This month, Marie Lang and Robert Durocher discuss Indigiqueer and Two Spirit Futurities
Thursday January 27 6pm EST/3pm PST
THE EVENT
Indigiqueer & 2S Futurities in Education: A Conversation with Marie Laing & Robert Durocher
Marie Laing and Robert Durocher will discuss how Canada’s Euro-American colonial capitalist ableist cisheteropatriarchal schooling system could be reinvisioned through an Indigiqueer + 2S lens. The talk will invite Marie & Robert to share their thoughts about the role of Land/land, ceremony and youth in Indigiqueer-ing education.
THE SPEAKERS Marie Laing is a queer writer, educator, and youth leader at the Native Youth Sexual Health Network. She is Kanyen’kehá:ka (turtle clan), and her family comes from Six Nations of the Grand River, as well as Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa. She earned her M.A. from the Department of Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Her first book, Urban Indigenous Youth Reframing Two-Spirit (Routledge, 2021), shares the findings of her master’s thesis research — a series of conversations with fellow two-spirit, queer and trans Indigenous young people in Toronto about the term two-spirit.
Robert Durocher (Métis/French) is a gay/queer/indigequeer educator and artist. Currently, he is Centrally Assigned Vice-Principal, Indigenous Education at the Urban Indigenous Education Centre at Toronto District School Board. Previous to this he worked as Instructional Leader, Indigenous Education where he initiated the first Two-Spirit/Indigequeer Pride. Robert worked at York University’s Faculty of Education with arts education and teacher candidates. He enjoy drawing, collage and photography when he has time.
SOGI UBC is inviting current undergraduate and graduate students at Canadian colleges and universities to submit proposals for research-based resources for pre-K to 12 educators related to gender and sexuality. See the Call for Proposals at SOGI.EDUC.UBC.CA
Welcome to Gender. Sexuality. School. a curated information hub for current news, research, books, conferences, and publications about issues of gender, sexuality and schooling.
This month we launch Season 4 Episode 4 of the podcast Gender. Sexuality. School. The Podcast. In the episode I talk to Tyson Seburn who has recently published a book for English as a second/other language teachers called How to Write Inclusive Materials. In the interview Tyson discusses what inclusive English language materials look like and what English language teachers and curriculum writers need to consider.
Season 4-Episode 4-Teaching Gender and Sexuality in English as a Second/Other Language Education
Review of How to Write Inclusive Materials
Review by Bronwyn Garden-Smith
Tyson Seburn’s new book, How to Write Inclusive Materials, is an imperative resource for all English Language Teachers (ELTs): those who teach the English to speakers of another language. What works magnificently about the book is that all ELTs can benefit from it, no matter how much or little they may know about using their pedagogy to seek justice and equity for all.
For ELTs who are newer to inclusivity concepts, who want to learn more about how they can change ELT materials to make everyone feel welcome and represented, but who aren’t sure where to begin, Seburn’s work will feel accessible and comprehensible because he builds from the ground up by thoroughly defining important terms throughout. The form of the collection helps to further accomplish this. Helpful aides like footnote definitions on the bottom of the page help to explore broader context for concepts that might be new to some ELTs, like “heteronormativity” or “tokenism”. There is also a glossary in the back matter, lesson examples, and lists of additional reading materials at the end of each section allow for both general and more advanced learning. Seburn expertly gives the reader space to delve deeper, if they choose to. The examples for how to use concepts in the classroom give the reader a sense of how they can move beyond the abstract to use concepts practically, so that they can teach them to others.
