Abstract
This qualitative study, framed conceptually by notions from Queer theory and a practice model of “virtue ethics”, attempted to explore the perceptions, attitudes, and self-reported practices of a sample of school social workers in the Northeastern United States with respect to gender socialization and gender variance in the classroom. The data, collected through individual interviews, indicate that the social workers in this study seemed willing to support and to advocate for gender-variant students. However, there also appeared to be some misunderstandings about the nature of gender identity, analyzed in this article with particular reference to the notion of “homonormativity”. It is suggested that full engagement with gender-variant students requires more training, not only for social workers, but for other school personnel, and as part of professional pre-service programs.
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Acknowledgments
For their guidance with the research on which this article is based, the author wishes to thank the members of his dissertation committee: Laura Hopson, Loretta Pyles, and Deborah May. Thanks also to Carla Sofka and Aaron Rosenblatt for comments on an earlier draft of this paper.
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de Jong, D. “He Wears Pink Leggings Almost Every Day, and a Pink Sweatshirt….” How School Social Workers Understand and Respond to Gender Variance. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 32, 247–255 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0355-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0355-3