Dennis Carlson - Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community

Reading this article was difficult at times because it brought up some hard topics. There were some points that I felt were a little dated especially since this is from 1997 but a lot of the issues still have some point to them in our culture today. Ultimately this article made me think about how much more we need to accomplish to make life for everyone easier, and that sexual orientation is not a reason to discriminate against. Here are some quotes that I felt helped in the objective of Carlson's points in this article.

"...analysis needs to proceed through an account of the specific techniques and apparatuses of power have been employed in the school to keep gayness 'in its place' as an invisible presence. Three techniques of normalization and (hence) marginalization have been primary importance in this regard: (1) the erasure of gayness in the curriculum, (2) the 'closeting' and 'witch hunting' of gay teachers, and (3) verbal and physical intimidation of gay teachers and students." - Page 236, Paragraph 1

After reading this part of the article it really opened my eyes as to all the obstacles that LGBTQ have gone through just to be themselves. I know that this article is a little dated but it definitely reminds me of issues that happened at my own high school. I had one teacher who was semi-out, in the sense that we all knew but it was never really discussed. Also, for those students that were LGBTQ in the senior class they were not allowed to bring boyfriends/girlfriends to the prom. It just makes you think that these issues still are so relevant in our culture and there are so many people out there who have to go through these obstacles every day.

"The official policy in most school districts is in fact identical to that of the U.S. military, namely: 'Don't ask, don't tell.' Interestingly, while this policy is being challenged by gays in the military, it has not been forcefully challenged by gay teachers in public schools yet, perhaps because they feel (probably rightly so) they could not win if they pushed their case." - Page 238, Paragraph 1

This was hard for me to even imagine, or put myself in the theoretical position to think about this, about not being able to be myself in my place of work. Not only that, but to also know that if I were to be myself and share my thoughts and opinions on certain things with others that it might jeopardize my standing. It is pretty horrendous that this policy is still do this day in effect. I know that currently the military policy is being questioned, but even if it is overturned that doesn't mean that all the previous misconceptions and negative feelings will change.

"A final important technique of power used to keep gayness 'in its place' in the school community has been sanctioning of the verbal and physical intimidation of gay teachers and students... These abuses get tolerated because gay teachers and students operate in an environment where they feel afraid to stand up for themselves, and because any discussion of gay people continues to be absent in the curriculum so that homophobia is not interrogated." - Page 239, Paragraph 1

This was sad to read especially since in most cases it is still true, that many gay teachers and students feel that they cannot stand up for themselves because it might cause more ridicule. To this day there is still violence against the LGBTQ population and even though there has been some progress made in preventative measures it still is not enough.

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