterosexual/homosexual binarism positing heterosexuality as the
indisputable norm.
What Can We Learn from Their Experience?
Although teachers organizations such as GLSEN have done much to develop a
network of gay and lesbian teachers and to support their efforts, many gay and lesbian
teachers still live and teach in areas where they feel isolated and seldom have the chance
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to interact with others. It is important to strive toward creating a sense of community
among gay and lesbian teachers so that we may establish an ongoing dialogue and share
our experiences with each other. With that purpose in mind, I asked the participants in
this study what aspects of their experience they felt could be particularly helpful to other
gay and lesbian educators. The ten teachers interviewed for this study have now been
“out” on campus for a period of time ranging from one to twenty years. Based on their
experience, they offered some words of advice for other gay and lesbian teachers
contemplating the possibility of coming out as well as their insight on what kind of
strategies might prove effective in reducing heterosexism and homophobia with students,
parents, colleagues and administrators.
A Few Words of Advice
All the participants were fully aware of the feet that the job security afforded
them by the Los Angeles Unified School District is not equally available in other parts of
the country. Consequently, their first advice to gay and lesbian teachers contemplating
the possibility of coining out was to get tenure and to learn about their school district
policies regarding sexual orientation to ensure that coming out would not jeopardize
their position.
My primary concern as a teacher would be: Am I gonna have my
job? [Tyler]
If you have tenure, do it. If you don’ t have tenure and you feel
like you have to, wait. [George]
I would say first of all they need to test the waters to find out
what the policy is. Job security is the most important thing. If
they understand that they’ve got job security and they’ve got a
strong union which supports them...come out! [Brian]
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Get your documentation. Districts have mission statements.
Schools have mission statements. Unions have contracts. A lot
of union contracts are starting to say “sexual orientation.”
[Kathie]
Second, some of them argued that coming out at school should not represent a
teacher’s first attempt at disclosing his/her sexual orientation. Clive and Betty
particularly felt that coming out to relatives and friends as well as developing a strong
sense of identity were two prerequisites to feeing students’ and colleagues’ reactions, an
indispensable emotional and psychological preparation to coming out at school
I’d want them to be very secure in their own acceptance of
themselves and have a real sound sense of who they are. If you
have some fears about being gay yourself get through all that.
Have come out to your family, have come out to your friends,
have come out a couple of times. [Clive]
Make sure they feel comfortable and secure with their sexual
identity and feel strong about who they are, not just about being
gay or lesbian but as a whole person. [Betty]
Indeed, students commonly ask questions such as “How do you know?” or “Why
are you like that?” The chance of a teacher’s coming out having a positive impact on
students would be significantly reduced were students to sense a substantial amount of
discomfort in the way the teacher responds to their inquiries. As Betty pointed out, “If
you’re not strong with who you are and ready for those type o f questions, then it’s
probably not the best time to come out to the kids.”
Third, some teachers underlined the importance of thinking through one's
motivation, concerns and goals prior to coming out. Tyler suggested that it might be
helpful to evaluate one’s fears about coming out in order to determine their validity. She
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explained, “I would address and write down your major concerns about coming out and
then [consider] what could possibly happen with those concerns after you come out.
Are they really that valid?” Alex stressed the need to reflect on the intended impact of
one’s coming out, particularly in terms of one’s effectiveness as a teacher and in terms of
the educational climate provided to students.
Ask yourself why you’re a teacher. What do you want your kids
to leam? How do you want to live your life? What’s your
vision of your life? Do you want to be whole and complete at
school or does it not matter to you? What do you want
personally in your journey as a teacher? You’re spending your
life there, what do you want out of the school environment?
What do you want out of your classroom environment?
Fourth, another important piece of advice dealt with the need to facilitate one’s
coming out experience at school by seeking support on as many levels as possible. As
Clive pointed out, “it’s very important to identify whether or not you have allies, whether
or not you’re gonna be doing this by yourself.” In that respect, both Clive and Kurt
stressed the importance of securing administrative support since administrators would
likely be the first one to receive complaints should parents object to the presence of an
openly gay or lesbian teacher in the classroom.
Make sure you’re working with the administration on this issue
because they’re gonna be catching the heat at some point.
They’ve got to be educated and informed. One of the few things
I know about administrators is they generally like to know where
their fires are gonna be before they hit. [Clive]
I really think that it’s important to have the support of your
administration, particularly because if you do it without telling
them and they start getting phone calls, no administration likes
that, especially something that is that significant and potentially
explosive. At least let them know you’ re gonna do it. [Kurt]
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Alex, on the other hand, recommended taking advantage of the support provided
by gay and lesbian teacher organizations. In addition, he pointed out that such
organizations often offer workshops which can be instrumental in the process of raising
colleagues awareness of gay and lesbian issues.
Definitely get involved with GLSEN or other [organizations].
GLSEN has amazing workshops, different scenarios [about]
sensitive issues and the age appropriate way, whole different
levels o f how radical or in depth you want to get. I had straight
teachers at my school come to these conferences. It sort of
validates things, legitimizes things when it’s on paper somehow.
So I would say get the support out there! We’ re lucky to have
it now.
Identifying another source of support, Larry suggested gaming insight into the
experience of others as a way to better prepare oneself Implicit in the way he offered
his advice was the suggestion that openly gay and lesbian teachers could “coach”
closeted ones to help prepare them to come out.
I would tell them what my experience was and ask them how
they would respond to the same experiences. What would they
do? How would they react? Would they totally freak out?
When a student call them “dyke,” what are they gonna do? So I
guess you have to see other people do it, talk to other people
who did it. Don’t do it on your own.
As a fifth recommendation, Kathie and Tyler brought up the need to make the
disclosure relevant to the curriculum in order to avoid being accused o f introducing
inappropriate and/or irrelevant material.
Do it within a lesson. You need to design your curriculum so
that you can do it but just don’t come into class and say “Class, I
want to have a discussion with you this morning and I want to
talk about the feet that I’m a homosexual.” You need to have it
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within the structure o f your curriculum. If you read through the
state framework for your subject area, diversity is mentioned in
there. You can find it under self-esteem or something. [Kathie]
You want to really think about how you’re going to do this
because the whole situation of “an agenda” is I think the biggest
concern: I’m placing my vahies on these children. And of
course, all teachers do place their values on their students but
this is different apparently! [Tyler]
Finally, Betty was the only one to emphasized the importance of not letting guilt
pressure you into coming out prematurely.
I think everybody has the right to come out when they feel ready
to come out. A [closeted] colleague asked me: “How do you do
it? Why do you do it?” I told her and she was like: “Yeah!
Yeah! Sometimes I feel like I should come out.” And I said:
‘ I t ’s not about should or shouldn’t. It’s about whether you
want to. When you are ready, you will.
None of the teachers in this study offered a step by step approach to coming out.
Instead, each of them stressed a few specific points, sometimes—yet not always—
related to their own coming out experience. Their advice concerning the importance of
job security denoted a concern for the feet that many teachers do not enjoy the type of
protection associated with teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District. One
teacher, however, suggested that gay and lesbian teachers who do not have job security
simply relocate. His advice was to “move! Don’ t live that life! Why subject yourself to
it?’ Although well intentioned, such a piece of advice overlooks the feet that moving to
another part of the country might not be an option for some gays and lesbians. Indeed,
several reasons might prevent such a move, not the least of which refusing to be being
driven away like a social outcast. On the other hand, Brian’s advice does underline the
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sad feet that isolated individuals in strongly homophobic environments have limited
means of promoting social change. In such cases, relocating in a more progressive area
might, in feet, allow some gay and lesbian teachers to become—from afar—more
politically active and to participate in reducing heterosexism and homophobia in ways
which would not have been possible had they remained in an environment where being
closeted—therefore silent and invisible—was the only option.
As gay and lesbian teachers, we need to work toward finding homophobia
reduction strategies which will enable teachers in any part of the country to initiate a
process of change with the aim of creating a social atmosphere in which coming out no
longer represents professional suicide. With that in mind, I will now turn to the various
homophobia reduction strategies suggested by the participants.