This manual is just as useful For ELTs who are actively equity-seeking and who perhaps know a lot about inclusivity concepts already. Firstly, understanding how Seburn defines particular concepts helps establish a consistent framework for inclusive writing that can be shared with other ELTs who have read the work. This is highly necessary for accomplishing a more inclusive world and turning the tides of English language teaching more broadly: it is not something we can accomplish alone. Further, ELTs who already try to bring an ethic of inclusion to the creation of their teaching materials will still find the databases Seburn has compiled very useful. How to Write Inclusive Materials contains a veritable cornucopia of links to audio, visual and text-based inclusive resources, many of them free, that address the need for specific forms of representation for groups that are underrepresented in typical stock image collections. Among these resources there is a site for images of people of specifically older ages engaging in a multitude of activities and situations; one for images of specifically darker-skinned Black women; another for people with all sorts of gender expressions, etc. Another ubiquitously useful aspect of Seburn’s book is that, beyond calling for inclusivity in the abstract, he concretizes the process of how to get there. This is to say, the book contains clear protocols and guidelines for how materials writers can create diverse and meaningful representation. He breaks down into steps the complex task of writing original materials that are inclusive, without being tokenizing or unrealistic, but which also evoke common experiences to engage as many English learners in the ELT’s classroom as possible. Seburn also includes a final list of seven questions to ask of one’s original teaching materials. This list succinctly addresses all of the concepts that the reader will have learned through the course of reading the book, and is sure to be consulted by readers long after their initial read-through.
It comes as no surprise that this book is written well, given that it was written by an expert of communicating clearly for all audiences, but it makes the reading experience no less wonderful. By introducing personal examples, taking an active tone, and reflecting on his own positionality in relation to the topics at hand, Seburn prevents the manual from reading drily and encourages the reader to engage in a dialogue with the text rather than simply take it in. Perhaps due to this strong reflexive quality to Seburn’s writing, I found myself caught in a desire to nuance or problematize the notion of inclusivity earlier in the book. As a student of disability studies/disability justice theory, and from firsthand experience, I have learned that the notion of “inclusion” of a marginalized group implies that the group is only ever included as a fundamentally excludable subject. A framework of inclusion necessarily involves the inequitable state of the marginalized group’s acceptance being contingent, always, on the will and mercy of the dominant group. Seburn cogently explores this limitation of inclusivity frameworks, noting that we can work with such a framework while acknowledging its inadequacy, but this conversation comes well into the second half of the book. Placing it earlier might have gained the complete trust of readers like me, who were at first skeptical that an inclusion framework could solve inequities in ELT materials at the root. On the other hand, the inclusivity nuance arriving later in the book gives readers who are skeptical of the importance of inclusivity some time to accept Seburn’s stance; it lets them acclimatize to inclusivity as important (necessary) to work towards. The efficacy of the choice to introduce limitations of the framework late will depend on the reader’s pre-existing knowledge.
Language is powerful. ELTs recognize, more keenly than most, the truth of that old adage. The imperialist and colonial past and present of the world we live in has rendered contemporary life ever more globalized, and therefore standardized, along the fault lines of power. Because of English imperialist expansion and settler colonialism, the English language is particularly powerful. It is a currency; it is important leverage for many, especially for those learning English while making a new life in an English-speaking place. ELTs have a responsibility to make learning English inclusive for marginalized folks, and also not to let the English language contribute to further oppression and hegemony of the historically powerful over the historically disempowered. This is a complex task, one that we must undertake collectively; thus, it is all the more important that ELTs access this manual so they can begin from a place of shared understanding. How to Write Inclusive Materials is a fantastically practical steppingstone that will help us think and act toward a just future for all.
References
Seburn, T. (2021). How to Write Inclusive Materials. ELT Teacher 2 Writer.
Welcome to Gender. Sexuality. School. a curated information hub for current news, research, books, conferences, and publications about issues of gender, sexuality and schooling.
Today, we launch Episode 3 of the podcast Gender. Sexuality. School. The Podcast. In the episode I talk to three French language researchers and educators who have been working with teachers around addressing issues of gender and sexuality in French schools.
In their interview Camille Blanchard-Séguin, Jared Boland and Miriam Greenblatt talk about the challenge of creating gender neutral language practices in French and the activism of youth in French language schools around issues of gender and sexuality. They also talk about their favourite resources which include:
The Unicorn Glossary written by benjamin lee hicks, which is available in:
Goldstein, Tara. (2021). Our Children Are Your Students: LGBTQ Families Speak Out. Myers Education Press.
Quebecois cartoonist Sophie Labelle’s webcomics Assigned Male which are available on her website
Je suis ravi de vous presenter Camille, Miriam et Jared.
Season 4-Episode 3-Teaching Gender and Sexuality in French Language Schools
For even more resources see Miriam Greenblatt’s compilation of gender and sexuality education resources in French below and Bronwyn Garden Smith’s review of Sophie Labelle’s 2021 book The Best of Assigned Male.
