Queer Contemplative Pedagogy: Challenging Gender and Sexuality Norms Through Contemplation
Journal of Homosexuality October 6, 2021 DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2021.1984789 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnographic study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | High school students in a secondary gender studies course |
| Interventions | Queer Contemplative Pedagogy meditation contemplative writing |
| Keywords | Education |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | A Queer Contemplative Pedagogy using meditation and contemplative writing can help students challenge personal and societal assumptions about genders and sexualities. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT While teaching a secondary gender studies course, high school teacher “Eleanor” found that though most students identified as queer and expressed interest in disrupting normative understandings of genders and sexualities, their classroom contributions often reified problematic norms. She implemented what she termed a Queer Contemplative Pedagogy to challenge students to think more contemplatively about genders and sexualities. Based on ethnographic classroom observations and individual interviews, this paper examines Eleanor’s and the students’ efforts to use meditation and contemplative writing to challenge a range of norms and personal assumptions. This study offers a rare pairing of contemplative practice with queer research and provides an instructional approach that pushes youth and educators to continue to examine assumptions and societal constructions related to genders and sexualities.