‘Like What Do You Do – Hand Out an Announcement?’ – Combating Heteronormativity in Physical Education

For many years, women in physical education have been stereotyped as lesbians and seen as intruders to the masculine arena of sport. Social norms within the school system make it very clear what is acceptable as a female teacher, and anything differing from the created norm is considered deviant. With this being the case, it was my desire to break through the walls of heteronormativity (pattern of thought which places heterosexuality as the normal, natural, and accepted sexual orientation, failing to recognize any other form of sexuality) within education and expose the injustice towards a stigmatized and marginalized population of physical educators. Through semi-structured interviews five teachers had a chance to share their experiences and bring voice to an often, silenced topic. A qualitative inductive analysis of the data revealed the silence around the topic of sexuality in education, heterosexual privilege, the influence of the administration, and the consequences of a heterosexist and homophobic environment.