Sexuality in School

"An intriguing, provocative, and forward-thinking book."—CHOICE

"A refreshing and progressive look at the transformative possibilities of sexuality in school... Anyone who teaches sexuality, or has contemplated doing so, would also benefit from Sexuality in Schools for the wisdom and sense of connection it generates."—Sex Roles: A Journal of Research

From concerns over the bullying of LGBTQ youth and battles over sex education to the regulation of sexual activity and the affirmation of queer youth identity, sexuality saturates the school day. Rather than understand these conflicts as an interruption to the work of education, Jen Gilbert explores how sexuality comes to bear on and to enliven teaching and learning.

Gilbert investigates the breakdowns, clashes, and controversies that flare up when sexuality enters spaces of schooling. Education must contain the volatility of sexuality, Gilbert argues, and yet, when education seeks to limit the reach of sexuality, it risks shutting learning down. Gilbert penetrates this paradox by turning to fiction, film, legal case studies, and personal experiences. What, she asks, can we learn about school from a study of sexuality?

By examining the strange workings of sexuality in schools, Gilbert draws attention to the explosive but also compelling force of erotic life in teaching and learning. Ultimately, this book illustrates how the most intimate of our experiences can come to shape how we see and act in the world.

Jen Gilbert is associate professor in the Faculty of Education at York University, Toronto.

Contents

Introduction: Queer Provocations1. Backward and Forward: Narrating the Queer Child2. There Is No Such Thing as an Adolescent: Sex Education as Taking a Risk3. Histories of Misery: It Gets Better and the Promise of Pedagogy4. Thinking in Sex Education: Between Prohibition and Desire5. Education as Hospitality: Toward a Reluctant Manifesto

AcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex