Queering English Literature for Primary Graders

 

Suggested Citation: Verma, T. (2021, July 9). Queering English Literature for Primary Graders. Queer Academia. URL.

Families play a substantial role in shaping the image of the world for their children. Besides this, family values contribute immensely to a child’s development. In a translation of Yusuf’s (2011) article on the importance of families, Roostin (2018) proposes that as children spend most of their time in a family environment, it becomes the bedrock of their social and cultural identity. Furthermore, this environment is also a source of fundamental education and moulds an individual’s values. Therefore, it is imperative that this teaching heads in the right direction. In India, homosexuality and consensual gay sex were finally acknowledged by the law on 6 September 2018. However, familial and societal acceptance remains a dream for many because of widespread homophobia and transphobia. In a lot of cases, families sanction corrective rapes to “cure” their children and sometimes "secret honour killings" are planned as well (Patel, 2016). As evident from these instances, altering the societal perception of non-heterosexuality and trans-sexuality is very important. This passes the task of creating a queer-friendly environment to the education system of India, as school is often considered the second home for children. Thus, it is vital that the curriculum scrutinizes the institutionalized homo/transphobia and presents queer-inclusive texts for students from a very young age.

The chief issue is the silence of the education policies, curricula and pedagogies when it comes to queer related discussions. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, though mentions that "equitable quality education" needs to be imparted to girls and transgender students, ignores students who do not identify as transgenders but are still a part of the queer community. Furthermore, the policy does not state any clear practices or pedagogies that can be adopted by schools to create a safe space for queer students (Sharma and Babbar, 2020). In their journal, Creating safe and supportive learning environments, Greytak and Kosciw (2013) talk about the various approaches that amount to unhealthy behaviours towards LGBTQ+ students. The first and foremost concern is ignoring and discarding the presence of queer discourses. This leads to the development of sentiments of alienation and ostracisation among the students, which is accompanied by the presence of texts that place a staunch focus on only heterosexuality and cisgenderism and present the world in terms of binaries for the students. A research conducted by Thangamuthu (2020) shows that NCERT textbooks institutionalise heteronormativity by remaining silent on the spectrum of gender and sexuality.

This silence deeply affects students’ psyche. Tompkins (2017), a gay individual, shares that a part of the reason he hid in the closet was that his teachers assumed that all the students are heterosexuals and identified as cisgenders. This attaches a sense of stigma and shame to queer identities. Shame and vulnerability are the dominant reasons which push students towards suicidal ideation, truancy and engaging in harmful practices such as drug consumptions and risky sexual behaviours, as researched by Dr Brené Brown (2017). McGarry (2013) also supports this view as he mentions that abstinence-only pedagogies create a negative environment for students. This silence towards queer-themed discussions often proves to be more harmful than explicit bullying. As mentioned by Page (2017), this ignorance paves a way for sentiments of “disenfranchisement” and “rejection”.

The 2011 National School Climate Survey conducted by GLSEN to document the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in America’s schools shows that students who engage with only abstinence curriculum feared that their peers won’t be accepting of them because of the quietness that surrounds queer themed discussions (McGarry, 2013). A similar survey of college students was conducted in India by Boston Consulting Group, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Pride Circle Foundation to gauge the level of discrimination that the LGBTQ+ students are exposed to. It was found that “92 percent faced discrimination in the form of mocking, 59 percent were subjected to bullying and 26 percent faced social exclusion” (Radhika, 2021). Thus, it becomes imperative that besides simply stating that “equitable” education should be imparted, the policymakers also clearly lay down the ways through which the curriculum can be made inclusive of queer discourses. However, even if the government makes certain amendments to create a queer-inclusive educational space, it all bottles down to the willingness of the teachers and schools to ensure that all students feel equally represented in the curriculum and teaching practices.

