Dancing Queer Tango: An Experience of Queer Pedagogy in PESTE

Abstract

Purpose: The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, and queer/questioning students normally occupy a marginalized and at-risk position in classes and especially in physical education. In this paper, the authors explore the ways in which queer tango can contribute to counteracting heteronormativity and opening up students to new interactions and identifications through the performance of different gender performances in Physical Education and Sport Tertiary Education. Method: A queer tango session was carried out with 111 university students (91 men and 19 women aged 19–22 years). Data were obtained from interviews, video records, and open questionnaires about the practice. Results: The findings reveal that the performance of dance roles that are contrary to the heteronormative order reinforced both heteronormativity and queer embodiments in Physical Education and Sport Tertiary Education. Conclusion: An isolated activity is not enough, and more queer pedagogical practices should be introduced in order to make meaningful changes to mainstream students’ ideology and behaviors.

Binary and non-binary trans students’ experiences in physical education: A systematic review

“…Students and teachers may also transform PE and create contexts in which diversity could flourish. PE teachers, in particular, can play an important role in facilitating this process by proposing non-stereotypical movements and queer practices that help to counterbalance power relations and the binary gender system on which heteronormativity is based (Forestier and Larsson, 2023; Pereira-García et al, 2022). The presence of trans students in schools could also offer a great opportunity to counteract heteronormativity and make other gender variants visible (Fuentes-Miguel et al, 2022).…”

“…In this context, PE is not only the perfect scenario to favour heteronormativity reproduction, but can also be a place for resistance and challenge. For instance, the curriculum provides opportunities for challenging this gender order when it goes beyond sport-based content and alternative activities such as dance or aesthetic practices are introduced (Devís- Devís et al, 2018;Pereira-García et al, 2022). Students and teachers may also transform PE and create contexts in which diversity could flourish.…”

LGBTIQ+ education for making teaching inclusive? Voices of teachers from all around the world

“…Similarly, Keenan and Hot Mess [16] reflect on how queer pedagogy can be integrated within early childhood education by proposing the idea of "drag pedagogy", a performative approach to queer pedagogy that celebrates queer imagination among young students and promotes play for learning, aesthetic transformation, and destigmatization of shame. On their part, Pereira-García et al [17] dig into the application of queer pedagogy in physical education at university, showing how this pedagogy combined with dancing can reinforce queer embodiment (i.e., the visible awareness and the expression of queer bodies and identities) in sports education, an environment where LGBTIQ+ students often occupy a marginalized and at-risk position.…”