Lack of Representation for the LGBTQIA+ Community

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 Essential Question: 

How can the representation of the LGBTQIA+ community be expanded in Secondary-level schooling and in adolescent literature? 

Focus Questions: 

  1. Why is there limited representation of the LGBTQIA+ community within adolescent literature?

  2. How can educators foster support for LGBTQIA+ youths?

  3. How can adolescents understand and support the perspectives of LGBTQIA+ emerging adults?

  4. Why is there discrimination against LGBTQIA+ youths in schools?

  5. How can educators, adolescents and even parents support the “coming out” conversations for LGBTQIA+ youths?

  6. Why isn’t inclusive sex education offered for the LGBTQIA+ community in secondary level schools?

  7. Why is there an excessive lack of representation for the LGBTQIA+ community within middle & secondary level schools?

  8. Where does the discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community derive from in many opposing adolescents’ minds?

What I already know: 

Growing up in grade school, I knew there weren’t many books, tv shows nor movies that represented the LGBTQ community. There wasn’t even much conversation in the classroom about the topic, even though there were many adolescents battling the confusion and uncertainty about themselves and their sexuality. It was almost as if it was inappropriate or wrong to have questions or talk about sexuality in school. I think that’s a reason it's so frowned upon. Also, I know that the discrimination against and hatred toward the LGBTQ+ community didn’t magically appear in the minds of young adolescents, it must’ve trickled down from past generations. Although the LGBTQ+ community has come a long way and has gained many rights, they’re still lacking representation for adolescents within schools, in the media, on television and in literature. 

WHY I have selected this topic: 

As I’ve mentioned before, I am proudly a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Growing up in middle school, but especially in high school, I struggled A LOT with figuring out my sexuality. But rather than having a safe space at school to talk about my personal issues, I had to suffer alone in silence. There was such a distasteful stigma attached to being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, I began to question myself and my urges. I hid behind many smiles and laughs to keep my sexuality a secret..when all I wanted was to come out and embrace my happiness. In high school, I loved reading so much but I could only find less than a handful of books that actually represented people like me. I felt limited because I couldn’t find many books or novels that I personally related to. 

In middle school, I was confused on why there was only a Sex Ed class for heterosexuality students. I felt it was equally important, if not more, for the students in the LGBTQ+ community to be properly educated on safe sex. Growing up, I had a million and one questions about same-sex intercourse etc., but I never felt comfortable enough to ask these questions when in Sex Ed, they only discuss opposite-sex intercourse. I’m interested in researching this topic so that I can collect more information about the lack of representation in schools and in literature. So eventually, when I become an educator I can provide my students with many novels that represent each and every one of them, no matter their sexuality. 

TITLES of books to which this topic relates:

  1. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015)

  2. Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999)

  3. Burd, Nick. The Vast Fields of Ordinary (2009)

  4. Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy (2005)

  5. Garden, Nancy. Annie on My Mind (1982, 1991, 1992, 2007)

  6. Freymann-Weyr, Garret. My Heartbeat (2002)

A discussion of the kinds of resources I plan to use:

I plan to use many reliable sources from credible websites such as NCBI.gov, IJGO.org and Scholars.edu that provide articles on this topic. As well as, personal testimonies (if there are any) inside these articles from the LGBTQ+ community willing to share their stories about the lack of representation. I plan to use the books listed above to provide evidence from the adolescent literature perspective.

A preliminary CLAIM or argument related to this topic:

I would argue that there needs to be an increase of representation for the LGBTQ+ community in middle and secondary-level schools. Specifically, representation in Sex Ed classes, the media and adolescent literature. 

Any CHALLENGES or obstacles I foresee with my research:

I think the only challenge I’ll have is relating this topic to adolescent literature due to there being such a limited amount of resources to prove my claim. Other than, I think my focus questions will give me many topics to discuss in the research paper.


Comments

  1. Olivia BennettNovember 13, 2020 at 5:40 PM

    Hey Aniya,
    I think your essay is going to defiantly touch on a number of important issues. I am looking forward to your presentation already. I love that you included "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" in your book list. That book is so incredibly good and I think will be a great source to mention about adolescent literature (the book is one of my personal favorites... not to mention the movie is actually good too). I think you have a great proposal laid out. I hope to learn a lot from you so that I can make sure to make LGBTQA+ students in my future classroom feel accepted and represented.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Todd WhittakerNovember 14, 2020 at 7:33 PM

    Hi, Aniya! I think you have come up with a really interesting topic to research. There is a lot of good LGBTQ literature you can look into for this paper. Simon vs. the Homo Sapien's Agenda, the novel we read, has several sequels. There is another author you should check out named Adam Silvera. He's an actual gay author. I'm not saying straight authors can't write about gay characters, but I think it's a different perspective. From Silvera, I recommend They Both Die At the End.

    A question I think you should consider while you are researching is how can teachers combat parents and administration when books are banned? There is a lot of support for teachers out there when it comes to banned books. LGBTQ books will face a lot of opposition.

    ReplyDelete

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