Strategies to Reduce Heterosexism and Hnmophnhia
Herek (1984, 1986,1987,1991) posited the existence of four psychological
functions—experiential-schematic, social expressive, value expressive and defensive—as
forming the basis of homophobic attitudes. According to this model, homophobic
attitudes are developed as a way to meet specific psychological needs. First,
homophobic attitudes may serve an experiential-schematic function. Such attitudes are
based on one’s previous interactions with gays and lesbians and infhience-either
positively or negatively—future interactions. Second, homophobic attitudes having a
social expressive function as a basis represent a way to win approval by expressing
opinions perceived to be supported by one’s peers. Third, homophobic attitudes may
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originate from a need to reinforce one’s self-esteem through the expression and/or
promotion of values essential to one’s self-concept (Le., religious beliefs), thereby
serving a value expressive function. Finally, anxieties over issues of sexual orientation
(Le., fear of being gay or lesbian) may foster the development of homophobic attitudes
serving a defensive function. These results in the rejection of gays and lesbians as a way
to project onto them one’s own fears or discomfort regarding sexual issues.
Beyond providing a theoretical explanation for the motivation behind
homophobic feelings and behaviors, this model can be used as a way to maxmrigg the
effectiveness of strategies to reduce heterosexism and homophobia. As Herek (1991)
points out, “prejudice can be eradicated most effectively by appealing to the primary
psychological functions that it serves. This means that different strategies will be
necessary for changing the anti-gay attitudes held by different individuals (p. 73).” In
other words, homophobia reduction strategies will be particularly effective when directly
addressing the psychological needs served by each of these function and replacing the
motivation to develop homophobic attitudes by an equally strong motivation to discard
them.
Based on their experience in their respective schools, the teachers in this study
suggested a variety of strategies they deemed as effective to reduce heterosexism and
homophobia with students, parents and colleagues4 . I will frame my discussion of their
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suggestions within Herek’s (1984,1986,1987,1991) model of the four psychological
functions of homophobia.
Experiential-Schematic Function
Strategies aimed at undermining homophobic attitudes based on an experiential-
schematic function must foster the development of positive attitudes towards gays and
lesbians or help replace past negative impressions with positive ones (Herek, 1986,
1987). To that end, two specific strategies were suggested: coming out and making gay
and lesbian historical figures an integral part of the curriculum.
Coming out. Given the feet that all the teachers who participated in this study
had made the decision to disclose their sexual orientation at school, it is not surprising
that most of them identified coming out as a strategy they deemed equally effective with
all three groups (students, parents, colleagues), providing them with an opportunity to
interact directly and knowingly with gays and lesbians teachers.
Some, like Tyler, stressed the benefit of this strategy primarily with students, “In
my health class, when they find out I’m gay, all of a sudden there’s a face there and it
changes attitudes.” Others, on the other hand, emphasized being out as an effective
strategy with colleagues. Edward, for instance, stressed the importance of presenting
gay and lesbian relationships as equal to heterosexual ones and of giving straight
colleagues an opportunity to interact with a gay or lesbian couple. He suggested,
4 . For further sources of homophobia reduction strategies, see J. T. Sears & W. L. Williams (1997)
Overcoming heterosexism and homophobia: Strategies that work New York: Columbia University Press.
See also, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) homepage at http://www.glsen.org
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With colleagues, just being out If you’re a gay or a lesbian
teacher and there’s a faculty dinner or a facu lty whatever and
you’re with someone, bring them. Don’t hide your partner.
And in the lounge, if they’re talking about their partners or
talking about their family, why not talk about yours?
Finally, several teachers referred to coming out as a strategy generally effective at
school, implying that its effect would be felt positively by students, parents and
colleagues alike. According to Alex, for instance, “teachers coming out [at school] is a
great [strategy]. It increases awareness and generally knowledge and knowing someone
decreases homophobia automatically.”
Alex’s statement that homophobia will be “automatically” decreased seem to
carry the assumption that these teachers’ disclosure will be perceived positively by
members of the three groups. Although coming out has been argued as possibly
representing the most effective way to reduce homophobia (Garnets and K im m eL, 1993;
Gonsiorek and Weinrich, 1991; Herek, 1991), other factors (Le., personality traits, social
skills, teaching skills, etc...) could possibly interfere with the positive effect of the
disclosure. In other words, homophobic attitudes might not be “automatically” reduced
or eradicated if the gay or lesbian teacher who discloses his/her sexual orientation is not
liked by his/her students or respected as a teacher. Seemingly aware of this caveat,
George added, “If you’re out at school and you do a good job, you’re going to reduce
homophobia.”
M aking gav and lesbian historical figures an integral part of the curriculum. At
the junior high and high school level, three teachers suggested making gay and lesbian
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historical figures an integral part of the curriculum. This was seen as an effective way to
raise students’ awareness of the presence of gays and lesbians throughout history and to
increase their appreciation of the various contributions these people have made to
various fields. Edward, for instance, systematically includes references to gays and
lesbians in his class.
I make sure that my curricula is diverse. When I talk about
scientists, I make it a special point to find someone who’s gay
who’s done something and to find someone who’s lesbian who’s
done something and introduce that to my class. This person is a
lesbian scientist and this is what she came up with and if she
didn’t do this, this is how it would affect our lives.
Although this strategy does not involve students in direct interactions with actual
gays and lesbians, it does have the potential of replacing negative schemata with positive
ones. Indeed, as Kathie suggested, the inclusion of gay and lesbian historical figures in
the curriculum challenges the belief that gays and lesbians pose a danger to society by
demonstrating ways in which society has in feet benefited from their contributions.
I would present them with historical figures, you know, “Here is
so and so, did you know they were gay?” to expel that myth that
they have all been sick and perverts. No they haven't! Some of
them made pretty amazing contributions.
In addition, Brian pointed out that this strategy should not be limited to any
particular subject. He explained, ‘ In any subject it’s gonna come up: in English with an
author, in history with people throughout history, very definitely in sociology. So I
mean, I think it can be brought in in every subject and it should be.” Indeed, a limited
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amount of research can provide a wealth of references regarding gays and lesbians in
history5 .
Social Expressive Function
In order to reduce or eradicate homophobic feelings having a social expressive
function as a basis, strategies must provide “exposure to peers’ positive dispositions or
to pro-homosexual statements from significant role models of heterosexual masculinity
and femininity” (Van de Ven, 1997, p. 219).” Two strategies were suggested:
organizing a school sponsored celebration of Gay and Lesbian History Month and
encouraging allies to come out.
School sponsored celebration of Gav and T eshian History Month. Having been
instrumental in organizing the celebration of Gay and Lesbian History Month at his
school, Brian suggested that such a school wide celebration was an effective way to send
a strong message to parents.
Celebrating gay and lesbian pride month reaches out to the
community because parents see it when they come into the
school If the school is able to celebrate that in an open manner
where the public can see it, that has a big effect on the
community because people start to deal with this as being
something natural And I bring in speakers from GLAAD [Gay
and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation] and I also invite
parents. None of them come but they’re also invited. So, it’s
just a case of creating an atmosphere.
5 . For further sources regarding lesbian and gay historical figures, see K. Jennings (1994a), P. Russell
(1995), P. Sherman (1994) and C. J. Summers (1995) in the reference list References can also be found by
doing a search for “gays and lesbians in history” on the World Wide Web. A CD ROM entitled “Queers in
History” is also available from Quistory, Ltd. Call (310) 659-2783.
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Thus, presenting Gay and Lesbian History Month as an event sponsored by the
school and approved by the school district validates the inclusion of gay and lesbian
issues in the curriculum as a necessary part of educating children and preparing them to
live in a multicultural society. Therefore, by taking a pro-gay stance, both the school
district and the school itself— as respected social institutions—may contribute to
reducing homophobic feelings among parents.
In addition, Brian added that the school wide celebration of Gay and Lesbian
History month was also a way to reach the parents through their children. According to
him, the possibility of children educating their parents should not be overlooked.
I think it’s like going through the kids to the parents, so that the
kids come home and maybe they hear their lather say, you know,
“faggot” or “maricon” or “puto” [Spanish slang, equivalent of
“faggot”] and the kid say: “Hey dad, you know, that’s not nice,
you know?” I think it does happen.
Although Brian’s perception is not based on any empirical evidence, it might be
wise not to discount the potential influence of students on their parents. Particularly
when expressing opinions based on values taught at school, some students may indeed
have a positive influence on their immediate relatives.
