When Dennis Carlson wrote this article I think he really wanted to point out that there is a lack of education about homosexuality in public schools. In the beginning he essentially talks about S.C.W.A.A.M.P. and how people who do not fit into this category are viewed as deviant. He also says that we need to help white men become more acceptant of homosexuals because they are the ones that can relate to them the least, due to their white privilege. I can honestly say that the first place I ever learned about homosexuality was in the media and it was not a positive representation. From prior experiences along with reading this article, I am extremely aware of how society reacts to homosexuality and that is with fear and misunderstanding.
Homosexuality is virtually non existent in the school curriculum because the community makes sure of it. We have all been brought up in a society where anything outside the norm is wrong and weeded out. Carlson says “At the level of state educational policy, it is noteworthy that no state currently recognizes gays and lesbians as a legitimate minority or cultural groups to be considered in textbook adoption or to be included in multicultural education…” One of the only times that teachers talk about gays and lesbians is in relation to HIV and AIDS. Is that why most people become homophobic? Do people all grow up thinking that this gay minority only spreads sexually transmitted diseases? The answer to that is yes because no one knows any better or has been exposed to sources that tell them otherwise. There is also the factor of alienation that goes along with discrimination to consider. Young people grow up in a world that does not give them the opportunity to find their true identity if it is outside the cultural norm. They are forced to hide who they truly are so that they will not be socially isolated. Not to mention gay teachers have the added burden of supporting student differences without outing themselves. Within the school system teachers who are homosexuals are under major scrutiny because parents feel as if they are a threat to the students. Again, this links back to homosexuality and AIDS.
Personally I think the media has done a wonderful job with this societal dilemma. The only thing that I would change is how gays and lesbians are always stereotypical. The best example I can think of is the show Will and Grace. The gay males in this movie are wealthy as well as white. They always dress extremely well, live in meticulously clean apartments, and act in a feminine way. With lesbians I feel as if there are two extremes; butch and masculine or sexy and wild. What about people of different races who are gay? Where do they fit in? There needs to be something for people who do not know where they fit in and have no one to talk to about it. Carlson says the process “involves the constitution of a whole network of support services and organizations designated to help individuals come out in a supportive environment and participate in the gay community”. He also talks about how gay individuals need to be reminded that they are not “full of sin and sickness, that they are doomed to dress as transvestites, molest children, hate the opposite sex, or contract AIDS”. The community needs to be educated enough to make this possible. Introducing homosexuality in schools would take some time but evoke understanding. With that knowledge future generations can become more accepting and in turn would make more gay organizations possible. This reminds me of Delpit when she says that this is the way things are not the way she thinks they should be.
“But we have a responsibility as public educators in a democratic society to engage them in a dialogue in which all voices get heard or represented and in which gay students and teachers feel free to “come out” and find their own voices”. We all know what we can do to change the way things are when we become educators but we just need the courage and strength to do it.
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