Is It Time (Yet) to Shelve LGBTIQ Topics? The Contextual Adequacy of (De-)Essentialism as an Educational Strategy

Abstract

The debate on the relationship between queer theory and identity politics, the hitherto dominant research framework with strong application potential, was expanded by establishing queer theory as a starting point for studies examining sexual and gender diversity in education. The point of contention became the question of the purposefulness of strategic essentialism, with a strong emphasis on the many pitfalls of insufficient intersectional understanding of identity, where sexual and gender diversity is but one dimension. Various pitfalls of de essentialism also became the subject of analysis. With such polarities in mind, in this article we present a part of the data collected within a research project aimed at LGBTIQ inclusiveness of educational institutions. The aim of this article is to analyse potential advantages and disadvantages of using a theoretically progressive strategy of de-essentialism in a heteronormative educational context. Data collected in four focus groups conducted with teachers in a number of Zagreb secondary schools show that, in their attitudes and daily educational practices concerning LGBTIQ topics, research participants are positioned at different points of the spectrum, varying from essentialist to de-essentialist, while the exact positioning is strongly determined by context. The concluding part of the article provides guidelines for future research.