QUEERING SILENCE: A NARRATIVE LOOK AT THE PARALLEL STORIES OF LGBT AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SETTING

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2010-12

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Abstract

We are told from an early age not judge a book by its cover. This idiom is the perfect way to look at my research; it expresses the idea that what we present on the outside is, many times, a cloak to hide what is really inside. As I began my journey, I turned to Deborah Britzman (1998) and her notion of “other” and how this plays out in the school setting for two particular groups. These two identities, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) and Hard of Hearing (HH), fall into the category of “other” just as many other groups do; however, these two groups have a unique ability to hide the inner pages of their stories and pass for something they are not in other words, their otherness is invisible. This invisibility makes possible the notion of “passing” between multiple cultures, yet members lack the ability to belong completely too any one group. Through the method of narrative inquiry I examine these identities and the similarly shared stories they possess. The idea of living and telling and re-living and re-telling (Craig, 2007) lends the voice of experience, giving merit to the struggles of those youth who suffered throughout their journey in the education system. The methodology of narrative inquiry provides empowerment not only to the participants and researcher but also the reader (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Narrative provokes thought, thought provokes conversation and conversation provokes change. It is the aim of this research through narrative inquiry to broaden the field of LGBT studies and to give voice to the HH group, which currently has no voice in the research arena.

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Keywords

Education, Identity development, Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), Hard-of-Hearing

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