Teaching About Sexual and Gender Diversity and Challenging Homophobia/Transphobia in the South African School System

Abstract

The South African Constitution was the first in the world to include sexual orientation protections, and the country was an early embracer of same-sex marriage. Nevertheless, the lives of sexual and gender minorities in South Africa, including young people in schools, are often characterized by violence and discrimination. The growing body of research on sexual and gender diversity in education in South Africa indicates that homophobia is widespread in schools and that teachers and school principals are ill-prepared to challenge this homophobia and to teach in an affirming way about sexual and gender diversity. This chapter discusses the development of a training module for South African teachers on how best to challenge homophobia and transphobia and to teach about sexual and gender diversity in schools. Given the focus in South African education policy on social justice and inclusion in the post-apartheid context, this ground-breaking intervention supports transformative education policy.