This site offers a compilation of over 400 French books for children up the age of 12, sorted into the following topics: gender equality, self-acceptance, body diversity, cultural diversity, family diversity, neurodiversity and diversity of abilities, gender and sexual diversity, and social justice. The intention is to offer books which avoid stereotypes, show positive representations of diversity and encourage reflection and openness.
Modèles recherchés is a collection of stories from 2SLGBTQ+ folks from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures, discussing their coming-out and/or their story in relationship to their sexual orientation. It is also possible to purchase the “guide pédagogique,” intended for high school educators, which includes a dozen classroom activities connected to the stories.
This site features a video series created by two women on topics related to identity and social justice. The videos are between 5 to 10 minutes and explore topics like sexism, non-binary identity, cultural appropriation, and more. The tone is comical, and the videos are appropriate for high school students.
This site offers a list of texts for use in FSL featuring BIPOC doing ordinary & extraordinary things, as well as texts that help in addressing colonialism, racism, and other oppressions. Many of the resources are also accompanied by activities and lesson plans.
This guide offers practical guidelines for creating welcoming and inclusive spaces for all gender identities, including tips on pronouns and being an effective ally.
This site for queer youth offers a question forum (youth can ask questions and read previous questions and answers). They also offer training for schools. In addition, the organisation has a specific page for neurodivergent youth which offers resources on sex-education.
This site shares information on creating an Alliance Genre, Identité, et Sexualité (Gender and Sexuality Alliance). It includes a guide on how to get started, a 500$ scholarship to help GSAs get started, a call line for youth, a compendium of 2SLGBTQ+ media, and many other resources.
This page on the Kids Help Phone page offers tons of resources for queer youth. They of course also offer a call line for youth to ask questions on mental health and much more.
Dr Knisley’s work explores the linguistic practices of trans speakers of French and the development and articulation of trans affirming language materials.
This guide offers suggestions for gender neutral French grammar.
Book Review of Sophie Labelle’s (2021) The Best of Assigned Male
Written by Bronwyn Garden-Smith
Singularly Representative, Wonderfully Inventive
Bronwyn Garden-Smith
Getting to read about a cast of primarily trans and queer characters is still too uncommon. Getting to hold in one’s hands a published novel-length work centring the lives of trans and queer children— and not from a transphobic lens—is almost unheard of. All this and the trans kids are just kids: happy sometimes, sad sometimes, but always surrounded by love and support? Assigned Male by Quebecois transwoman Sophie Labelle is none other than the first published work of its kind. It is a necessity, particularly for children of ages 10-15, but is just as enjoyable and informative for all ages.
Published in 2021, the collection is a curation of the best of Labelle’s comics, which were originally published online. Assigned Male is unique in that Labelle began creating the comics organically and without the intent to form an overarching story (p. 12). As the comics continued to unfold, Labelle began to intentionally build the characters’ backstories and expand the details of the world she had built. This bloomed into a fully developed and printed graphic novel.
Our story begins from Ciel’s perspective. Ciel, originally named Alessandro, is 11 at the start of the book. They are unsure of their relationship to gender, and struggle to articulate what it might mean to “be themselves” (p. 22). They meet a new friend at school, Stephie, a confident and outspoken trans girl. Stephie’s friendship fortifies Ciel, who gradually experiments with less gender-normative clothing, and later begins using they/them pronouns. Stephie and Ciel grow up together, alongside family members including Ciel’s little brother Virgil, also gender-noncomforming, and their dad Lucas, who is silly and sweet, incredibly supportive and kind. Stephie’s parents are divorced. Her dad sometimes says the wrong thing, but means well and is always willing to learn and grow in his support for Stephie.
Weaved throughout the main narrative that follows these sweet best friends are one-page comic strips that succinctly explore instances of transphobia or serve as rebuttals to transphobic talking points. These short interjections usually involve Stephie or Ciel addressing the comments of people who need to learn and grow with regard to their treatment or assumptions about trans and/or queer people. Other times, the interjections into the main plot do not include any of the usual characters, which signals that they address even more far-reaching topics, for example a call to normalize boys expressing their emotions without violence (p. 45).