Encouraging allies to com e ou t. Encouraging straight non-homophobic family
members, friends and colleagues to come out as allies represents an essential step in the
process of reducing heterosexism and homophobia. As Kathie pointed out, “That's a
reality you face when you are a minority. The homosexual community will need the
support of the heterosexual community to ever get out of this state of oppression that
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we're in.” Indeed, one of the challenges inherent to the political struggle of any minority
is to find ways to gain more support from members of the majority.
In the struggle against homophobia within a school setting, support from straight
colleagues—when publicly acknowledged—exposes students, other colleagues and
administrators to “pro-homosexual statements from significant role models of
heterosexual masculinity and femininity” (Van de Ven, p. 219). Aware of the potential
benefit of such support, Kathie suggested encouraging allies to come out to students as
an effective strategy.
We dont just need the gay and lesbian community to be role
models, we also need our straight allies to stand up and present
some historical gay figures and present diverse families and
diverse relationships and I think that's also a very important
thing. A straight ally can carry it because they are not pushing
their own agenda and that's very powerful
Clive, on the other hand, suggested initiating a dialogue about gay and lesbian
issues with colleagues as a way to make allies. He recommended stepping back and
letting that dialogue develop among straight colleagues.
In my discussions with the faculty, there were some realty awful
things that were said about gay and lesbian people in my
presence. And it would have been very easy for me to react and
just smother those people but I found it more important for the
group process of where that group was going in the discussion
to let them say those things and to see where that took them
because I didn’t have to do the work. Other people jumped in
and would start speaking to it or the people who [were
homophobic] went so far overboard that they really embarrassed
themselves.
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The feet that some homophobic teachers “embarrassed themselves” during that
dialogue seems to indicate that they were influenced by the anti-homophobic stance of
some of their colleagues. Thus, Clive’s approach was effective in that it exposed
homophobic teachers to the pro-homosexual views of their colleagues, thereby
undermining the social expressive basis of their homophobic attitudes.
Value Expressive Function
Homophobic attitudes based on a value expressive function (Le., condemnation
of homosexuality on the basis of religious beliefs) can be reduced most effectively by
“appealing to competing values of the target group” (Van de Ven, 1997, p. 219). Six
teachers recommended strategies which relied on values held by students, parents, and
colleagues as a way to challenge their homophobic attitudes. Five strategies were
suggested: appealing to parental values, appealing to professional values, appealing to
respect for diversity and equal rights, and using family values with elementary students.
Appealing to parental values. Kathie and Betty recommended inviting parents to
participate in workshops offered by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
First, Betty stressed the need to sensitize parents’ to gay and lesbian issues by getting
them to consider the possibility that one of their children might happen to be gay or
lesbian and might be driven to suicide by a hostile hetero sexist environment.
Because of homophobia, there’s big rate of suicide. How could
we prevent these? That’s a way you can reach them. “What
does it have to do with whether I’m a homophobe?” Well.. .you
never know, you may have a child who is [gay or lesbian] and he
may never tell you or she may never tell you because she knows
you have these strong feelings.
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Although Kathie also suggested appealing to parent’s concern for their children’s
safety, she believed it important to raise their awareness concerning all the challenges
faced by gay and lesbian youth. Indeed gay and lesbian teenagers who end up resorting
to suicide often do so as the result of continued harassment and rejection.
The biggest tactic I would try to take is let PFLAG go in. Let
other parents who have gay and lesbian children appeal to the
feet that they’re parents. Let them tell about how they now
understand how their child felt when they were harassed by
people in the community and how their child felt like they
couldn’t really go over to someone’s house.
Implicit in the use of a strategy aimed at appealing to parental values is the hope
that parents’ sense of responsibilities as well as their love for their children will override
their moral objection to homosexuality.
A ppealing to professional values. Kathie suggested that appealing to colleagues’
professionalism and reminding them of their responsibility to all their students might
effectively reduce colleagues’ homophobic attitudes. At the very least, the purpose of
such a strategy is to sensitize homophobic teachers to their professional duty to refrain
from openly expressing homophobic sentiments in a way that might be detrimental to
their gay and lesbian students.
Where I would definitely appeal to colleagues is making them
understand that these children have a right to come to a safe
environment and right now their classroom is not a safe
environment for these children to come to and they have an
obligation to their students, regardless of what they personally
believe, they have an obligation.
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However, Kurt pointed out that many colleagues’ failure to provide a safe
atmosphere for their gay and lesbian students stemmed for their lack o f awareness
concerning the extent o f the homophobia faced by gay and lesbian youths at school, an
experience alien to them. According to him, an effective strategy was for gay and lesbian
teachers to share their experience with colleagues as a way to raise their consciousness
regarding the nature of the challenge faced by gay or lesbian students going through a
heterosexist and homophobic school system.
I think it’s effective to share with colleagues what it’s like to be
a gay student in the class and I know especially from some male
colleagues...but also women...that they just didn’ t see it as a big
deal when a kid turned to someone else and said: you’re a fog.
None of them even thought about saying something about it. So
I think to share with them how that affects gay students, it kind
of engages them.
Appealing to respect for diversity and equal rights. At a time when concerns
over being “politically correct” influence the way many people choose to express their
views on controversial topics, appealing to notions of respect for diversity and equal
rights may represent an effective strategy. Over the years, racial epithets have been
banned from the classroom. Indeed, few teachers would allow the use o f words such as
“nigger” in their classroom. However, homophobic slurs are still commonly heard in the
school yard as well as in the classroom Alex stressed the importance o f forbidding the
use of such slurs in the classroom as a way to stress their discriminatory nature and to
place gays and lesbian on an equal footing with other minority groups. He argued, “if
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you hear homophobic comments, you never let it go, you acknowledge it because it has a
huge effect on all the kids involved.”
Some teachers, however, limit their interventions to pointing out the
inappropriateness of using such epithets in class. Kurt underlined the limits of such a
strategy when not reinforced by a commitment to address the implications of using
homophobic slurs by engaging students in an open discussion of their nefarious effect on
gays’ and lesbians’ sense of self-esteem. He pointed out, “to say: ‘ ‘ Don’ t call him a fog
in class!” Okay, so he’ll call him a fog outside...but I think really a willingness to talk to
kids about gay issues and what it means to be gay.”
In addition, because American society is progressively becoming more and more
multicultural, particularly in urban centers, schools often provide programs designed to
increase students’, parents’ and teachers’ awareness of cultural differences and to
promote respect for diversity. Kurt recommended the inclusion of gay and lesbian issues
in school programs aimed at increasing parents’ awareness of cultural diversity in the
school community: “I would love to see schools sponsor programs with parents and
kids. Because we have students from Iran and from Morocco, from all over, they do
cultural diversity seminars and that type of stuff but they don’t talk about gay issues.”
At the elementary school level, because of her experience with her principal’s
objection to her discussing “sex” in the classroom, Betty particularly stressed the need
for elementary school teachers to use an approach which would allow them to discuss
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gays and lesbians issues without dwelling on matters perceived as “sexual” To that
effect, she recommended focusing on the issue of prejudice based on difference, a
concept with which many of her students—Latinos and African Americans—are already
familiar.
Talk about prejudice. ..well, this is another aspect of prejudice.
They know these words. This is another one that puts down
people just because they’re different, you know. And the kids
can explore that and, again, we’re not talking about sex. We’re
just talking about a group o f people who react to these people
because they’re different. The word “respect”, you can talk so
much about respect. So there are a lot of key words that a lot of
teachers can use without even touching the word “sex”. And
that’s a thing that even the teachers I’ve interacted with—who
just admire what I’m doing—sometimes they’re so surprised:
“How do you do it?? I mean .sex!!” No!!! Family! differences!
Apart from offering the advantage of sidestepping any administrative opposition,
this approach appeals to the students’ personal experience with discrimination and to
their first hand awareness of its negative impact. The notion of “difference” being
central to their self-concept, presenting gays and lesbians as another culturally different
group might contribute to the development of empathy, thereby reducing the level of
homophobia
Using family values with elementary students. As an attempt to thwart the
development of homophobic attitudes based on a value expressive function in young
children, Betty suggested an approach specifically targeting elementary school children.
