Quotation: “Despite the hegemonic discourse that sexuality is irrelevant to children, schooling cultures and official educational documents consistently construct children as heteronormative subjects with heterosexual futures, even when sexual knowledge is absent in the curricula”. (Robinson & Davies, 208, p. 222)
One of the main key points which Robinson and Davies express are issues relating around sexuality as not being an essential part of a child’s identity. This is shown through the fact that children are represented as “‘too young’ and ‘innocent’ to understand sexuality or sexual knowledge” (Robinson & Davies, 2008, p. 222). We are shown how children aren’t given the opportunity to make decisions for themselves and how it is socially …show more content…
So why is it being said that children need protection from the ‘adult world’?
This silencing of not openly talking about sexuality in general to young children within educational institutions, negatively impacts children’s self-esteem and understandings of diverse sexualities in the future. It limits their identity of who they are which is an important process of developing their individualism. Thus, gender, sex and sexuality is presented as socially constructed through the way in which society determines what young children are to be taught and what they shouldn’t be taught.
Another key point which Robinson and Davis express is the way that schools naturalize heterosexuality as the normal form. Although schools don’t directly talk about it, it is taught in hidden ways. The hidden ways in which schools normalize and construct knowledge around heterosexuality is evidently seen through the resources used in an institution. Resources include; movies and posters where they depict heterosexual couples and families and don’t express any other form of sexuality. Idealizing a family consisting of a heterosexual couple is teaching and normalizing this type of sexuality, as they do not take into account other sexualities. Thus, further creating issues down the track for children who don’t fit into that category of being
One of the main key points which Robinson and Davies express are issues relating around sexuality as not being an essential part of a child’s identity. This is shown through the fact that children are represented as “‘too young’ and ‘innocent’ to understand sexuality or sexual knowledge” (Robinson & Davies, 2008, p. 222). We are shown how children aren’t given the opportunity to make decisions for themselves and how it is socially …show more content…
So why is it being said that children need protection from the ‘adult world’?
This silencing of not openly talking about sexuality in general to young children within educational institutions, negatively impacts children’s self-esteem and understandings of diverse sexualities in the future. It limits their identity of who they are which is an important process of developing their individualism. Thus, gender, sex and sexuality is presented as socially constructed through the way in which society determines what young children are to be taught and what they shouldn’t be taught.
Another key point which Robinson and Davis express is the way that schools naturalize heterosexuality as the normal form. Although schools don’t directly talk about it, it is taught in hidden ways. The hidden ways in which schools normalize and construct knowledge around heterosexuality is evidently seen through the resources used in an institution. Resources include; movies and posters where they depict heterosexual couples and families and don’t express any other form of sexuality. Idealizing a family consisting of a heterosexual couple is teaching and normalizing this type of sexuality, as they do not take into account other sexualities. Thus, further creating issues down the track for children who don’t fit into that category of being