Reviewed by Kelly L. Dohei

Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Schools have long been a place of normalizing and enforcing heterosexuality. This is accomplished by the silencing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) voices; the absence of LGBTQ lived experience in the classroom and taught curriculum; and the “pathologization of (homo)sexuality and the policing of gender boundaries” (Quinlivan & Town, 1999, p. 510). Combating this systemic exclusion and its damaging effects requires a disruption of how schools are structured and function to reproduce restrictive gender binaries. Queer pedagogy argues that the first step in this disruption is the acknowledgment of its existence—a critical analysis of the normalcy that needs to be unlearned (Britzman as cited in Meiners & Quinn, 2012, p. 292).

    Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality is a practical 

embodiment of queer pedagogy.  Editors Annika 

Butler-Wall, Kim Cosier, Rachel L. S. Harper, Jeff Sapp, 

Jody Sokolower, and Melissa Bollow Tempel thoughtfully 

compose a guide to educating in a manner that aims to 

produce a world where gender roles are not enforced, 

where LGBTQ voices are present throughout the 

curriculum, where sexuality is discussed positively and 

inclusively, and where LGBTQ educators are embraced 

as role models.  The editors accomplish this effectively 

through approachable articles by a variety of educators 

and parents. Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality is 

wide in scope. It does not assume that readers possess 

background knowledge on the topics outlined and is 

deliberately explanative as a result. It serves as a fantastic 

resource for teachers, preservice teachers, parents, and 

anyone concerned with the progression of social justice 

for primary and secondary students.

    The intentionality of Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality is made evident through the structure of the book. There are six thematically organized chapters:  “Introduction,” “Our Classrooms,” “Our Curriculum,” “When Teachers Come Out,” “Beyond the Classroom,” and “Teacher Education, Continuing Education.” Each chapter consists of independent articles written by teachers, parents, academics, and activists.  The dialogue is easy to digest, there are pictures and illustrations, and the contributors have purposely avoided abstract academic language. A glossary is included to explain nuanced differences between terms relating to gender and sexuality. The book is designed as an introductory guide on how to improve LGBTQ relations in the education system, interwoven with the history of sexism and its implications on contemporary gender relations for all students.

    The primary strength of Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality is its practicality.  Included in the book are discussions of the importance of queering the curriculum in order to combat the internalized homophobia taught to students. Freedom from sexism and gender roles is necessary for LBGTQ students’ safety and well-being and is liberating for all students. Practical strategies for the implementation of these ideas are provided throughout the book. For example, in “It’s OK to Be Neither,” Tempel discusses her experiences as an elementary school teacher and provides tested strategies for making the classroom an inclusive and safe space for exploring gender fluidity:  use engaging questions (i.e., “Cats or dogs?”), rather than gender, to divide

students into groups and use neutral terms (i.e., “students” rather than “boys and girls”) to address students (p. 60). In another article, Sokolower provides an “Identity Poster” worksheet that can be used to facilitate a discussion of accepting difference (p. 272). Finally, Cosier explains a “Bias Goggles” exercise, useful for secondary and undergraduate students, as a tangible strategy for helping students view text from a critical perspective (p. 372). These strategies serve as powerful tools for fostering inclusive classrooms.

    Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality is a fantastic practical resource for educators.  The book is successfully intersectional with attention to race, class, sexuality, and gender identity in the United States of America. Unfortunately, the stories presented do not acknowledge the geographical privilege inherent in sharing them. The chapter “When Teachers Come Out” outlines seven stories of coming out as an LGBTQ

teacher, each with an ultimately positive resolution. All of the seven contributors are located in metropolitan areas in California, New York, or Massachusetts. The reality is that the ability to come out as an LGBTQ educator and have it be a positive experience is one only those located in progressive cities are privileged to experience. Educators located in rural areas risk jeopardizing their job security and face both fierce social resistance and a lack of protective policies (Blount, 2005, p. 178). Sapp explains that it was difficult to choose only a few stories because hundreds were submitted, some with struggles of racism and oppression even within progressive cities (p. 265).  It would be interesting to explore whether entries were submitted that were not from educators in progressive cities, what these looked like, and why they were omitted.

    Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality takes a social justice orientation to issues of LGBTQ inclusion in education. Discussions are framed in a systemic manner, and editors are cognizant of the damaging impact of individualizing social problems. The book serves as a liberatory call to action for educators—“if not you, who?” (p. 41).  There has never been a time when this call to action has been more pertinent.  LGBTQ students must contend with the isolating effects of invisibility or pathologization in the education system and as a result face crisis levels of suicidal behavior (Ahuja et al., 2015, p. 135). Teaching gender fluidity and sex positivity and incorporating LGBTQ narratives into the curriculum and classroom, as outlined and exemplified in Rethinking Gender, Sexism, and Sexuality, is a way to combat this ongoing crisis. All students deserve to feel safe, represented, and liberated from restrictive gender binaries rooted in sexism. Rethinking Gender, Sexism, and Sexuality, with its many strengths and few weaknesses, provides a practical introductory guide to dismantling

the pseudo-neutrality of silence that still precludes equality in primary and secondary schools.

References

Ahuja, A., Webster, C., Gibson, N., Brewer, A., Toledo, S., & Russell, S. (2015). Bullying and suicide: The mental

     health crisis of LGBTQ youth and how you can help. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 19(2), 125–

    144. doi:10.1080/19359705.2015.1007417

Blount, J. M. (2005). Fit to teach: Same-sex desire, gender, and school work in the twentieth century. Albany,

    NY: State University of New York Press.

Meiners, E. R., & Quinn, T. (Eds.). (2012). Sexualities in education: A reader. New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Quinlivan, K., & Town, S. (1999). Queer pedagogy, educational practice and lesbian and gay youth. International

    Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 12(5), 509–524. doi:10.1080/09518399923926

Notes on contributor:

Kelly L. Dohei is a master’s degree student in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at

the University of Alberta. Her area of interest is positive, inclusive, and comprehensive sexual

health education.