Labelle has created a world that is highly rich in detail and believability, from the near-obsessive attention to the correct rendering of the characters’ clothes, to the distinctness of each character’s voice and expression, to the richness of their histories and the variety of situations they find themselves in. One of the most compelling storylines of the collection is Frank’s because readers are afforded the rare gift of witnessing his immense character growth. He is introduced into Stephie’s storyline as her partner for a school project, which is difficult for her because Frank holds many transphobic beliefs (p. 85). After getting to know Stephie, it is revealed that Frank’s parents are transphobic and homophobic (much like the world at large), and that Frank has clearly internalized these ideas. After spending time together, he develops romantic feelings for Stephie which she reciprocates; she helps him work through and unlearn the received cis-hetero-patriarchal paradigm of transness as wrong, not real, and harmful. He eventually becomes Stephie’s boyfriend and biggest supporter. This is important because it underscores that transphobia is learned, that it can be unlearned; Frank’s growth counters the idea that transphobia is an inevitability. Vitally, in a campily self-aware moment where his vocabulary exceeds that usually available to a 12-year-old, Frank connects his own experiences of Islamophobia and racism (Frank’s family are Muslim) to Stephie’s experience of transphobia (p.90): both are tools of oppression that operate structurally, and which both work to maintain the status quo in complex, diffuse ways. They are not only perpetrated on the level of the individual and are thus not only individual failures, but also societal ones. By committing to working against transphobia henceforth, he is able to forgive himself for the harm he caused Stephie initially instead of festering in guilt which is not helpful or generative for anyone.
The very absence of anything to parallel Assigned Male, and the resulting necessity to create a story specifically about trans kids, was the driving force behind its creation. Necessity is the thing that compelled Labelle, then pursuing a Masters of Education, to continue this creative project which was not, at the time, her main focus. Labelle notes, “I started making my own [cartoon] strips at seven. I have vivid memories of staying late at the library and flipping through every book in the hope of finding characters in which I could see myself. Since I couldn’t find any (besides caricatures meant to be the butt of the joke), I decided to create my own” (p. 7). The creation of this book resonates with a brilliant bit of wisdom from the late, renowned novelist and academic Toni Morrison: “If there is a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it” (tweet). The necessity of the collection is both the reason for its success and simultaneously the mark of the work we need to do as a society (especially cisgender folks) to create a world where there are an abundance of stories like this one. We need more stories where trans and other marginalized folks can just be people, and Assigned Male is paving the way. Ultimately, it is a beautiful story about friendship, growing up, and discovering what makes you feel comfortable with yourself. Get your hands on it ASAP.
References
Labelle, S. (2021). Best of Assigned Male. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Morrison, T. [@ToniMorrrison]. (2013, October 30). If there is a book you want to read, but it
Welcome to Gender. Sexuality. School. a curated information hub for current news, research, books, conferences, and publications about issues of gender, sexuality and schooling.
This month, we launch Season 4-Episode 2 of the podcast Gender. Sexuality. School. In Episode 2 I talk to Lee Airton, the Lead Researcher behind an exciting new advocacy website on gender expression and gender identity: www.gegi.ca
A website review gegi.ca by research team member Kohle Handelman-Kerman appears below.
All the best,
Tara
Season 4-Episode 2-Introducing gegi.ca
Website Review of gegi.ca
By Kohle Handleman-Kerman
Airton, L., & Kirkup, K. (2021, September 22). Home. GEGI. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.gegi.ca/.
When you arrive at gegi.ca you are greeted by Gegi, a fabulous unicorn with a turquoise mane and a sparkle in their eye who proclaims to help visitors advocate for gender expression and gender identity human rights at school.
Once you’ve landed on the home page, you can proceed through the four steps outlined on the website or jump around using the menu in the top right.
Step 1 is to understand definitions of gender expression, gender identity and gender-based discrimination. You can pick between Gegi’s Sparkly version, which is kid-friendly and has lots of examples, or the Serious version, which assumes an adult reader with some knowledge of law and policy.
