Schooling.
“A ‘gay-friendly’ Chicago public high school that will weave gay and lesbian “heroes” — from James Baldwin to Gertrude Stein — into its curriculum was among 20 new school proposals unveiled Wednesday… In U.S. history and other classes, “gay and lesbian historical figures” would be taught so gay youth ‘have heroes,’ said Bill Greaves, Chicago’s liaison on issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. ‘We will teach the history of all people, but we are just going to make sure these people are not invisible in that history,” said Greaves, part of the Pride Campus design team.” The school hopes to open in 2010. [Chicago Sun-Times]
What about Madonna?
She’s my hero.
Can we get a history month in all schools? Weave in arts and literature and talk about the toxic psychological effects of the closet. Discuss how government can decide who will be visible and who will be marginalized. Probably not – the right wing in the U.S. would term this “talking about abnormal sex”.
what about the gay or questioning students who can’t afford to go to the new school? Not financially, but who are still [they are high school kids] afraid to tell anyone what they feel they are, for fear or getting beat up or kicked out of the home? I kind of fear these are the kids who will be left behind to fend for themselves while all the other kids who’ve figured it out are at the gay friendly school.
I’d settle for just getting Art and Literature back in school. Those were the only subjects I was good at.