Lesbian and gay teachers : negotiating subjectivities in Sydney schools

This chapter has illustrated that lesbian and gay teachers ‘work’ and are ‘working in’ the margins; as such, they negotiate their sexualities in relation to their teacher subjectivity. Their stories and experiences revealed some of the ways that they accommodated and resisted the persistent heteronormative and heterosexist nature of schools, creating spaces in which they could comfortably operate in their employment. Regulation of speech and the construction of particular gendered/sexual performances enabled them to actively forefront aspects of their subjectivities that aligned them with their professional duties and/or with acceptable and normalising heterosexual narratives. Knowledge of the potential for both institutional and interpersonal discrimination compelled them to consciously work the margins in which they were discursively located as a result of their sexual subjectivities – work not required of heterosexual colleagues. It is time that schools not only as educational institutions but, critically, as workplaces create equitable employment conditions by proactively addressing the ongoing discrimination and inequities that many lesbian and gay teachers encounter in their profession.