Something more to tell you: gay, lesbian or bisexual young people’s experiences of secondary schooling

Abstract

How do young people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual (lgb) experience secondary schooling? How do they feel that questions of sexuality are dealt with in the curriculum and do they find this treatment helpful? This article presents the findings of a project that replicated Trenchard and Warren’s 1984 study, Something to tell you. The findings are analysed and some suggestions are made as to changes in lgb‐identifying people’s experiences of schooling from 1984 to 2001. Finally, the article considers these changes in relation to the question of the ‘effect’ of Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988.

Notes

* Corresponding author: Viv Ellis, Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, 15 Norham Gardens, Oxford OX2 6PY, UK. Email: [email protected]

Section 28 was finally repealed in England and Wales in 2003. The devolved Scottish Parliament had repealed it in 2000.

Two cases in particular came to national prominence in the late 1990s. The first, in 1998, concerned the 15‐year‐old student, Darren Steele, from Staffordshire who committed suicide after a period of intense homophobic bullying in school. As far as is known, Darren never made any sort of public declaration or identification with reference to his sexuality. In the second case, 18‐year‐old James Hudson took the head teacher of his grammar school to court in 1999 for failing to punish another pupil who had broken James’s nose in a homophobic assault. And, in 2000, following the murder of Damilola Taylor, the Guardian, Independent and Telegraph newspapers reported that Damilola had been a victim of homophobic bullying prior to the attack.

For further discussion of queer theory in relation to education and schooling, see the special issue of the Journal of Homosexuality, 45(2/3/4) (2003), especially the articles by Pinar (pp.357–360) and Halberstam (pp. 361–364).

The authors would like to thank the following individuals and organizations who have in various ways supported the research: the University of Brighton Education Research Centre, especially Rachel King, Linda France and Dr Carol Fox, all of whom were involved in the pilot study; Chris Woolls and the Terrence Higgins Trust (South); the University of Southampton Faculty of Social Sciences Research Fund; Lorraine Trenchard; Peter Birmingham, University of Oxford Department of Educational Studies; Dr Rosalyn George, Goldsmith’s College, University of London.

The Terrence Higgins Trust is one of the leading HIV and AIDS charities in the UK. Its key objectives include campaigning and education concerning the personal and social impact of the virus.

For the statutory basis for this approach, see Department for Education (1994); see Epstein & Johnson (1998) for further discussion.

When discussing the ‘effect’ of Section 28 on teachers in the classroom, there has been a popular tendency to focus exclusively on how some socially liberal teachers may have responded or how they feel constrained by this legislation. In the light of our research, we would suggest that this ignores an equally important issue, which is the way in which less committed (to ideals of equality and social justice) or more ‘moral traditionalist’ teachers have responded to the symbolic authority of Section 28.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Viv Ellis *

* Corresponding author: Viv Ellis, Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, 15 Norham Gardens, Oxford OX2 6PY, UK. Email: [email protected]