Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation is the proclivity or capacity for romantic love. All human beings have a basic sexual orientation, which can range from homosexual (individuals fall in love with people who are their same biological sex) to bisexual (individuals can fall in love with individuals of various biological sexes) to heterosexual (individuals fall in love with people who are of what is historically considered “the opposite sex”). According to the psychological research literature, individuals' sexual orientations are well established by the age of five and are highly resistant, if not impossible, to change. Individuals who have a nonheterosexual sexual orientation are currently understood to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual; collectively, the acronym is LGB.

Variations in human sexual orientation have existed across history and cultures. Even so, beginning in the late 19th century, officials in the United States criminalized sexual behavior that was non-heterosexual. By the 1920s, all states had made same-sex consensual sexual behavior a felony. This situation did not end until the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which ruled that all laws banning consensual sodomy, whether by cross-sex or same-sex couples, were unconstitutional.

Complicating this picture is that gender, or how individuals express their understandings of what it means to be male or female, has historically been used as a proxy for sexual orientation. Simply stated, if persons did not “do” their gender correctly, particularly effeminate men, the cultural assumption was that they were “queer” or homosexual, regardless of their actual orientation. Consequently, gender transgressors could be, were, and in some instances, still are fired from their jobs as well as harassed by their peers and law enforcement officials.

For educators working in public schools, the conflation of sexual orientation and gender meant that both male and female educators have had to adhere to rigid gender roles or face the loss of their positions. Additionally, because sexual orientation was equated with intrinsic criminality, states maintained bans on [Page 762]lesbian, gay, and bisexual school personnel. Heterosexual marriage was expected for male educators throughout the bulk of the 20th century. At the same time, many school boards actually banned married women from serving as teachers under the sexist logic that women could not satisfy both their husbands and their educational responsibilities. However, after World War II, a combination of greater awareness regarding human sexuality, rampant homophobia, particularly in the field of educational administration, and a dire need for public school teachers in light of the ongoing baby boom opened the doors wide to married female teachers. By the 1970s, female educators were expected to marry just like their male peers.

Since the 1970s, sexual orientation has served as a flashpoint in the politics of education. There have been numerous political battles at the local, state, and federal level as both a growing LGB civil rights movement and Protestant Right political activists have clashed over many aspects affecting public schooling policy.

Currently, the status of sexual orientation vis-a-vis American public schooling is dominated by policy incoherence. On the one hand, 20 states and Washington, D.C., outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, and another 6 jurisdictions have statewide policies that ban harassment and/or discrimination based on sexual orientation in public schools. On the other hand, 15 states provide no protection whatsoever regarding sexual orientation and public schooling. In addition, 8 states have “no promo homo” laws on the books. These laws prohibit the “promotion of homosexuality” by public school officials. Broadly construed and probably unconstitutional, no promo homo laws serve to stigmatize and silence individuals who have either a homosexual or bisexual sexual orientation. Until federal legislation is enacted, this policy incoherence involving sexual orientation and public schooling is likely to continue.

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