Sexual Diversity in Schooling - Essay Example

Sexual diversity in schooling Sexual diversity in schooling Introduction Issues of sexuality such as sexual diversity and inclusion have been the main causes of discrimination in the society over the years. While there have been some steps taken to cub the problem in political or in other social aspects, issues of sexual diversity are rarely discussed in school setups (Dijk, & Driel, 2007). Schools provide an environment where children can be socialized and acquire desired traits, character, and knowledge in order to be useful members of the society in future. It is therefore important to educate and inform young children in schools in Australia through the education system about sexual diversity and inculcate in them values such as inclusion, respect for others, and fairness. The fact is, however, that sexual diversity remains a controversial topic and has largely been ignored in the education systems (Herron, & Javier, 2006). This essay will criticize the failure of the school education system to incorporate sexual diversity. The essay will also examine the consequences of failing to address these issues and helping to deal with homophobia among children and young people. Sexual Diversity According to the Australian Journal of Human Rights, sexual diversity refers to one’s experience of gender identity or transgender that goes beyond the binary or biological notions of being either male or female (Steinberg, 2009). Dr. Tracie O’Keefe originally coined the term in his paper about human rights submitted to Amnesty International in 2002. The term has gained wide usage in many circles within Australia. Sexual diversity mostly aims at celebrating diversity in gender identities as opposed to categorizing people in different sexes or genders. Sexual diversity is also a general term referring to individuals who do not identify with either masculinity or femininity with regard to their gender identity. The term includes different groups such as androgynous, transsexual, transexed, cross dressers or transgender. Other terms popular in various parts of Australia include pan-gendered, sistergirl or brotherboy, and intergender (Dijk, & Driel, 2007). Sexual diversity also includes other minority groups such as lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. These groups of individuals have received widespread discrimination and segregation in the community. Sexual diversity has been a major human rights issue in Australia in the past few years, with cases of homophobia, exclusion being on the rise. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been at the forefront in fighting for inclusion of transgender individuals in different aspects of the society such as schools, workplace and in other areas. The AHRC has fought for recognition of sexual diversity throughout the country in its 2009 paper dubbed "Sex Files: The legal recognition of sex in documents and government records". There has been development with regard to recognition of the rights of transgender individuals in the country, especially now that the government began issuing passports and birth certificates that recognize sexual diversity (Herron, & Javier, 2006). The first such government document was issued to Alex MacFarlane from Victoria. However, there is still a lot that needs to be done in order to ensure widespread recognition of rights of transgender individuals. Sexual Diversity in Schools One area that has lagged behind in this regard is the education system in the country. Sexual diversity has largely been ignored by the education sector in the country and this has adverse effects on the education sector and in the entire community in general (Steinberg, 2009). There are various reasons why sexual diversity has not been incorporated in to the education system in Australia. A majority of the Australian community holds conservative views about sexuality and would not wish such discussions to be taught to children in schools. Some people believe that letting children know about sexuality in the early stages of their lives will be detrimental to their development (Dijk, & Driel, 2007). The children are likely to develop immoral sexual tendencies. With regard to promoting sexual diversity in schools, the conservatives believe that this will promote and encourage homosexual tendencies among children. The conservatives also hold views that it is easier to educate older people about sexual diversity than promoting such values among children. Some people oppose sexual diversity in schools because of their religious beliefs. Most of Australians have a religious background with Christianity being the majority religion. Most religious beliefs are based on a binary understanding of gender and sexuality. This means that most religions teach that one can only be either male or female (Herron, & Javier, 2006). This, in essence, alienates the minority sexual groups like transgender, lesbians, bisexuals, and gays. Most religious groups teach their followers to not to support sexual diversity as they consider sexual behavior by these groups of people to be sinful acts. With such a background, the fight for human rights for minority sexual groups receives substantial resistance. Due to this opposition, there lacks substantial legislation to promote sexual diversity in the education system in the country. Some of the opposition to teaching sexual diversity in schools stems from the belief that such a move will be inconsiderate to the other students. Promoting sexual diversity in the education system, some of the opposers believe, will lead to infringement of privacy of other students and might cause discomfort among both the students and the school staff in schools (Steinberg, 2009). Key education stakeholders, who include teachers, parents and school administrations, hold divergent views on how sexual diversity can be implemented in the education system. It is therefore difficult to bring all these divergent views together to brainstorm on how to introduce sexual diversity. This has also been a major setback in the fight for rights of transgender individuals (McCormack, 2012). Some people also fear that young sex offenders will exploit the slightest opportunity to teach sexual diversity in schools to their own advantage because it is not easy to detect who is and who is not a transgender individual. There are also some fears that introducing sexual diversity in the education system will cause more harm than good in the future. However, supporters of the move to introduce sexual diversity in schools expound on the fact that the move provides the necessary protection to students from bullying, sexual discrimination, and harassment (Campos, 2003). They claim the introducing sexual diversity in schools is a stepping-stone for future legislation that will provide equal