Why Queer Theory is Useful in Teaching

Abstract

In education there has been growing interest in making teaching practices more inclusive of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and issues. However, the emphasis on including-and legitimating-“sub-ordinate” sexual identities is being challenged by queer theory, which draws on post-structuralist theories of identity. With queer theory, the aim is not to accomplish inclusion but to facilitate inquiry-that is, to investigate the ways in which sexual identities are negotiated through day to day social interactions. This paper draws on literature from queer theory and English language teaching in order to explain why queer theory may be useful when serving groups who are culturally and/or linguistically heterogeneous.