Synopses & Reviews
Catherine Connells study of gay and lesbian teachers in California and Texas gives the lie to the idea that the closet is no longer relevant in American culture. Because they have often been seen as guardians of morality, teachersparticularly those who transgress gender normsmust carefully negotiate their private and professional identities.
Schools Out vividly documents the difficulties they face in reconciling gay pride and professionalism.”Arlene Stein, Department of Sociology, Rutgers University
Through interviews with and observations of public school teachers in California and Texas, Catherine Connell brilliantly highlights howunder the guise of professionalismgay and lesbian teachers are subject to homophobically motivated discipline and dismissal. Schools Out is a wake-up call, encouraging us to think about how we might queer schools in order to make them safer educational environments for students and teachers alike.”C.J. Pascoe, Department of Sociology, University of Oregon, and Chair, Sex and Gender Section of the American Sociological Association
Catherine Connells fascinating study of teachers classroom experiences with coming out reveals the challenges and opportunities faced by lesbian and gay teachers. This clear and insightful book raises important questions for educators, policy makers, scholars, and activists about what a gay- or queer-friendly school means and which strategies are truly transformative.”M.V. Lee Badgett, author of When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
Review
"A significant addition to the growing list of studies about LGBT issues in the nations classrooms."
Synopsis
How do gay and lesbian teachers negotiate their professional and sexual identities at work, given that these identities are constructed as mutually exclusive, even as mutually opposed? Using interviews and other ethnographic materials from Texas and California, Schools Out explores how teachers struggle to create a classroom persona that balances who they are and whats expected of them in a climate of pervasive homophobia. Catherine Connells examination of the tension between the rhetoric of gay pride and the professional ethic of discretion insightfully connects and considers complicating factors, from local law and politics to gender privilege. She also describes how racialized discourses of homophobia thwart challenges to sexual injustices in schools. Written with ethnographic verve, Schools Out is essential reading for specialists and students of queer studies, gender studies, and educational politics.
About the Author
Catherine Connell is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University.
Table of Contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
1. Pride and Professionalism: The Dilemmas of Gay and Lesbian Teachers
2. Like a Fox Guarding the Henhouse”: The History of LGBTs in the Teaching Profession
3. Splitters, Knitters, and Quitters: Pathways to Identity Making
4. Dangerous Disclosures: The Legal, Cultural, and Embodied Considerations of Coming Out
5. A Bizarre or Flamboyant Character”: Homonormativity in the Classroom
6. Racialized Discourses of Homophobia: Using Race to Predict and Discredit Discrimination
7. From Gay-Friendly to Queer-Friendly: New Possibilities for Schools
Appendix A: Methodology
Appendix B: Interview Schedule for Teachers
Notes
References
Index