Lets Teach Queer History in School, by Maddy Tyma

One of the biggest comforts as a human being is knowing others are like you and relating to people. At one time or another in our lives I am sure we have all felt what it is like to feel alone. One way we relate to others is through our history. We value teaching history in school not only because it is informational and relevant, but also because it is how we learn that we are alike as humans. There are people we look up to throughout history because of the leaps and bounds they have made for our freedom. So why don’t we learn about Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk, Ellen DeGeneres or Alan Turing in school? Or if we learn about Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman why don’t we learn about all parts of their identity as we do other famous writers or people in history?

            We can all agree that we talk about civil rights in high school. Although sometimes limited, most schools cover the civil rights movement, women’s movement to some extent at least. But are queer rights not also civil rights? Why aren’t we learning about them in school. One teacher at Brookline High school when asked about this said, “I think we don’t even know exactly how to do it, which is probably why we haven’t pushed for it yet.” (History Lessons for LGBTQ Students). If people don’t learn about it in high school, how can they know they can learn about it in college and if it isn’t offered as a history course in college, how can we begin to pass it on to students in high school? Someone must interrupt this cycle. An example of this is the fact that California recently mandated that queer history be included in the curriculum requirements (Why Don't We Teach LGBTQ History in Schools). This will make sure that teachers go out of their way to learn about queer history so they can pass it on to their students. Maybe someday, all who are aspiring to be teachers will be required to take a course on teaching civil rights movements.

            It is not only important to teach queer history from a standpoint of civil rights, but it is also an issue of well-being. Fewer than 5% of LGBTQ students have health classes than represented LGBT students positively . A GLSEN article included “This leaves man LGBTQ youth without the skills to maintain healthy relationships and protect themselves if they are engaging in sexual activity.” (Inclusive Sex Ed). In other words, excluding queer history, rights and information is not just detrimental to queer youth mentally, but can also harm them physically. Lack of LGBTQIA inclusion in sexual health classes may be why queer youth are more likely to contract STIs, less likely to use condoms among other things. (Inclusive Sex Ed). Queer visibility allows students to protect their bodies and their minds-don’t many parts of education aim to do that, why not do that for everyone.

            Another reason queer issues should be talked about in high school is that when someone sees an example or role model like themselves in history, they are more likely to feel validated. In my opinion, withholding queer history and issues from high school curriculum is a form of erasure. A teacher named Adrianne Stang from the Cambrige Public School System said, “It can be really stressful and damaging not to think that anyone else has ever gone through what you’ve gone through,” (History Lessons for LGBTQ Students). Excluding queer people from history sends a clear message (Why Don't We Teach LGBTQ History In Schools). In a Huffpost article a young gay boy who grew up in the south reflects on this, “Not seeing the struggles of LGBT people reflected in my textbooks sent a clear message: the lives and struggles of LGBT people aren’t real or valid enough to merit inclusion in formalized education. These lives aren’t important,” (Why Don't We Teach LGBTQ History in Schools). I think this is telling enough. Even if including queer history and issues in High school education didn’t increase acceptance or visibility, it would at least send a message that being queer is real, important and worth studying in school.

Racism has definitely not been eliminated from this country and neither has sexism. However it has slightly improved and I think some of that can be attributed to the fact that we educate students on these issues. The reality is that sexuality is interconnected into many aspects of our lives.  Hall wrote, “..we find that sexuality is thoroughly interconnected with (if never wholly determined by), religion, economics, prevailing scientific paradigms, the social sciences, aesthetics and other flows of cultural expression and social valuation,” (Hall “Queer Theories” Page 2). Because sexuality is so interconnected in these realms it is crucial that all sexual and gender identities are visible and accepted. Teaching about this is one of the ways to increase tolerance and acceptance (Human Rights Campaign). Integrating queer history is a crucial part of creating a more tolerant America.  In “The Gay Revolution,” Faderman quoted Chavez as saying “You can’t demand equality for yourself while tolerating discrimination against anyone else.” This speaks for itself, since we all experience oppression in some shape or form, we all must fight against discrimination and denial of rights for all groups.