rights for the minority groups such as gays, bisexual individuals, lesbians, transgender individuals and transsexuals. Teaching sexual diversity in schools can also be seen as an opportunity to give students their right to engage in sex-segregated programs, facilities and activities regardless of their birth gender (Robinson, 2008). The introduction and implementation of the sexual diversity laws will lead to the drastic reduction of school dropouts who were leaving school due to increased discrimination and bias against them. Current research statistics prove that such conservative thoughts are wrong and that there is an urgent need to address sexual diversity in schools. The research conducted by the Australian Research Center in Sex and Society, in collaboration with La Trobe University produced a wide range of shocking revelations with regard to sexual diversity in schools. The survey, which was conducted nationally among students aged between 14 and 21 years, revealed that about 350,000 young people accounting to 10% of students in the country experience discrimination in schools with regard to their gender and sexuality. Among the students questioned in the survey, about 20% of them are of the view that issues of sexuality and sexual diversity should be discussed often in their schools. Most of them, about 40% want such issues to be discussed at between the ages of 11 and 16 (Herron, & Javier, 2006). Other reports also indicate that about 75% of students in America have experienced homophobia in some way in their schools. About 61% of them are reported to have experienced verbal homophobic abuse from their friends and schoolmates. Another 18% have been victims of physical homophobic abuse within their school environments (McCormack, 2012). Other studies also indicate that homophobic abuse is more prevalent in schools than in other places like streets, social occasions, the workplace, and in homes. These statistics speak volumes of words about what goes on in the school environment around the country. There is an urgent need to address these issues in order to promote the general wellbeing of students. Lack of appropriate structures to ensure sexual diversity is incorporated in the education system and taught in schools opens an avenue for widespread abuse and discrimination of minority sexual groups in the schools. As it is currently, educators, parents, and school administration do not have the required skills, experience and knowledge to deal with homophobic abuse of a sexual nature (Meyer, 2010). There are enough structures in place to handle homophobic abuse of racial or ethnic background, but sexual issues are rarely dealt with in schools. As a result, most of the cases of abuse go unreported because the affected students do not trust that the people around them can address their issues. Most of the adults in minority sexual groups like gays and lesbians began showing such tendencies and sexual behaviors while still in their early years in schools (McCormack, 2012). However, most of these people kept their feelings to themselves, or practiced their social behavior in privacy until they got an opportunity to come out in their older years. This is because there are no avenues for the students to get help when they need it the most. Consequences of failing to address homophobia in schools If the state does not take drastic measures to address the issues of homophobia in schools through putting in place appropriate structures to address sexual diversity in schools, the situation is likely to worsen and there will be various consequences. One of the biggest consequences will be the decline of the education sector in the country. Homophobia creates a harsh environment for education to take place because of constant abuse that students in minority experience (Kissen, 2002). The students are likely to skip certain classes, fail to attend school, and eventually drop out from school because the of the fear of victimization. Data from the research conducted by the Australian Research Center in Sex and Society shows that about 10% of students are in minority sexual groups. If this number were to drop out from schools due to homophobic abuse, the education sector will be adversely affected. Another consequence of homophobic tendencies in schools is that it will lead to most students and young people engaging in drug and substance abuse. Teenagers always turn to alcohol and other drugs in order to momentarily escape their problems at home or in schools (Kissen, 2002). Homophobic behaviors represents a very huge challenge for students and young teenagers and the fact that there are not appropriate mechanisms to address these issues makes the problem even worse. Affected students will find it easy to turn to drugs in order to overcome homophobic abuse from their peers. Continuous homophobic abuse on young people can also have an impact on young people, especially teenage students. This is because they are likely to develop strange behavior such as tendencies to cause self-harm, and suicide attempts. This is because when the students are constantly abused, they feel worthless and without any relevant person to run to for help (Kissen, 2002). This causes a lot of depression to these students. As such, they are not able to concentrate on their studies and establish strong friendships with their peers. These students are likely to be isolated from their peers, hence the tendency to cause self-harm and suicide attempts. Homophobia can also create a sense of insecurity among students. Affected students will not only feel unsafe in their learning environments, but also in other social gatherings and public events. This is because they are always cautious of abuse from the people around them References Campos, D. (2003). Diverse sexuality and schools: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO Dijk, L. ., & Driel, B. (2007). Challenging homophobia: Teaching about sexual diversity. Stoke on Trent, England: Trentham Books. Herron, W. G., & Javier, R. A. (2006). Patterns of desire: Sexual diversity in psychoanalysis. New York: Nova Science Publ. Kissen, R. M. (2002). Getting ready for Benjamin: Preparing teachers for sexual diversity in the classroom. Lanham, Mar: Rowman & Littlefield. McCormack, M. (2012). The declining significance of homophobia: How teenage boys are redefining masculinity and heterosexuality. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Meyer, E. J. (2010). Gender and sexual diversity in schools: An introduction. Dordrecht [etc.: Springer. Rivers, I. (2011). Homophobic bullying: Research and theoretical perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Robinson, S. (2008). Homophobia: An Australian history. Annandale, NSW: Federation Press. Steinberg, S. R. (2009). Diversity and multiculturalism: A reader. New York: Peter Lang. Read More