Dennis Carlson - "Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community"

1.       “Finally, I want to distinguish between a homosexual orientation or preference, and gay identity. The former I take to refer to the more-or-less natural direction of one’s sexual desires while the latter refers to the active construction of a gay self identity and visible gay presence within culture-what I am referring to as gayness.” 

Carlson’s compartmentalization of “homosexuality” and “gayness” caught my attention because I never thought to separate the terms. He is saying that homosexuality is the physical attraction to persons of the same sex, while gayness is the manifestation of stereotypical gay qualities (mannerisms, voice, dress, etc.) in one’s personality and actions.

2.       “Public schools in particular have often promoted such ‘normalizing’ conceptualizations of community that are based on defining a cultural center or ‘norm’ and positions class, gender, race, and sexual Others at the margins.”

In modern times, homosexuality and gayness are undoubtedly a largely influential part of society, but they rarely make it into our curricula. This is because, although gayness is more accepted than it was in the past, it is still ranked in the “abnormal” category in social ladder. Other non-SCWAAMP qualities are discussed in schools, but because of the major controversy that exists over homosexuality and its rightness vs. wrongness, it is left out. This quote reminded me of Delpit because the “normalized” identity of straightness is the standard for the culture of power, and gayness may need to be suppressed in certain situations in order to play by the rules of power, if one so chooses.

3.       “Finally, a democratic multicultural education must become a dialogue in which all ‘voices’ are heard and all ‘truths’ are understood as partial and positioned. The object of classroom discourse is thus not so much to achieve consensus on one ‘true’ or ‘objective’ depiction of reality, but rather to clarify differences and agreements…”

In this quote, Carlson is saying that in the classroom, the goal is not to make everyone agree that a particular sexual identity, or race, or gender, is better. The goal is to discuss these issues fairly, thus giving “voice” to them.  This quote is one of his answers to the question “Now What?” in the “What? So What? Now What?” model of argument analysis. The ideal education system presents various perspectives fairly, and by leaving homosexuality out of education, we are not currently doing so.

Before I summarize the article, I want to provide you with this video. Carlson is not saying anywhere in his article that people who write curricula believe that homosexuality is a disease. However, I found this video on youtube and it got me thinking about how this view of homosexuality, although this video is from the 1950s, is still prevalent today. Listen to how the homosexual driver is referred to as "sick." Note: I do not advocate hitch-hiking, but you get the point.

The central theme of this article was easy for me to grasp; however, it was one of the more difficult articles we have had to read in terms of unpacking each individual theory. Carlson believes, and I agree, that by essentially ignoring that homosexuality exists, school systems do not present a balanced multicultural curriculum. In popular culture, gayness is portrayed throughout all forms of communication, from books to television to movies. Also, the view of homosexuality by society in general has significantly changed from past generations to now; it is much more accepted, although there are many people who still consider it “wrong.” Thus, sexual identity is an enormous part of society, and leaving it out of the education system causes it to become the elephant in the rooms of today’s schools. For an educational system that desires continuous development and advancement, it is remarkably difficult for alternative families and lifestyles, which are nothing new to society, to present themselves in the curriculum.