Homophobia in the primary classroom

Abstract

All prejudice is learned through experience and by watching others. No child is born racist or sexist or homophobic, or anything else. Yet by the time they start secondary school, children are already a long way towards holding a certain set of beliefs, values and often prejudices, most of which become increasingly difficult to alter as they get older. As it is part of the educator’s job to help develop individuals that are respectful and tolerant towards others, and who are wholly comfortable in themselves and with their own identities, it is essential that primary schools carry out work to tackle prejudice in all its forms. Thankfully, work on anti-racism is already fairly well-established in most schools these days, both through ethos and by explicit teaching, although of course more can always be done. In addition, work on gender and disability discrimination could also be made more explicit. However, the area of equalities teaching that is most neglected in our schools, particularly in primaries, is that of homosexuality. It should, therefore, be no surprise that recorded incidences of homophobic bullying are on the increase, and homosexual teenagers are at much greater risk of abuse, self-harm, depression and even suicide than their non-homosexual peers. While a staff, pupil and parent body is unambiguously made up of people of different genders and (often) ethnicities, some of whom may have a noticeable disability, this is of course not the case when it comes to sexuality. Because of this, there is no way for a child in school to develop tolerance, understanding and respect for homosexuality simply by having good role-models around them whom they know happen to be homosexual. Although I do not argue that homosexual staff should have any sort of obligation to be open about their sexuality, the fact is that this apparent underrepresentation of homosexuals in pupils’ everyday lives means it is even more important to make the teaching of tolerance and understanding towards homosexuality (and the abhorrence of homophobia) truly clear.