“I Think it Would Be a Very Sensitive Topic …” School Social Work, Gender Variance, and the Silencing of Differences

Abstract

This article discusses an “orientational” study of the perceptions of school social workers regarding gender-variant students and the impact of their presence on the discourse about gender identity. The findings indicate that gender-variant students are becoming more known and visible in public schools but that they do not make up a homogeneous group. Moreover, the study seems to show that the discourse about gender remains extremely limited, in part due to a linking of gender identity with sexuality.

Keywords::

• School social work
• gender variance
• gender binary
• heteronormativity
• queer theory
• silencing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For their guidance with the research on which this article is based, the author thanks the members of his dissertation committee: Laura Hopson, Loretta Pyles, and Deborah May. Thanks also to Aaron Rosenblatt for comments on an earlier draft of this article.