The pedagogy of ‘coming out’: Teacher identity in a critical literacy course

ABSTRACT

‘Coming out’ as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, queer or asexual is a highly contested issue. In an educational context there are arguments about the role of teachers coming out to students and learners, yet it is still difficult to say decisively whether or not individuals declaring their identity is pedagogically necessary or effective. The decision to come out, or not to come out, relates to ‘the closet’ as an ‘open secret’, where the boundaries between identity and private/public spaces can be negotiated. Using arguments that see the closet as a fixed space associated with shame, fear and falsity, the author seeks to present the closet as a constructive space for identity formation and social negotiation. Such an understanding of the closet is related to how gender is marked and read in socio-cultural context. He then uses these arguments about the closet to explore his own pedagogical decision not to come out in a critical literacy course for pre-service teachers. What emerged from his own ‘open secret’ were three significant conversations with students that brought into question his identity as gay, male, an English lecturer and an academic. An autoethnographic critical reflection of these conversations, in relation to the literature, revealed how students read his identity during lectures, and how these readings initiated concerns about his gendered performance, and his investment in the field. Furthermore, his analysis also considered how his ‘closeted’ identity may have created the space for openly discussing students’ perspectives on sex, gender and sexual diversity.

Keywords:

• critical literacy
• coming out
• gender performance
• teacher identity
• the closet

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Navan N. Govender

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

NAVAN N. GOVENDER is a lecturer of English language and literacy at the Wits School of Education, University ofthe Wiwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.