Step 2 is to find your school board policy. This is one of the key features on gegi.ca. You can quickly and easily search for your Ontario school board and automatically see their relevant policies regarding washrooms, sports, field trips, and names and pronouns. This step also includes tip sheets for schools to understand their legal obligations.
Step 3 is to share the information you found on gegi.ca with a trusted adult. Gegi suggests starting with someone you know, either a parent, guardian, or teacher you trust. Once you have found a person you trust who can help, Gegi recommends sharing what you have learned from using gegi.ca, a clear story of what has been happening to you, and your school board’s policies (use Gegi’s Tip sheets if you school board doesn’t have specific policies).
Step 4 is to self-advocate. This page has not yet been released so for now, Gegi recommends that you and your trusted adult meet with someone from your school to share what you’ve learned using gegi.ca, what has been happening, and what needs to change. Gegi also suggests checking out the Gegi Curriculum for more information and help to be successful.
There is a myriad of resources available on gegi.ca, in fact there is an entire page dedicated to resources which includes the Gegi starter kit, Tip sheets, Research one-pagers and links to other suggested resources and organizations. There is even a dedicated page for Ontario K-12 teachers, administrators, and other staff to find their school board and get answers to questions such as “Does my school board have a policy on supporting gender diversity?” and “I think a student at my school is experiencing gender expression or gender identity discrimination. What do I do?”
Dr. Lee Airton, Dr. Kyle Kirkup and their research team created gegi.ca using findings from a two-year comprehensive study of how Ontario school boards are interpreting the two newest grounds of human rights protections: gender expression and gender identity. gegi.ca works to equip all Ontario students, teachers, administrators, and other school staff with the tools to advocate at school for “the right to express and live their gender in their own way without experiencing discrimination, harassment, or violence, and without being told they have to change.” gegi.ca works to indirectly support schools to enact policies regarding protections for gender expression and gender identity. This “trickle up” method works to approach the problem tactically and realistically by putting information in the hands of kids, teachers, administrators, and other school staff.
gegi.ca is a beautifully designed resource, with easy to navigate features and an incredibly important purpose. If you or anyone you know needs help advocating for their gender expression and gender identity human rights at school, gegi.ca is the place to go.
The Queer Studies in Education and Culture (QSEC) Special Interest Group (SIG) warmly invites paper submissions for the 2022 CSSE Annual Meeting.
In connection with CSSE’s 2022 theme, “Learning from our Past, Navigating the Present, and Shaping the Future,” our 2022 QSEC theme, “Queer Worlds and Queer Futures in Education,” explores how researchers and practitioners can respond to the liminal and transformative moment of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and the political and social possibilities that came fo the forefront in 2020 and 2021.QSEC invites submissions that consider the ways in which queer and trans scholarship, artistic practice, and research-creation might forge possibilities for queer/trans ways of knowing and being, and build bridges among epistemologies, pedagogies, research, communities, activisms, places, and praxes in ways that push gender and sexuality studies in education and culture forward.
We particularly welcome submissions that:
explore queer futurities, queer temporalities, and queer nostalgia;
move from damage-centred to hope-centred and joy-centred research;
connect lessons from our past to imagine inclusive, equitable, and utopian futures;
and consider how to build a future in education and culture that is visionary and guards against intersecting reactionary and regressive forces such as neoliberalism, disaster capitalism, colonial capitalism, settler colonialism, political and economic shock therapy, and other related forces that reinforce oppressive norms.
While the 2022 Congress theme has not yet been announced, we welcome the commitment by Congress organizers to a “theme centred on equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization, and on Black and Indigenous experience and scholarship in Canada.” QSEC recognizes the presence of anti-Black racism and racial profiling in Canadian academia, as evidenced in 2019 at UBC, and is committed to continued action. Ongoing dialogues around Black Lives Matter, Indigenous sovereignty and landback actions, Canada’s ongoing genocide against Indigenous people, and police violence urge a continued focus on this theme. QSEC welcomes proposals that centre QTBIPOC knowledges and lives in education and explore intersections of race, sexuality and gender as well as ability and class.
