The pedagogy of ‘coming out’
Teacher identity in a critical literacy course
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22335705 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Navan Govender (0000-0001-6764-1169, University of the Witwatersrand, corresponding author), Navan N Govender |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 19-41 |
| Publication date | 2017-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Society in Transition (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1028-9852 • E-ISSN: 2072-1978 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/21528586.2016.1222912 |
| OpenAlex | W2612371509 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 25 |
‘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
Aesthetics · Closet · Constructive · Heteronormativity · Human sexuality · Pedagogy · Queer · Sexual identity · Sociology · Transgender · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · History · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
Research Methods in Education
Novel and The Police
The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader
Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence (1980)
Beyond the Closet? The Changing Social Meaning of Homosexuality in the United States
Silence, nostalgia, violence, poverty
Teacher positioning on the teaching of sexual diversity in South African schools
Teaching About Heterosexism
Constructing hegemonic masculinities in South Africa
I'm used to it now’
Overcoming Heterosexism and Homophobia
Critical Reflexivity and Sexuality Studies in Anthropology
The Problem of Coming Out
The Lies We Have Been Told
Sex and Pedagogy
Teaching as a Gay Man
The Sexual Habitus of Transgender Men
Power and Identity
Gendered Heteronormativity
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2025 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |