Unsafe Subjects: The Constitution of Young LGBTQ Political Subjects in the Safe School Controversy

Abstract

This article addresses the emergence of children and young people as simultaneously sexual/gender non-normative and political subjects during the 2016 Safe Schools controversy. What appeared as a striking departure from previous controversies around non-normative sexuality was the appearance of young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) people speaking for themselves as political subjects. We are particularly interested in the young transgender subject and the political registers through which these and other young people represented themselves and made claims on citizenship. While they might be historically new political subjects, their vocabulary of harm, vulnerability and safety, and frequent recourse to health discourse, had a somewhat longer history.