We seek proposals from a wide range of topics drawing on cross-cultural, historical, political, policy, comparative, temporal, geographical, and transdisciplinary perspectives. Along with traditional academic paper presentations, we encourage proposals for workshops, performance, storytelling, visual arts, audio arts, sound studies, and other alternative formats. If you have questions about a particular format, please contact the QSEC program co-chairs Jacob Desrochers (jacob.desrochers@queensu.ca) and Bridget Stirling (bstirlin@ualberta.ca). Proposals are due October 1st, 2021. Please see https://csse-scee.ca/conference-2021/ for instructions on how to submit.
Welcome to Gender. Sexuality. School. a curated information hub for current news, research, books, conferences, and publications about issues of gender, sexuality and schooling.
In today’s post we launch Season 4 – Episode 1 of my podcast Gender. Sexuality. School. The episode features an interview with Karleen Pendleton Jiménez, the author of new middle-grade novel on gender identity called The Street Belongs to Us (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2021).
Corey Silverberg, the author of Sex is a Funny Word – a wonderful inclusive illustrated primer on sexuality for middle-school readers – has this to say about The Street Belongs to Us:
Full of humour and heart, The Street Belongs to Us is a beautiful and subversively queer story that probes the depths of intertwined human loss and connection.
After listening to Karleen talk about the writing of The Street Belongs to Us and hear her read from the book, take a look at a review below.
All the best,
Tara
***
Book Review
Review by Tara Goldstein, September 1, 2021.
The Street Belongs to Us
Pendleton Jiménez, Karleen (2021). The Street Belongs to Us. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press. lllustrated by Gabriela Godoy.
In the world of North American children’s literature, stories about gender, gender identity and gender expression re still rare. Karleen Pendleton Jiménez’s new middle grade novel The Street Belongs to Us introduces us to a funny and thoughtful non-binary protagonist named Alex Richardson-Salazar.
Alex is a mixed race Mexican American 12-year-old who wears her hair short and covets her older brother’s hand-me-downs. It’s the summer of 1984 in Los Angeles and the street Alex lives on is being dug up to build sidewalks. Muscatel Avenue has turned into “a big mess of piles of brown dirt and deep holes. It’s like a garden right before you plant the seeds. Everything torn up and ready for new life to grow.”
Alex and her best friend Wolf, who’s been wearing a soldier’s uniform he put together every day since his mother died, take advantage of the deep holes in the street to build a trench and launch a mud-ball and water balloon street fight against their rivals in the neighbourhood. It’s a dangerous and exciting time and Gabriela Godoy’s line drawings capture all the emotion and excitement of Alex and Wolf’s mud war.
As Alex spends the summer living in the trench and making ammunition for the next battle, she notices her chest is beginning to swell and worries that there might be something wrong with her. At a trip to the library with Wolf she asks one of the librarians if she has any medical books.
“Certainly,” she responds. “What type of medicine are you interested in?”
“Um …” I hesitate. “Like about hearts, or heart attacks or heart sores?”
“Heart sores?” she asks.
“You know” – I point timidly to my swollen chest—“like a sore over your heart.”
Her confused frown changes into a big “Ohhh.” She nods. “Yes, I believe we do have some material about heart sores.”
“Oh, that’s so great!” I say, and then whispers “Can I check the book out but like, of quietly?”
“Quietly?”
“I don’t’ want my friend to see it,” I say. “I don’t want him to worry unless it’s something serious.
“Ahh, right,” she says. “There’s no need to worry him. Let me take your information, and then you can just come by for the book on your way out.”
Later that night, Alex pulls out the book out of the brown paper the librarian put it in. It’s called THE NEW OUR BODIES, OURSELVES: A Book by and for Women.
… What the heck? What the heck do women have to do with hearts? The librarian must’ve made a mistake. I don’t want a book about women. Yuck! … When I turn book around to stash it back in the bag, I feel a sticky note poking out of the side. Hmm.
I open the page to find the title “Breast Development.” There is an arrow on the sticky note pointing to the line, “A firm mass develops directly behind the nipple. This is called the bud.” Above the arrow, the librarian wrote, “Sometimes this can hurt.”
Oh no! Terrible! Gross! I’m getting breasts like a woman? These things are going to grow big like my mom’s? Like the women on Johnny’s [Alex’s brother] posters? How am I gonna find T-shirts big enough to hide them? But I’m not a woman. I’m not going to be a woman. I don’t think. I don’t know. Maybe I am. At least I’m not going to die, but jeez.”