Again I would go back to families. There are a lot literature
books out there. I think that’s one of the best ways: to talk
about the different types of families and then explore even
further. I think a lot o f children feel weird if they don’t have a
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mother and a father. A lot of these books talk about making fun
of the child because the child has two mothers. How do you
think a child feels who has 2 mommies or two daddies?
Indeed, because young children’ s understanding of relationships relies primarily
on their experience of family life, the strategy at work here is to introduce the existence
of gay and lesbian relationships in terms of two people of the same sex living together
and, in some cases, raising a child or children together. Thus, the children can
conceptualize the situation more in terms of two mothers or two fathers raising a child or
children together than in terms of two people of the same sex being lovers. In addition,
because the concept of family is central to the children’s experience, framing the issue of
diversity within the context of the family emphasizes the existence of shared values
across differences, one more step toward building alliances.
D efensive Function
Strategies aimed at reducing homophobic attitudes based on a defensive function
need to incorporate ways to appease personal fears and anxieties regarding sexuality.
Such fears being typically based on a lack of information or misconceptions with respects
to sexuality and sexual behaviors, providing answers to concerned individuals’ questions
represents a effective way to reduce defensive homophobia. Two strategies were
suggested: providing students with accurate information on gay and lesbian issues and
addressing parents’ fear of recruitment and child molestation.
P roviding students with accurate information on eav and lesbian issues.
According to Tyler, teachers have a tendency to underestimate their students. She
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believes students are eager to be exposed to new ideas and new concepts. Thus, she
recommended exposing students to more material dealing with gay and lesbian issues.
I don’ t think that teachers give students enough credit, especially
at the high school leveL The kids don’ t want to agree with their
parents. They kind of want to start to think on their own. So I
think we need to give kids a little bit more credit and therefore
teach them more because I think that if you do teach them, they
will learn or at least they’ll be able to make a judgement and I
just don’t think we teach our kids enough about gay and lesbian
culture.
However, several teachers felt that the inclusion of material dealing with gay and
lesbian issues, although necessary, represented only the first step toward reducing
homophobia. Thus, beyond the inclusion of such material, these teachers stressed the
importance of facilitating open class discussions on the topic of ho mo sexuality. As Larry
pointed out, schools presently short change their students by not providing them with
opportunities to discuss gay and lesbian issues. He argued that students needed to be
provided with “the ability to talk about [homosexuality] honestly and openly. That is just
not provided but really that needs to happen.”
As a way to break the silence surrounding gay and lesbian issues, Kurt stressed
the importance of establishing an open dialogue with students as a way to sensitize them
to the nature of gay and lesbian experiences and to challenge stereotypes. According to
him, what is needed in schools is “a willingness to talk about these issues in class so that
they’re not something that is alien to the kids’ experience and so they don’t have to just
rely on media stereotypes.” In addition, Edward underlined the potential of an open
dialogue to dissipate fears and negative feelings by voicing one’s concern.
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149
Introducing the topic of sexuality, lesbianism, being gay gives
the students the chance to voice their opinions and once their
opinion is out, you can work with it which helps reduce
homophobia. The more they talk about it, the more comfortable
they become, the less homophobia exists.
Thus, including open class discussions on topics dealing with gay and lesbian
issues creates a safe and comfortable space for students to explore their own prejudice
while increasing their knowledge of various aspects of gay and lesbian experiences. With
that knowledge as a basis, students will then be better prepared to deal with their
personal sexual development and will have less reasons to feel threatened by
homosexuality if their understanding of it relies on accurate information.
Addressing parents’ fears of recruitment and child molestation. Parents’
defensive homophobia might be of a somewhat different nature when manifesting itself in
the context of a school setting. In such a context, their defensiveness might not be
triggered by doubts surrounding their own sexuality (Le., fear of being gay or lesbian)
but rather by concerns regarding the potential influence—perceived as negative—gay
and lesbian teachers might have on their children. In other words, fears that their child
might be recruited to a “gay or lesbian lifestyle” or even fears of molestation might be at
the basis of their homophobic attitudes towards a gay or lesbian teacher.
Surprisingly, only one teacher—Edward—acknowledged the need to address
these parental concerns. He suggested it was important to deal openly with the fears
parents may harbor about their child having a gay or lesbian teacher. He stressed that it
might be preferable to bring in gay and lesbian teachers from other schools as parents
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might be more comfortable raising certain issues with teachers they do not know and will
not interact with on a regular basis.
You can have a couple o f parent nights, PTA night when gay
teachers come in and talk— gay teachers in our school or other
gay teachers—and [parents] actually have a chance to talk with
gay teachers, ask the questions that you know are just... I mean
there are 2 or 3 questions that you know they have that aren’t
realty school questions. But they don’t want to ask me if I’m
gonna check [students’] bodies and I think that’s fine.
Again, just like with students, the purpose of such an approach is to give parents’
a chance to voice their concerns instead of waiting until these manifest themselves in the
shape of homophobic attacks. The homophobic rhetoric of the Christian right as well as
Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children” campaign and Senator Briggs’ proposition 6 in
California have all relied heavily on fueling parents’ fears surrounding gay and lesbian
teachers’ intent to recruit children and/or to sexually molest them. Therefore, strategies
aiming at replacing these fallacies with accurate information are desperately needed,
(expand and talk about what of some strategies could be in a paragraph or more)
Summary
All ten teachers in this study came out at school using one of two approaches.
Seven identified themselves as gay or lesbian to their students through a declarative
statement and three came out indirectly.
Each one of the teachers in this study invoked reasons of a personal, professional
and socio-political nature behind their decision to come out at school. At the personal
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151
level, the participants reported a desire to be honest about their sexual orientation and to
end feelings of frustration associated with being closeted. Their professional reasons for
disclosing their sexual orientation— related to their convictions regarding the nature of
their role as teachers—focused on two major concerns: the importance of establishing
genuine student/teacher relationships and the need to function as a support for gay and
lesbian students. Finally, coining out at school was presented as addressing two major
socio-political concerns: using knowledge as an agent of social change and normalizing
homosexuality.
All ten teachers received strikingly homogeneous responses to their coming out
at school. Virtually all the teachers reported students’, parents’, colleagues’ and
administrators’ responses as ranging from neutral to positive with only half of the
teachers mentioning some occasional negative responses from each group. I attributed
this result to five main factors:
1 . All teachers interviewed for this study lived and worked in Los Angeles.
2. The Los Angeles Unified School District is supportive of gay and lesbian
students and teachers.
3. Los Angeles is a major cosmopolitan city with a visible gay and lesbian presence.
4. These teachers’ philosophy of teaching indicated a strong belief in establishing
genuine relationships with students.
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5. All these teachers reported having received good teachers’ evaluations and
gained the respect of both administrators and some parents due to their
professional achievements.
Based on their experience, these teachers offered some words for advice for
other gay and lesbian teachers contemplating the possibility of coming out. Teachers
were advised to (a) get tenure and learn about their school district policies regarding
sexual orientation, (b) come out to relatives and friends and develop a strong sense of
identity prior to coming out to students, (c) think: through their motivation, concerns and
goals prior to coming out, (d) seek support on as many levels as possible (Le., find allies,
secure administrative support, take advantage of gay and lesbian teacher organizations,
gain some insight into the experience of openly gay and lesbian teachers), and (e) make
the disclosure relevant to the curriculum
Finally, the teachers in this study offered their suggestions in terms of various
strategies to reduce heterosexism and homophobia with students, parents and colleagues.
The strategies suggested all aimed at undermining one of Herek’s (1984, 1986, 1987,
1991) functional model of homophobia. The following strategies were suggested with
each function:
1 . Experiential-schematic homophobia: coming out as well as making gay and
lesbian issues an integral part of the curriculum.
2. Social expressive homophobia: organizing a school sponsored celebration of
Gay and Lesbian History Month and encouraging straight allies to come out.
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3. Value expressive homophobia: appealing to parental values, appealing to
teachers’ professional values, appealing to students’ and parents’ respect for
diversity and equal rights, and using femily as a social value with elementary
school students.
4. Defensive homophobia: providing students with accurate information on gay
and lesbian issues and addressing parent’s fear of recruitment and child
molestation.
