Sexuality Research

The broad area of sexuality research includes studies pertaining to the biology of sex and sexuality as well as social constructions of gender. It encompasses such topics as child and adolescent sexuality, sexual orientation or sexual preference, gender identity, the body and body image, and sex education and reproductive health, each of which can be discussed in terms of biology as well as social constructions. Sexuality research intersects with and draws on such areas of study as feminism, gender studies, queer studies, cultural studies, and psychology and medicine. Sexuality research also engages larger questions of how gender and sexuality are understood and enacted in different social contexts. For instance, “Western” constructions of heterosexuality and homosexuality may not be applicable in Asian or African cultures. This area of research proves most important to the work currently being done in the field of curriculum studies.

Sexuality research falls on both sides of the “nature vs. nurture” debate. Research that draws on biology to frame its questions may focus on established categories of genderfor instance, such binaries as female and male. Sexuality research that emerges from the frame of social construction generally engages more fluid interpretations of sex and genderfor instance, rather than viewing gendered identities as biologically determined, such research may construe them as performance. Theoretical work pertaining to the social construction of gender, which informs such scholarship, critiques essentialist and deterministic approaches, emphasizes the fluidity of gender and sexuality, and engages the intersections of race, class, culture, gender, and sexuality in historical and geographic contexts.

As in the broader area, sexuality research pertaining to education and curriculum emerges from perspectives rooted in biology and from theoretical approaches that engage social constructions of gender. In recent years, research in the education field has focused on such issues as discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, the pros and cons of same-sex schooling, and gender(ed) representations in curriculum, including the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth and families. For instance, with regard to K12 schooling, scholars have examined how schools privilege boys and “fail at fairness,” offering unequal education to girls. Just as sexism shapes the hidden curriculum, so, of course, does hetero-sexism. Scholars and researchers have also documented and interrogated heterosexist bias and the effects of homophobia in curriculum and teaching. For instance, it is well established that a majority of LGBT students encounter harassment at school and that the suicide rate among them is high.

Educators have developed a number of curricular and pedagogical resources for K12 settings to address some of the issues that sexuality research has brought to light. For instance, from specific teaching strategies outlined in publications such as the ones available from Milwaukee, Wisconsin based publisher, Rethinking Schools, to films for educators (such as It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School) to the establishment of gay-straight alliances in schools, educators are trying to address heterosexism and homophobia. Furthermore, popular media (such films as Boys Don't Cry and Billy Elliott) and books representing the voices and stories of LGBT youth and young people who do not fit predetermined notions of gender are also available to educators, as are resources from such organizations as Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

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