Fortunately, Alex finds a quiet moment to share her worries with Wolf.
“Wolf, I don’t know what I am. If I’m a girl or a boy? If I’ll be a woman or, or, a man or what!”
“So?”
“Well, these things are coming.” I point to my chest. And then I won’t be able to hide them, and I’ll have to be a woman.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” he says. “We’re animals. Some animals are boys or girls and some aren’t. And some change. It’s not such a big deal. Like seahorses, when they want to have babies – ”
“Wolf, it might not be a big deal to animals, but it’s a big deal to people.”
“Oh, yeah, you could be right.” He nods.
“What am I going to do?” I ask.
“Hmm, I’m not very good with people, so I don’t know what to say about them.” He pauses to consider the situation. “But I don’t think a chest growing big automatically makes you a woman. It must be up to you. If you decide to be a guy, then your chest, whatever it looks like, will be a guy’s chest because it’s yours. And if you decide to be a woman, well, then logically, it’s the opposite.”
And with those helpful words, Wolf offers to look for a library in Long Beach that would have some more information on the topic. Alex tells Wolf she’d really like that, and the conversation ends. Alex’s work around gender, gender identity and gender expression has begun.
The Street Belongs to Us is Pendleton Jiménez’s second book about gender. The first, published twenty-one years ago, is called Are You a Boy or a Girl? and was a Lambda Literary Award 2001 Finalist. In honour of its 20th anniversary, Are You a Boy or a Girl? was reprinted by Two Ladies Press in 2020 and a PDF version is available for free at https://www.karleenpj.com
In 2008, Are You a Boy or a Girl? was adapted into an animated video Tomboy[i]. Created for children from ages 5 to 9 Tomboy tells the story of a 9-year-old Latina-Canadian girl named Alex (short for Alejandra) who is bullied for being a tomboy. After a nasty exchange during a soccer game when Alex is told to get off the field and find a pretty dress to wear, she runs home in tears. Her mother comforts her and reassures Alex that she’s great just the way she is. As the story unfolds there are several funny moments as Alex’s classmates discuss what kind of clothing boys and girls can wear. For example, boys can wear red if it’s dark red going on maroon, but if girls want to wear red shorts, it needs to be light red, going on pink.
Are You a Boy or a Girl?, Tomboy and The Street Belongs to Us are all based on Pendleton Jiménez’s own experiences growing up as a Chicana tomboy, and can be read by parents, teachers, and children to begin all kinds of interesting and important discussions around gender expression and gender identity. With school beginning very soon, teachers looking for stories about gender that are suitable for elementary and middle-grade readers will find all three stories fun, engaging, and full of love.
[i] Taylor, B. (Co-Director), Parkin, W. (Co-Director), and Pendleton Jiménez, K. (Writer). (2008). Tomboy [Children’s animated short film]. Canada: Coyle Productions. http://vimeo.com/10772672
Welcome to Gender. Sexuality. School. a curated information hub for current news, research, books, conferences, and publications about issues of gender, sexuality and schooling.
In this first blog, I want to introduce readers to a Canadian community of scholars, educators and artists working to create systemic change around issues of gender and sexuality.
Established in 2000, QSEC – Queer Studies in Education and Culture- was created to inspire and support LGBTQ+ researchers, artists and communities. QSEC is part of a larger Canadian organization, the Canadian Society for Studies in Education CSSE) and participates in CSSE’s annual conference every year at the end May/early June.
To find out more about QSEC and read the next call for conference papers which will appear in October 2021, visit www.qsec.ca
At the end of July, QSEC held its Annual General Meeting with a Keynote Address titled “Re-Storying queer and Trans Educational Scholarship by PhD students Bishop Owis and Lindsay Cavanaugh from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
Special guest speakers included Toronto-based Black queer artists Syrus Marcus Ware, Teneshia Samuel and Emani. Syrus recorded their talk and has generously offered to make it available to folx who weren’t able to be at the AGM on this website.
Enjoy!
All the best,
Tara
Syrus Marcus Ware
Syrus Marcus Ware’s Talk at the QSEC Annual General Meeting, July 29, 2021