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CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION
This study is the result of my personal interest in the coming out experience of
gay and lesbian teachers, a topic which has rarefy been the focus of scholarly research. In
undertaking it, my intent was to gain a better understanding of the experience of gay and
lesbian teachers who had gone through the process of coming out in the classroom by
using their subjective interpretation o f that experience as a starting point. The ten gay
and lesbian teachers who participated in this study provided me with a detailed account
of their coming out experience. Because each one of their experiences was captured in
the context of a two hour interview, this account represents their perspective in one
particular moment of their lives.
Research Questions
I approached this study with three specific research questions: What are the
personal and socio-political forces that prompt gay and lesbian teachers to come out?
What happens when they do come out? Based on their experience, what advice do these
teachers have for other gay and lesbian teachers struggling with the same issue? I will
now address the ways in which each research question was answered in the context of
this study.
Personal and Socio-Political Forces that Prompt Gav and Lesbian Teachers to Come Out
The first research question aimed at identifying what personal and social political
forces were at the basis of gay and lesbian teachers’ decision to come out in the school
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setting. From the experience of the ten teachers interviewed in this study, I was able to
identify three factors as having played a significant part in their decision: job security,
these teachers’ comfort level regarding their sexual identity as gay or lesbian, and their
philosophy of teaching coupled with their perception of their political role in reducing
homophobia.
Job security. One of my observations at the outset of my pilot study (Martino ssi,
1997) was that the range of reasons invoked by the three openly gay and lesbian teachers
for their decision to come out in the classroom were similar to the ones the literature
reveals as being at the basis of closeted teachers’ desire to be out (Griffin, 1992; Kissen,
1996; Woods and Harbeck, 1992). The present study yielded the same finding. Thus,
since similar motivations do not lead to the same decision, it seems reasonable to
conclude that the reasons invoked by both "out" and closeted teachers are not--in and of
themselves—sufficient to account for a gay or lesbian teacher’s decision to disclose
his/her sexual orientation in the school setting.
The urban Los Angeles context of both my pilot study (Martinossi, 1997) and the
present study may represent a starting point in attempting to offer a preliminary
explanation for this finding. In the Los Angeles Unified School district, teachers’
contracts include a clause prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation. Of the thirteen teachers who were interviewed for the purpose of both
studies (three teachers for the pilot study and ten teachers for the present study), only
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one teacher’s coming out resulted in job loss. This teacher, however, was teaching in the
Burbank Unified School District at the time.
Thus, when considering the socio political forces which prompt gay and lesbian
teachers to come out, school district policies (Le., legal ban of employment
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation) as well as the school location (Le., in an
urban center with a visible gay and lesbian presence), reduce significantly gay and lesbian
teachers’ perception of the risks involved in disclosing. In other words, since
motivations for coming out as well as for wanting to come out are the same for both out
and closeted gay and lesbian teachers, assurance of job protection and a relatively gay
friendly social environment seem to play a significant part in enabling gay and lesbian
teachers to act on their desire to come out.
Gav and feshian trarhers’ comfort level regarding their sexual identity. Teachers’
own psychological and emotional development in regard to their sexual identity also
seemed to play a significant part in their ability to come out in the classroom. All the
teachers in this study reported having sorted—prior to their coining out in the
classroom—through the anxieties, doubts and fears commonly associated with being gay
or lesbian in a heterosexist society and had gone through the process of coming out to
family and friends. In most cases (George, Kathie, Clive, Tyler, Brian, Kurt, Alex, and
Betty), their coming out experience with friends and family had been mostly positive.
Edward and Larry reported significant negative reactions from family members but had
managed to deal with the psychological and emotional impact of such reactions before
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coining out in the classroom. In other words, by the time these ten teachers decided to
come out at school, they had all reached a point in their personal development where
their sexual identity as gay or lesbian was no longer an issue they were struggling with.
Indeed, several of them pointed out feeling secure about one’s sexual identity as a
prerequisite to coming out in the classroom. Therefore, it would seem that the decision
to come out in the classroom often comes when the classroom or the school setting have
become—to use Kissen’s (1996a) book title—“the last closet” in the lives of gay and
lesbian teachers. Indeed, this was reflected in the personal reasons they invoked at the
basis of their decision. At the personal level, being closeted was no longer an option for
these ten teachers because their desire to be honest about themselves often coupled with
a feeling of frustration at being closeted in any context. These feelings were stronger
than any apprehension linked to the act of coming out at school.
Philosophy o f teaching and socio-political goals. These teachers’ philosophy of
teaching and their political intent to reduce homophobia and heterosexism also played a
significant part in their decision to come out, the former prompting them to use a
teaching approach providing an avenue to achieve the latter. All of the teachers spoke of
their role as teachers as going beyond the teaching of their respective subject matters.
Both their desire to develop genuine relationships with their students and their belief in
the importance of providing support for gay and lesbian students informed their choice of
teaching strategies. These, in turn, aimed at reducing heterosexism and homophobia,
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thereby representing an attempt at gradually changing the socio-political climate
surrounding gay and lesbian issues.
What Happens When They Come Out
The experience of the ten teachers interviewed for this study can be summed up
as having been positive overall None of them reported feeling that they had, at any
moment, run the risk of losing their job as a result of their disclosure. In addition, the
negative reactions they did experience came from isolated individuals and only occurred
occasionally.
However few, the negative reactions some of them did experience seem to
account for the feet that the metaphorical concept “coming out as war”—discussed in
Chapter IV—was the most prevalent way in which these teachers conceptualized their
experience metaphorically. Indeed, some students’ use of slurs as a weapon of
homophobia and some adults’(i.e., parents, colleagues and administrators) fear of
recruitment as well as objection to the inclusion of any reference to homosexuality in the
classroom seem to have contributed to these teachers’ perception of some aspects of
their experience in terms of a conflict. Within the framework of the metaphorical
concept of “coming out as war,” this conflict can be said to be territorial. Indeed, as
many wars have been— and still are—fought over issues of land ownership, the conflict
between gay and lesbian teachers and the representatives of a hegemonic hetero sexist
society mainly revolves around the notion of exclusion/inclusion where society
represents the territory to which equal access is being disputed. Having been
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traditionally exchided from mainstream society, gay and lesbian teachers* disclosure may
be seen a way of fighting for inclusion (Le., trying to gain equal access to society)
whereas some students’, parents’, colleagues’ and administrators’ resistance represents
an attempt at reinforcing the process o f exclusion (Le., continuing to deny them equal
access to society).
In addition, consistent with the metaphorical concept of war, the experience of
some of the teachers pointed to the foot that fostering open communication particularly
with parents, colleagues and administrators was an effective way to abort potential
conflicts. Indeed, opposition from parents, colleagues and administrators was sometimes
resolved through a process of negotiations and sometimes fueled by a lack thereof (Le.
Clive’s experience versus Kalhie’s).
On the positive side, while closeted gay and lesbian teachers commonly report
having to cultivate a dual identity and fearing that expressing any interest in gay and
lesbian issues or voicing anti-homophobic opinions might impair their ability to
successfully pass as heterosexual (Grayson, 1987; Griffin, 1992; Woods and Harbeck,
1992), coming out at school had the effect of freeing the ten gay and lesbian teachers in
this study from such considerations. On the contrary, they reported feeling whole and
freer to be more politically involved on campus without having to worry that their
political interest would betray their secret. As a result, many teachers in this study
reported being active on campus in organizations such as straight/gay alliances,
PROJECT 10, and organizing or advertising gay and lesbian proms. In addition, all of
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them reported systematically addressing homophobic behaviors or comments from
students and faculty.
Advice to Other Gav and T.eshian Teachers and Strategies to Reduce H eterosexism and
Hom ophobia
This question was aimed at using the participants’ experience as a source o f
experiential knowledge likely to help other gay and lesbian teachers in their own struggle
with coming out. The participants’ advice took the form of recommendations for
maximizing the success o f one’s coming out at school as well as suggestions of possible
homophobia reduction strategies.
In their recommendations to gay and lesbian teachers contem plating the
possibility of coming out in the classroom, the participants did not advise risk talcing as
a wise approach. Having enjoyed job security themselves, they stressed this factor as
most important. Beyond the issue of employment protection, the bulk of their
recommendations indicated their awareness of the potentially conflictive nature of
coming out at school and therefore stressed the need for preparedness. Here again, their
choice of recommendations illustrated most teachers’ tendency—as discussed in Chapter
IV—to conceptualize some aspects of their coming out experience in terms of the
metaphorical concept “coming out as war.”
