The Heteronormative Classroom: Questioning and Liberating Practices

Is This the Right Elementary School for My Gender Nonconforming Child?

“…They included a series of activities that Downloaded by [Tulane University] at 06:01 03 January 2015 challenged educators to think about gender as a continuum, rather than a binary, and to recognize gender as a social construction (Slesaransky-Poe & García, 2009). In addition, the presentations provided examples that questioned the gender-normative and heteronormative assumptions and practices of schools and society more generally (García & Slesaransky-Poe, 2010;Slesaransky-Poe & García, 2009). …”

Making the Case for LGBT Graphic Novels

“…Garcia and Slesaransky-Poe (2010) posit that there are two main positions educators may employ in their classrooms: facilitative or obstructive (p. 251). Facilitative teachers act more positively toward LGBT individuals, and embrace a non-traditional view of gender roles and identities (p. 251).…”

Why can't we just play ball? An exploration of how collegiate female athletes experience traditional gender norm expectations

“…how they define what constitutes "normal behavior" (Garcia & Slesaransky-Poe, 2010;Kolnes, 1995;Krane, 2001;Mean & Kassing, 2008). Society reinforces gender expectations beginning as early as grade school.…”

“…Sexual orientation refers to the sex of those to whom one is attracted to in a sexual or romantic manner (American Psychological Association, 2011). These expectations originate from societally socialized norms taught beginning at birth (Garcia & Slesaransky-Poe, 2010). For example, the messages and assumptions that female athletes learn about gender norms and expectations stem from a variety of social influences including family members, teammates, coaches, and the media (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).…”

“…Gender norms play a pivotal role in our society by creating assumptions about how men and women should behave. In American society, we receive messages about gender and sex beginning at a young age that teach us that men and women have different characteristics and expectations (Garcia & Slesaransky-Poe, 2010). People often use the terms gender and sex in a way that assumes a binary order to these constructs (i.e.…”