Several factors hinder the willingness of teachers to have queer themes discussions in classrooms. One of them being fear of societal and parental aggression, especially in rural areas. Page (2013) in her article voices the concern of a similar rural teacher who opines that as much as she wants to incorporate teaching practices that are non-hetero/cisnormative, she fears the backlash she might receive from her students’ parents. This fear can be eliminated if the government lays strict rules regarding the inclusion of queer representation in the Indian education curriculum. Moreover, literary educators can contribute a lot by coming up with different teaching methods that not only raise awareness about stepping beyond the binaries of gender and sexual identities but also create a safe space for LGBTQ+ students.

An article (n.d.) published by Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego states that primary graders (6-10 years old) start developing curious attitudes towards sexuality and gender. This is the age when kids start asking questions about pregnancy, birth and also subconsciously develop their own sexual and gender identities. One of the root causes for this inquisitiveness is their environment. For example, they might see their pets or any other animal engaging in sexual intercourse, or hear an offensive inappropriate jest. If correct guidance is not provided to these students, they turn to unreliable sources to quench their curiosity such as unsolicited media outlets, or even older peers in schools who might not have accurate knowledge about sexuality and gender and might prove to be a bad influence on these kids. This becomes an open call for educationalists all around the world to incorporate queer-inclusive practices in teaching which also keep in mind the age of primary graders and provide appropriate and interesting texts.

An inclusive space for all students can be ensured by teaching Queer English Literature in schools. Due to globalisation and the larger hegemony of the Anglo sphere, English has become a very important language (Viswanathan, 2015). Thus, the education system should help the students to become more linguistically equipped while also making the curriculum queer inclusive. An article published by The Writers’ Bureau (n.d.) emphasizes the importance of storytelling for children. Storytelling provides children with access to the possibilities of different world views and diversity. This also does away with the monotonous nature of cramming that students, especially kids, dislike. The process of learning through stories is very natural and especially fascinating for kids as it aids in the development of their imagination. Developed imagination helps in enhancing creativity and honing social, personal, problem-solving, and communication skills (Kaufman, 2012). Teaching Literature that equally represents all the sexual and gender identities thus presents transsexual and non-heteronormative discourses to students in a very natural way and eradicates any bias that they may have developed towards queer identities.

According to McGarry (2013), by the end of second grade, kids should be able to recognise the fact that there are numerous ways in which an individual chooses to act and represent themselves (gender identities). They should be able to understand that the gender a person identifies as, does not have to be in tandem with the sex assigned to them at birth. They should also be able to segregate the negative methods practised by society, media, friends and family that force boys and girls to act in a certain way. By the end of fifth grade, students should have a thorough understanding of different sexual identities. They should also be able to identify individuals with whom they can have discussions about their sexual and gender identities. This is very crucial because this is the age when students are made acquainted with the functioning of families and society. As the textbooks provide only heteronormative and cisnormative narratives, they subconsciously learn to see the world in terms of black and white and fail to recognise the diversity that surrounds sexuality and gender. McGarry’s views can be used as guidelines by teachers who have difficulty deciding which books are appropriate for students.