First, several teachers strongly suggested practicing coming out several times
(Le., to friends and relatives) before attempting to come out in the classroom. The
rationale behind such a piece of advice seems to be that coming out in school—much as
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preparing for combat—requires going through a training process in order to increase the
individual’s chances o f success. Second, some teachers stressed the importance of
thinking through one’s motivations and goals prior to coming out, thereby pointing to
the feet that a strong co mmitment to a cause might make one a more effective fighter.
Third, some teachers emphasized the power of building alliances and strongly
discouraged gay and lesbian teachers wanting to come out from attempting to go
through the process alone. The participants’ insistence on the value o f securing the
support of allies (Le., building an army of allies) indicated their perception of the process
of coming out as representing a power struggle in which the number o f participants
increases the chances of success. Fourth, it was suggested that making the disclosure
relevant to the curriculum would undermine possible objections as to its appropriateness
in the classroom setting. This approach—akin to a military tactic—functions as a way of
decreasing the effectiveness of the “enemy’s” weapons.
As fer as homophobia reduction strategies were concerned, the participants’
experience seemed to have made them aware—at least intuitively—of the psychological
functions served by homophobia. Indeed, virtually all the strategies they identified as
effective in reducing hetero sexism and homophobia aimed at undermining one of the four
functions of homophobia introduced by Herek (1984, 1986, 1987, 1991). Although the
participants advocated the need to undermine each one of the four functions, a greater
number of strategies aim ing at reducing value expressive homophobia were suggested.
This might be an indication that gay and lesbian teachers, by virtue of their profession,
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feel better equipped to engage in a process of challenging values through dialogue. In
addition, it might also indicate their perceptions of deeply held beliefs as the main source
of resistance to their presence in the classroom.
Further Thoughts
My interaction with the participants’ experience, first during the interviews and,
subsequently, through repeated readings of the transcripts, has led me to reflect on two
additional issues related to the process of coming out in the classroom which did not
figure prominently in the participants’ account of their own experience. First, what
limitations does the socio-political constraints of an academic setting impose on openly
gay or lesbian teachers? Second, should we, as gay and lesbian teachers, welcome or
refute the claim that we are “promoting homosexuality?”
dom ing Out in the Classroom : Queering the Classroom or Mainstreaming the Queer?
One of the reasons why gay and lesbian teachers’ disclosure of their sexual
orientation in the classroom is perceived as threatening by many has to do with the
potential of their openly gay and lesbian presence in the classroom to be transformative:
compulsory heterosexuality risks being challenged and the content of what goes on in the
classroom has a potential of not only being de-(hetero)sexualized but also becoming
(homo)sexualized. As a result, K-12 teachers are more likely to be accepted—or at least
“tolerated”—if their presence in the classroom is not perceived as pushing too far the
limits of the socially acceptable. Therefore, I would argue that K-12 teachers’ successful
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coming out in the classroom is contingent upon their being perceived as “mainstream” at
least in their appearance.
None o f the teachers in this study had a physical appearance which would be
considered “transgressive” or even going beyond the socially accepted variations in
gender expression. Tyler reported one of her students congratulating her on the feet that
she was “so regular.” He complained to her about his having lived in San Francisco and
having been exposed to gays and lesbians who, presumably, did not fit his definition of
“regular.” His compliment, “It’s an honor to know you” carried the implication that her
“regular” appearance somehow acted as a redeeming quality.
My intent is not to imply that as gays and lesbians it is our duty to express our
sexual orientation through recognizable and transgressive physical representations or that
any gay or lesbian who does not exhibit such visible signs is necessarily repressing them.
Nor do I wish to convey that being mainstream is or should be incompatible with being
gay or lesbian or that a “mainstream” appearance precludes one from being a radical
activist. Rather, the point I wish to make is that the gays and lesbians who offer the
least amount of recognizable “difference” are the ones most likely to come out
successfully in a K-12 school setting. Others who use their bodies as sexual text and
perform their sexual orientation more visibly would not be as easily accepted, were they
allowed in the classroom at alL
Thus, whether forced or spontaneous, adherence to mainstream expectations
regarding what is acceptable behavior remains a condition to being accepted as openly
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gay or lesbian. Therefore, in response to the question posed in the heading of this
section, I would argue that coming out in K-12 classrooms achieves a little bit of both.
On the one hand, because coming out in K-12 school settings still represent a risk and
because openly gay and lesbian teachers are still a minority within a minority, these
teachers can be said to have performed a subversive act and to have brought a queer
dimension to their classroom, that is to say they have used their marginalized sexuality to
challenge the (hetero)sexual order deeply embedded in all social institutions. On the
other hand, in order to be allowed in the classroom, openly gay and lesbian K-12
teachers are forced—regardless of whether they wish to or not—to present their sexual
identity in a way that remains within the limits of the socially acceptable.
Promoting F T o m o sp Ynalftv should We Refute it or Claim it?
From the moment that gay and lesbian activism broke the silence which bad been
imposed on gays and lesbians, their voices have been perceived by some as
inappropriately loud: “The love that dared not speak its name now can’ t seem to keep its
mouth shut” (Time, October 31, 1969, pp. 56-57, cited in D’entremont, 1996, p. 2145).
However, nowhere have gay and lesbian voices—or even the voices of straight allies—
been more threatening than in classrooms.
One of Anita Bryant’s arguments during her successful 1978 “Save Our Children
Campaign” in Florida was that homosexuals need to recruit because they cannot
reproduce. This argument has been used repeatedly in one form or another as part of the
anti-gay rhetoric of what D’entremont (1996) calls the “Theocratic Right” (p. 215).
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According to such an argument, promoting homosexuality is equated to recruiting.
Consequently, gay and lesbian teachers who want to be open about their sexuality have
often been accused of promoting homosexuality in the classroom and of actively
recruiting their students to a “homosexual lifestyle.” Although there is some data
indicating that the presence of gays and lesbians does not encourage children to
“become” homosexual (Falk, 1989; Green, M andeL, Hotvedt, Gray & Smith, 1986, cited
in Herek, 1991, p. 70), it has not been sufficient to debunk the myth of recruitment
which has proven a powerful way to keep gay and lesbian teachers, at best in the
classroom closet and, at worst, literally out of the classroom. As a result, gays and
lesbians who want to be teachers and out at school have often taken it upon themselves
to refute the argument, thereby lending validity to it. As Haggerty (1995) explains:
As a community, we seem in a certain sense to have accepted
the terms that the hegemonic culture, which labels “promotion”
any discussion of homosexuality that is not homophobic, has set
for this discussion. We argue, that is, that we do not, would not
promote homosexuality and that our teaching is unaffected by
our sexual orientation, (p. 12)
As gay and lesbian teachers, we need to re-appropriate the term “promotion” in
order to challenge its meaning by qualifying what is to be understood by it. As Haggerty
(1995) argues, “the phrase we have heard used against us in so many contexts should
become our rallying cry” (p. 12). In addition, we need to acknowledge the feet that our
straight allies also expose themselves to accusations of “promotion” whenever they
address gay and lesbian issues in their class. Therefore, how can we, as gay and lesbian
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teachers, rightfully claim that all teachers—regardless of their sexual orientation—have a
professional responsibility to “promote” acceptance o f sexual diversity?
First, inherent to the teaching profession is the promotion of knowledge. By
refusing to participate in the eradication of any references to homosexuality from the
curriculum and from classroom interactions and by providing students with accurate
information about homosexuality, teachers are indeed fulfilling their duty as promoters of
knowledge. As Adams and Emery (1994) point out, “people in the business of
increasing knowledge shouldn’ t participate in hiding the feet that there are lesbians [and
gay men] in the world” (p. 26).
Second, many school districts are beginning to support the promotion o f respect
for cultural differences which are progressively becoming an integral part of students’
daily experience in the most populated parts of the country. Ouellett (1996) states that,
[ijnitially, [multicultural education] emphasized acceptance of
cultural heritage and acceptance of cultures other than one’s
own. More recently, its goals have also been to address and
reduce prejudice [italics added], to develop a pedagogy that
encourages equity [italics added] and to empower a school
culture and social culture that assures the success o f all [italics
added], (p. 279)
Few would argue that addressing and reducing prejudice, encouraging equity and
assuring the success of all are not desirable goals for any educator. Within such a
pedagogical project, “promoting” homosexuality can be presented as a way to promote
muhiculturalism and the development of ethics aimed at creating a socially just school
setting and, by extension, a socially just community.
