Jonathan Alexander and David Wallace talk about homosexuality in the field of composition. They bring up several terms heteronormativity, which basically means that being heterosexual is normalized in society and the homosexual community suffers because they are outside what society considers normal. They point out that the queer voice is not heard in many instances. I guess when you talked about the obstacles we advantages we had growing up concerning our literacy when we wrote our literacy narratives, I don't think any of us thought to consider our sexual orientation. Alexander and Wallace give an example of the lack of attention to queer studies at the college level.
The authors then address concerns facing multicultural teaching such as the lack of openly queer teachers and having to deal with obviously homophobic students. Alexander and Wallace refer to Mary Louise Pratt's metaphor of contact zones when it comes to these touchy areas. No amount of professional training prepares a queer instructor how to deal with a student who turns in homophobic work. I never thought about the predicament queer teachers went through. If they come out as openly homosexual then they risk their views not being taken seriously on certain topics. Students might think that's the queer version every time the instructor opens their mouth. And if queer teachers don't come out how can they normalize their sexuality?
Alexander and Wallace seem to be arguing just for a space to be able to discuss sex, sexuality and things of that nature. These things are bound to make people uncomfortable but how else can the issue be normalized when it's treated as some taboo subject?
The authors want to the problem of heteronormativity addressed but also the role of the students and teachers who participate in the oppression of queers with the power of their discourse.
No comments:
Post a Comment