Queerness in our classrooms

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the specific part of Cho's stand up that I wanted in an isolated, cut-down, youtube clip, so, in order to find the part I'm interested in, please "fast forward" to about the 7-minute mark, and watch to about 8:20. Of course you're welcome to view the whole thing, but it's not all relevant to my argument (also, be forewarned that's it's serious adult content!).


"There are so many gays all over the world! But not Korea! But everywhere else."

I've been thinking more about our discussion last week regarding issues of queerness and the classroom, especially when thinking about queerness within multicultural settings. Here's what I've been thinking about (feel free to read on or not; this is just my own thoughts, nothing required):

From my own experience, I've found that many identity-groups will use that specific identity-category as the excuse for hating queers. When I started working at Metro, a school that is 99% African-American, I was told that issues of homosexuality were deeply frowned upon in the Black community and that I should not address them. When talking to one of my best friends from high school, he told me he'd kick his nephew's asses if any of them even thought about being gay. When I asked him why, he responded, "We're Hispanic. Clearly, you don't understand what it means to be Hispanic!" And Margaret Cho's parody of her mother speaks to the same issue.
So, I started thinking about all of these similar experiences and wondered about white people. We all know that white folks are just as homophobic and heterosexist as anyone else, so why is it, when white folks are homophobic, it's not often tied to a racial identity?
I think, and I could very well be mistaken, that this is because whiteness is invisible (I'm specifically talking about mainstream whites--not crazy supremacists). It is because whiteness is invisible that racism functions so well. We don't ever have to think about our privilege; it just is. Therefore, when whites are homophobic, they *may* cling to other identities such as religious, political, or class identities (i.e. "It's against the bible!").

To say we cannot address issues of queerness in our classrooms because we work with a particular group, especially of a specific race, who is not accepting of it, is troubling for several reasons:

1. This assumes that there are no queers who identify within that group (there are, indeed, gay Koreans, etc.).
2. This allows us to remain neutral, thus not an ally, to those queers within that identity group; we are essentially supporting homophobic practices.
3. This stereotypes that group as being closed-minded bigots incapable of forward and/or different thinking.
4. This assumes that the people of this group cannot/should not/are not capable of being challenged.
5. This assumes that there are no allies in this particular group.
6. This may also perpetuate more racist assumptions about that group.
7. This assumes that individuals do not think for themselves.

I am the Gay/Straight Alliance faculty advisor for Rufus King and the majority of our GAY students are of color--exactly what I was told, in my first year of teaching, would not be the case.
To say that being gay is not ok with the Black community, the Latino community, Asian, etc., is obviously a myth that allows homophobia to thrive.
It puts us, as teachers (especially if we are "outsiders"--racially, culturally, etc--to those we teach), in an uncomfortable place because we don't want to be culturally insensitive; however, I've found that it is simply a myth, fueled by homophobia, that XYZ groups are *particularly* homophobic. One's race, religion, sex, or class does not make one homophobic. One's homophobia makes one homophobic.

I firmly believe that it is our duty to recognize the diversity of all of our students, and this includes challenging homophobia when we see it in our schools.

For more resources: http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/home/index.html