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Third, teachers have a responsibility to provide each and every student with an
equally meaningful academic and social experience. Yet at present, most educational
institutions fail to meet the needs of gay and lesbian students (Fassinger, 1993; Grayson,
1987; Morrow, 1997; Rofes, 1989; Sears, 1991, 1992; Stein, 1988; Uribe and Harbeck,
1992; Woods and Harbeck, 1992). Indeed, gay and lesbian students themselves have
expressed their need for support from gay and lesbian educators (Herr, 1997; Malinsky,
1997). In addition, some students who do not yet identify as gay or lesbian go through
school unsure of their sexual identity and lacking accurate information about sexual
orientation (Harris and Bliss, 1997). As gay and lesbian teachers, we represent a
valuable resource to our gay and lesbian students (Rofes, 1989). By our visible presence,
our support, and our willingness to address gay and lesbian issues, we stand to provide
them with some of the tools which will help them to embrace their gay and lesbian
identity in a social context which discourages it. “For gay identity can undoubtedly be
promoted, in circumstances where homosexual desire might otherwise have little
opportunity of providing the ground for an integrated sense of self’ (Watney, 1994, p.
173). Indeed, as Haggerty (1995) points out,
As gay and lesbian faculty members, we have a duty to give our
gay and lesbian students—all our students, really—the tools they
need to achieve a sexual identity in a society that is determined
to make that identity an impossibility. That duty includes being
open about our own sexuality, of course; it also means being
open to the sexualities of texts and the sexualities of our
students, (p. 12)
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Moreover, teachers can challenge the wid^P1 6 8 ^ belief that same sex eroticism
represents a social danger by pointing out the var*038 wuy8 which the development of
a genuine appreciation for «*vnal diversity could yield positive social benefits (Williams,
1992).
Thus, I would argue that we should not le* the claim that we are “promoting
homosexuality” carry the weight of an accusation hut, instead, claim it as the duty of all
teachers. In addition, we need to acknowledge tb3 1 we>38 8aY aud lesbian teachers, can
make an especially effective contribution by being ou* a* school. In other words, we
need to assert the feet that gay and lesbian teachef8 38 we^ 38 their straight allies are
indeed “promoting” hnmnsmmality as a way to promote knowledge and respect for
diversity and as part of their attempt at meeting tl1 3 emotional and psychological needs of
their gay and lesbian students. Besides, “if we do n° t promote homosexuality in the
classroom, we are surely prom oting heterosexuality- And hi our culture that is merely
redundant” (Haggerty, 1995, p. 12).
Recommendations fo1 " Further Research
As any exploratory endeavor, this study raised a certain number of questions
which remain unanswered and point toward a nee^ ^ or further research. Some of these
questions are based on differences between the findings o f my pilot study (Martmossi,
1997) and the present study, others were raised bf the present study.
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Questions Raised hy Differences Between the Pilot study and the Present study
As I prepared to undertake the present study, I expected the data to point, among
a host of other things, to two particular findings. Since there have been no other studies
on the coming out experience of K-12 gay and lesbian teachers, my expectations
regarding some possible findings for this study rested on the results of my pilot study
(Martino ssi, 1997) for which I interviewed three teachers: two lesbians and a gay man.
First, the pilot study (Martino ssi, 1997) had revealed a striking difference
between the coming out experience o f the participants. The coming out experience of
the two lesbian teachers had been successful whereas that of the gay male teacher had
resulted in job loss. This finding had led me to hypothesize that a gay male might be
perceived as a more threatening presence within a school setting. I approached the
present study with the expectation that the participants’ experience would shed more
light on this issue. However, the present study did not yield the same result. There was
no noticeable difference in the responses from either students, parents, colleagues and/or
administrators which could be argued to have been based on biological sex or on gender
differences. Instead, male and female participants reported receiving strikingly similar
type of responses as discussed in chapter V. Therefore, more research is needed in order
to answer the following questions: Are gay men more stigmatized than lesbians in school
settings? Are they perceived as more threatening? How do gender, sexism and
homophobia interact to shape people's reaction to a teacher's disclosure of his/her
homosexuality? Are lesbian teachers more easily accepted because women's sexuality
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170
has traditionally been denied— and therefore assumed non-existent— whereas men are seen
as— and expected to be— highly sexual?
Second, the pilot study (Martinossi, 1997) also indicated a difference between
reactions from minority parents (no negative reactions) as opposed to white upper
middle class parents (strong negative reactions). This had led me to wonder whether the
difference was an indication o f greater homophobia among white upper middle class
parents or whether the greater political power enjoyed by white upper middle class
parents as opposed to the marginalized status of minority parents had allowed the former
to voice their objections to the presence of a gay teacher at their children’s school and
prevented the latter from doing so. Again, this discrepancy was not reflected in the
present study. Although some of the participants taught in schools catering to minority
students and others in schools catering essentially to upper middle class students, they all
reported similar types of responses to their coming out. Further research will be needed
to determine the different factors influencing parents’ homophobic reactions. One area
to investigate might be whether ethnicity and class have any impact on the level of
homophobia exhibited by parents.
Questions Raised hv the Present Study
First, some of the participants favored an indirect way of coming out whereas
others came out through a declarative statement. Although the data in this study did not
indicate that one approach was preferable to the other, the declarative statement “I am
gay/lesbian” to a group o f students does seem more likely than an indirect approach to
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171
remove the possibility of doubt and to render more difficult any refusal to acknowledge a
teacher's sexual orientation. More research is needed to investigate the effects of an
indirect approach versus a declarative statement. For instance, are teachers who come
out indirectly and teachers who come out through a declarative statement perceived as
equally out by their students? If they are, does each approach have similar or different
effects on students' reactions? If they are not perceived as equally out, how does the
difference impact the effectiveness of the disclosure?
Second, none of the participants in this study reported feeling that their coming
out might not have been equally beneficial to all students. However, Khayatt (1997)
raises several issues regarding the potentially negative impact of coming out. More
research is needed to determine whether gay and lesbian teachers' disclosure of their
sexual orientation to their students is indeed harmful to some students and what
legitimate pedagogical concerns this might raise.
Third, although all the teachers reported having a good rapport with their
students, some differences were reported in terms of students’ negative reactions. Some
teachers reported absolutely no harassment from students after their coming out while
others reported some. In addition, the teachers who reported experiencing some
harassment from students indicated that it had come sporadically and only from a few
students. What are the factors which prompt some students to harass and prevent others
from doing so? Is the feet that some teachers experienced some harassment while others
did not due to the type of student/teacher relationships established prior to the
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172
disclosure? More research investigating the nature of student/teacher relationships
existing prior to disclosure might help answer some o f these questions.
Fourth, as I mentioned earlier, the motivations expressed by closeted teachers for
wanting to be out, and openly gay and lesbian teachers for having come out, are
essentially the same. Consequently, do job security and geographical location (Le.,
school located in an urban rather than a rural area and in a more progressive part of the
country) ultimately carry the most weight in gay or lesbian teacher’s decision to come
out or are there other factors which were not apparent in this study? In order to answer
this question, studies similar to this one need to be conducted with openly gay and
lesbian teachers who live and work in more conservative parts of the country, in rural
rather than urban settings where they are not automatically guaranteed job protection by
their school district.
Finally, the participants in this study suggested ten homophobia reduction
strategies which they deemed effective. All of these strategies aimed at undermining one
of Herek’s (1984,1986,1987, 1991) functional model o f homophobia: experiential-
schematic homophobia, social expressive homophobia, value expressive homophobia and
defensive homophobia. With Herek’s functional model as a framework, we need to
develop a more extensive database of homophobia reduction strategies to be used in
school settings. To that end, more research is needed in order to investigate what other
strategies are used by gay and lesbian and to determine which are most effective and
why.
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173
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APPENDIX A
Interview Checklist
Interviewee:__________________
Interview# _ _ _
Date: / /
1. Personal and educational background:
Where did you grow up?
