Boxing in our youth : lesbian adolescents speak out about their secondary school experiences
Date
1996
Authors
MacLeod, Phyllis Ann
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Abstract
Four lesbian adolescents (ages 18-20) were interviewed to learn their thoughts, opinions and experiences within secondary school. This study is qualitative in nature stemming from a feminist perspective. The interviews were informal and unstructured, organised around specific themes. My personal experience was also incorporated into the study through the use of journal entries.
The students in this research indicated that schools were not safe nor supportive environments for them as lesbians. Throughout their schools there was a general hostility toward homosexuality. Specifically homosexuality was ridiculed by students and was often linked with disease in sex education classes. Their school libraries did not carry books with lesbian content and if they did, the books were not accessible to lesbians
The school system has a responsibility to meet the needs of all students. Silence around lesbian issues can produce and perpetuate a hostile environment for lesbian students. Teachers can create a supportive environment through the opening of dialogue and by preventing/discouraging homophobic name-calling. As an invisible minority with little opportunity for positive discourse, these young women appreciated and needed teachers to take a stand against homophobia in the classrooms and hallways of their schools.