For students in first and second grade, picture books are a great learning aid. An article by EBSCO (2017) proposes that kids are significantly better at retaining images than text. Furthermore, if a student has difficulty with reading, the pictures present can help in grasping the concepts. Various picture books familiarise children with different gender orientations. They, She, He easy as ABC by Maya Christina Gonzalez is a wonderful guide to acquaint students with gender fluidity, different gender pronouns and their usage. The Boy & the Bindi by Vivek Shreya is a story about a young boy who decided to wear a bindi after watching his mother. Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love is about a boy named Julian who loves to dress up as a mermaid. These books will encourage students to understand gender expressions while also pushing them to love and accept themselves the way they are instead of conforming to any gender role. Red: Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall follows the story of a blue crayon who is tired of the other crayons saying that he is red and is an interesting take on trans-sexuality, individuality and personal expression. I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings follows the story of Jennings, an LGBT rights activist as she discovered that she is transgender and presents it in the form of an engaging read for students. When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff is the story of Aidan, a trans-boy who realised that he wanted to be a brother and not a sister to his younger sibling. These picture books will enable students to differentiate between a person’s gender identity and biological sex. Introducing Teddy by Jessica Walton is a story about Teddy who expresses to her best friend Errol that she wishes her name was Tilly as she is a girl. This book encourages trans-inclusivity in the curriculum through an animal character. An article by PJ Library (2020) suggests that kids find themselves more drawn to stories with animal protagonists as they are easily amused by colourful and cute creatures. A Day in The Life of Marlon Bundo by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson are animal picture books which broaden the definition of family for students beyond heterosexual and cisgender families. My Chacha is Gay by Eiynah is about Ahmad whose uncle is gay and documents how he loves his uncle and encourages others to accept him too. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah Brannen is another book about gay marriage. Prince & Knight and Maiden & Princess by Daniel Haack are two similar books that focus on exploring sexual identities through the dreamy world of princes and princesses (Daly, 2020).

Page (2013) in her aforementioned article recalls a conversation she had with one of her colleagues, who seemed to believe that there are “tons of resources on academic freedom and censorship. They [the teachers] just need to use them”. However, several constraints keep the teachers from accessing these resources. This points towards the practice of incorporating new goals into the already existing pedagogies. She proposes four ways through which this can be done. These methods will prove fruitful for teaching students in third, fourth and fifth grades. The first method is “Partial Visibility” wherein teachers ensure that there are enough LGBTQ+ books in school libraries and then let children choose any book of their choice. This is also called choice-reading and lets students pick up books such as Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green, Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan etc. However, this does not ensure students’ engagement with these texts as they might hesitate to pick up a queer themed book. Therefore, Page proposes a second method – “Constrained Visibility” wherein these texts are made more visible and accessible to students through literature and book clubs. This also expands the scope of class discussion which improves students’ understanding of these texts.

The third method is “Visible With Partial Integration (Diffused Focus)” wherein teachers can introduce texts with secondary characters who identify as queer, such as If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan and More Than This by Patrick Ness, for the whole class. This method is useful for teachers who don’t want to explicitly talk about queer themes due to certain reasons. The fourth method is “Visible With Partial Integration (Concentrated Focus)” which queers the classics by bringing out themes of gender and sexuality present in them. Teachers can initiate discussions on the LGBTQ+ themes in novels such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger etc.  The final method– “Full Visibility and Integration: Transformation and Alchemy” is a full-fledged approach towards a queer-inclusive curriculum. This method, though requires teachers to be daring, will enable students to not only understand the prejudices of a queer exclusive curriculum but also provide ways to combat it.

In his Ted Talk (2017) on What children learn from the things they aren't told, Tompkins also elaborates how children instinctively assume that if something is kept hidden from them it has to be bad or wrong. Therefore, the education system must break the silence that surrounds queer themes discourses. The government needs to think its policies through and weigh the effect such hetero/cis-normative pedagogies will have on students. Besides the government, schools also must create a safe space for students of different sexual and gender identities. This can be done by understanding students, what they like and which teaching practices ensure maximum engagement and participation. Teachers need to realise that the problem lies in the inception period of queer studies. For example– recommending books that only feature heterosexual and cisgender family structures. This is why incorporating Queer English Literature for primary graders becomes important. It provides them with the correct guidelines to engage in LGBTQ+ discussions, encourages harmony and ensures that they are not blindfolded when it comes to understanding the diverse sexual and gender identities. Most importantly, it will help shape a world where mutual love, kindness and respect for fellow beings are not hampered by the different ways people identify and express themselves.

 

References

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Written by: Teena Verma

Reviewed by: Smriti Gupta, Kanav Sahgal

About the Author: Teena is a student of English Honours at Christ University, Bangalore. She is an Ally and believes in treating everyone with kindness and respect. She loves to spend her leisure time fangirling over bands, watching anime, k-dramas and reading books.