Family SES?
Educational background?
Personal feelings on educational experience as a gay/lesbian student?
Professional history as a teacher?
Personal views of role as a teacher?
2. Realization of homosexuality and personal coming out process.
What age?
Where did you live?
Problems growing up gay (family, friends, school)?
At what age did you first come out?
To whom?
What context?
Any particular reasons? (circumstances or choice)
Reaction of family and friends? (support or antagonism)
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3. Decision to come out in the classroom:
Description of work place at time of coming out? (students/
administration/ location of school/numbers of years employed there)
Overall motivations?
Strongest motivation?
Personal view on relationship between sexuality and role as a teacher?
Was it an easy/difficult decision? what made it so?
Fears of outcome?
Expectations of outcome?
Out to administration and co-workers before student?
Any particular event, factor prompted the decision? (personal, work
related, political conviction, support from co-workers, support of
administration)
4. Coming out experience:
a. First time:
Type o f student (age, ethnic, SES)?
Type o f class (subject)?
Describe context, how did it happen?
Choice or circumstance, if choice why this particular moment and
particular group of students?
Feelings while disclosing?
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Expectations while disclosing?
Student's reactions? (support, animosity, both?)
b. Subsequent coming out experiences with other classes:
Always with same types of students?
Always the same type of class?
Usually due tc circumstances or choice? If choice, was it always for the
same reasons? If circumstances, was it always the same ones?
How would you compare your feelings while coming out the first time
with the following times? Always the same? If different, how and why?
Were the students' reactions always the same? why, why not?
c. After the disclosure:
Any specific fears?
Any specific expectations?
How would you describe how you felt?
Do you think it changed your rapport with the students? In what way?
Do you think it had an impact of the teaching/learning experience?
Do you think it had an impact on the school? (co-workers /
administration)
Do you think it had an impact on the community?
5. Personal reflections on the experience
How has your decision to come out in the classroom affected you?
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185
Has it changed the way you view yourself as a teacher?
According to you, what are the advantages to coming out in the
classroom?
According to you, what are the drawbacks?
What do you think is (are) the strongest arguments in favor of coming
out the classroom?
Do you consider yourself an activist? Why?
Did you consider yourself an activist before your coming out? How has
your perception of yourself as an activist been affected by your coming
out?
What would be your advice to a gay or lesbian teacher contemplating
the possibility of coming out to his/her students?
In what ways do you see your experience benefiting other gay/lesbian
teachers.
According to you, what strategies are most effective for teachers to
reduce heterosexism and homophobia with students,
colleagues/administrators, and parents.
Anything I haven’t asked that you would like to add?
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186
APPENDIX B
Informed Consent
This study seeks to explore the coming out experience of gay and lesbian
teachers. The purpose ofthis research is to gain a better understanding of the nature
of this experience. As a participant in this research, you will be asked questions
designed to gather information about various aspects of your personal coming out
experience in the classroom. The interview will last approximately 2 to 3 hours and
will be audio tape-recorded. In some cases, it might be necessary to schedule a second
interview at a later date.
In a few weeks, you will be sent a copy of the written transcription of your
interview. At that time, you will be asked to read this transcript carefully and to add,
delete, or correct anything that you perceive as an inaccurate reflection of your
experience. You will then be asked to send the revised version of your transcript back
to the researcher (a self-addressed stamped envelop will be provided to that effect).
Your confidentiality will be strictly protected by the researcher throughout the
study as well as after its completion. You will be asked to choose a pseudonym which
will then be used to identify you throughout the written version of the transcripts and
the dissertation. If you do not have a preferred pseudonym, the researcher will
automatically assign one. All interview audio tapes will be transcribed by the
researcher himself and securely stored in his home.
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187
Your participation in this research remains at all time voluntary. Thus, you are
free to withdraw from the research process at any time. Should you decide to do so,
the researcher will destroy all data pertaining to you (Le., audio tapes, written
transcripts, computer files).
Should you have any question about your participation in this study, you may
contact Alain Martinossi by phone at (213) 848-7742 or by mail at 1215 N. Hayworth
Ave. #209 West Hollywood, CA 90046. You may also contact the University Park
Institutional Review Board, University of Southern California, at (213) 743-6781.
After the completion of the research project, the researcher will welcome the
opportunity to discuss his findings with any interested participant.
Faculty Supervisor
Student Researcher
I have been informed as to the nature of this research project and I agree to
participate of my own free will. I agree that Alain Martinossi may use information
that I share with him as data in his PhD. dissertation in Education. I consent to allow
him to quote statements of mine and make commen ts of an analytical nature regarding
the content of my interview. I understand that he will change any identifying data so as
to render it impossible for a reader to identify me but that he will maintain the accuracy
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188
of such demo graphical data as age, socio-economic status, etc. I understand that I
shall not receive any compensation for participating in this study.
Research Participant
Date: ___
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189
APPENDIX C
Prospectus for Participant Recruitment
Dear Teacher,
My name is Alain Martinossi. I am a doctoral student in the school of education
at the University of Southern California. I am doing research on the coming out
experience of gay and lesbian teachers (K-12). This project starts with myself As a gay
educator, I have been struggling with the issue of coming out in the classroom.
Traditionally, sexuality has had no place in the classroom. Homosexuality has
represented as much, if not more, of a taboo there as anywhere else in society. Because
of homophobia, most of us have been forced to remain invisible and silent in the
classroom where sexuality has remained taboo. Yet more and more gay and lesbian
teachers are taking what still represents a substantial risk and are coming out to their
students. As of today, though, very little is known about the nature of the coming out
experience of primary and secondary school teachers.
This study will be a qualitative analysis of the coming out experience of gay and
lesbian school teachers. First, I wish to gain a better understanding of their subjective
interpretation of the various types of social interactions which have enabled and shaped
their coming out experience in the classroom. Second, I want to explore the impact that
coming out had on all aspects of their lives. Third, I wish to create a space where their
voices can be heard with the hope that their personal stories can become a source of
inspiration to others.
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190
I am looking for self-identified gay and lesbian teachers who are willing to
participate in my study. As a participant in this study, you will be asked to take part in a
ape-recorded interview during which I will ask you questions about (1) your educational
and professional background, (2) your personal coming out process to friends and
family, (3) your motivations behind your decision to come out in the classroom, (4) the
various aspects of your coming out experience in the classroom, and (5) your personal
reflections on your experience.
Your participation is strictly voluntary. I will not be able to pay you for
participating in this study but I will send you a copy of your transcript and will be happy
to discuss the findings with you if you are interested. If you have any questions, please
feel free to call me at (213) 848-7742. You may also contact the University of Southern
California University Park Institutional Review Board at (213) 740-6709 if you need
more information on the conditions of your participation in this study.
If you think you might be interested in participating, please contact me at (213)
848-7742 or by email: martinos@scf.usc.edu. Thank you for your help.
Alain Martinossi
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191
APPENDIX D
Participants' Profile
Name Gender Age Race
Ethnicity
Subjects)
taught
Years
Teaching
School
Level
Alex Male 33 White All 7 Elementary
Betty Female 29 Latina All 6 Elementary
Brian Male 57 White Sociology
U.S. History
Basic Living
skills
30 Middle school
Clive Male 34 White Science
Health Ed.
12 Middle school
Edward Male 22 African
American
Biology 2 High school
George Male 59 White English
Speech
Drama
35 High school
Katfaie Female 38 White Physical Ed. 10 Middle school
Kurt Male 31 White American
Government
History
AIDS Ed.
6 High school
Larry Male 34 Latino Math 4 High School
Tyler Female 34 White Math
Biology
Health Ed.
1 1 High School
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Fax: 716/288-5989
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Asset Metadata

Creator Martinossi, Alain Eugene (author)

Core Title A qualitative analysis of ten K-12 gay and lesbian teachers' coming out experience in the classroom

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, curriculum and instruction,education, sociology of,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor MacGillivray, Laurie (committee chair), Williams, Walter (committee member), Yaden, David (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c17-389750

Unique identifier UC11350788

Identifier 9919081.pdf (filename),usctheses-c17-389750 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 9919081.pdf

Dmrecord 389750

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Martinossi, Alain Eugene

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA