Queering school communities : ethical curiosity and gay-straight alliances

C. Mayo

This essay analyzes the growth of associational identity and ethical community encouraged by Gay-Straight Alliances, using queer theory to analyze their ideas and practices. Following an analysis of the Equal Access Act, which has provided space and time to extracurricular public school groups, the author turns to accounts of students involved in GSAs. Examining how they describe shared querying of normative sexuality and curiosity at possible innovations, the author argues that these students are deeply aware of the associational element of identity and very aware of how to navigate the often crushing normalizing power experienced in schools. Without the space in which to examine their lives and relations, the curiosity binding these students has less opportunity to expand into ethical self- and community-formation.[Copies are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Center. The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580, USA]