Mayberry, 2011). As a result, heteronormativity is either not recognised, ignored or addressed by school authority. This provides a guide to what is a socially acceptable way to behave for students, with heteronormativity becoming a substrate on which homophobia builds (Chenneville et al., 2011). With increased bullying and marginalisation, LGB students are much less likely to reveal themselves as non-heterosexual, leading to greater rates of isolation, and less self-esteem. Passive silencing is rooted
Coming Out “Coming out” is a means of identifying one’s sexual orientation as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. At its most basic, “coming out of the closet,” means being honest with those around you—friends, family, colleagues, and so forth—about your sexual orientation, about whom you are. It also means acknowledging one’s sexual orientation to self. Such disclosure is an ongoing, lifelong process rather than a one-time event. New personal, social, and professional situations require gay men and
question that often finds itself as the focus of curriculum debates and school planning discussions is that of moral and character development. Does character development have a place in our schools? Should public schools take the responsibility of educating students on morality? The answer is complex and has a multitude of sides and opinions. In a way, however, schools already educate students on what to believe and how to behave. By excluding the history of the "other" Americans, such as people of
oppression of many minority groups, is necessary. Lipsitz argues that “Whiteness is everywhere in American culture, but it is very hard to see… ‘white power secures its dominance by seeming not to be anything in particular.’ As the unmarked category against which difference is constructed, whiteness never has to speak its name, never has to acknowledge its role as an organizing principle in social and cultural relations” (Lipsitz 369). Although subtle, my journey to UCLA, and specifically my high school