“I agree, it is not safe mostly because schools have lots of old school values. We are always trying to mould kids into a certain way. We know we not supposed to but this is how we were taught and we do the same. There is only 2 genders – male and female – so if you see someone who doesn’t fit like a male, being too feminine, the teacher will have to speak to the learner to join more male company or change the way they walk or speak. Also, other learners call each other gay for not being manly enough and it’s not in this school but I've seen teachers before not reprimanding learners for this behaviour. I don't know if they felt like it will put the child right, but nothing was done. This is how it is.
It is not a safe place” (Dorothy).
The above extracts display teacher discussions on the safety of transgender identity in the primary school environment and argue that the safety and security of non-conforming identity is under threat. Sandra claimed that even though schools are meant to be a safe space, learners, teachers, principals, and any member of the community is susceptible to bullying on the basis of gender and sexual identity. This is mainly because of cultural and religious beliefs that condemn such expressions. Sandra talks about the bullying mentality prevalent amongst learners used to mock and bully teachers who do not conform to society’s standards of masculinity or femininity. Sandra’s response is in line with Msibi’s (2019) study which found that non-conforming teachers are being discriminated against and marginalised, resulting in suppressed gender identity and sexuality in order to avoid homophobia and transphobia in the work environment.
Jessica added that schools – and society as a whole – are tough on and not accepting of non-conforming gender identities, leaving everyone susceptible to danger. Wilson et al., (2011) focused on violence directed at teachers from a prevention standpoint and claimed that it is fundamental to identify the contextual and individual factors that permit violent attitudes and behaviour in this study directed toward non-conforming identities. Dorothy pointed out generational teachings that force all members of society to conform to the only two genders – male and female. She claimed that if individuals show signs of non-conformance, then chastising techniques like shaming and shunning are used to “put the child right”, or in other words, ensure hyper masculinity and heteronormativity is sustained. These punishing techniques instinctively give rise to acts of homophobia and transphobia which Dorothy explained as using the term gay as an insult. All teacher participants were asked about their
understanding of terms like ‘homophobia’ and ‘transphobia’. The predominant view was these concepts are linked to fear.
A participant’s response to the question: “And what do you understand by the term homophobia and transphobia?”
“I will say people who are afraid of people who are gay or lesbian or people who are afraid of people who are changing over” (Lauren).
A participant’s response to the question: “Do you think homophobic and transphobic attitudes are prevalent in Chatsworth primary schools?”
“I have been teaching here for a while so I cannot say that I know schools, so I'm ignorant in that sense but yeah I will say it is. Obviously [in] a school scenario I would think that this behaviour becomes a sore point in high school, especially from people who refuse to accept it and start out and pointing fingers, you know. I haven't heard cases of people being bullied because they are gay or transgender, not especially in primary school, but I did see one video where, and this was maybe 12 months ago, where a person was being bullied because of the choice they made” (Lauren).
A participant’s response to the question: “Could you elaborate on that story?”
“Ok there was this child and one of the Durban schools that was being bullied for type of choice the child made and when the child tried to react, he was beaten up badly and this video surfaced on social media. When I opened up this video, I said you know society is so ignorant because they cannot accept this child for who he is. Do you know they are trying to shut the door in this child's face, and you know just looking at the video you can see the child lying down all beaten up; it shows me that, hey, we haven't come a very long way in terms of acceptance” (Lauren).
Dessel et al., (2017) declared that only 2.4% of the population are open about their nonconforming gender identity, classifying LGBTIQ+ identity as a minority group and leaving them more susceptible to suppression from majority groups. The author highlighted that both conforming and non-conforming identities experience a sense of fear; transgender identities fear ostracisation from close family and friends or discrimination from the community, while hetero-cis-gender identities fear being converted into a homosexual.
In the above extract, Lauren admitted to being ignorant of the prevalence of homophobia across primary schools but also mentioned that homophobic behaviours are a sore point in post-primary schools. Lauren emphasised the predicament transgender identities find themselves in with regard to severe physical bullying in the educational environment. She used the example of a Durban high school learner who was ‘beaten badly’ for expressing their gender or sexuality that did not align with the community. The act of physically humiliating the learner was further extended when the ordeal was circulated on social media. Lauren alleged that homo/transphobic behaviours are based on fear and eventually manifest itself in a display of aggression, exhibiting how society remains ignorant of non-conforming gender expression and insists on refusing transgender identity.
“I will say, yes, in Chatsworth, yes, because if we are looking at learners in school, the parents are very afraid of this. They don’t want their children to join a child who is gay or transgender because they feel like their children will become the same. So yes, they have this fear of being gay and their children being gay. So yes, it is prevalent in schools, but I haven’t seen anything here”
(Margaret)
Margaret also pointed out that practices of homo/transphobia is due to hetero-cis-gender fear of ‘turning homosexual’ or having their children be influenced by non-conforming identities, ultimately leading to youth choosing the homosexual lifestyle. Margaret’s response shed light on society’s perception of gender through the heterosexual matrix, with the default setting being men or women who are attracted to or interested in the opposite sex exclusively. This ideology also fosters the perception that sexuality is a choice and therefore susceptible to influence, either from immediate company like peers or broader communities such as those seen on social media.
Van Anders (2014) argued that biological theories attempt to use the nature-nurture debate to try and make sense of sexuality, especially homosexuality. The author claimed that despite considerable research, no evidence has been found to indicate biological impacts on sexuality. However, Van Anders (2014) stated that emerging research is exploring the impact of prenatal care on the development of certain hormones that differ from the heteronormative society.
“Well I wouldn't say not this school in particular but across schools and Chatsworth you do have behaviours like this definitely. You know, we do have topics like bullying and stuff in our life orientation syllabus that talks about how to treat other people but we don't have specific programmes that talk about these problems when it comes to gender and you know we need to help. You see learners today they are all on social media and they all have these ideas and they come into schools, and they talk to their friends or the way that they think is very different. So in terms of like teasing and bullying and mocking each another, this is the definite problem. You know in our school we have a very strict policy on bullying, so I haven't picked up on anything that was so so serious; but as a teacher, you need to be aware of bullying like this that exist in schools” (Joseph).
Despite the acknowledgement of homo/transphobic attitudes and behaviours, both Margaret and Joseph affirmed that these actions were not tolerated in their schools. Joseph emphasised the role of the primary school curriculum when addressing issues of homo/transphobia. He stated that bullying is a topic that all teachers have exposure with; however, specific topics like homophobic and transphobic bullying is not explicitly stated in official documents, and therefore teachers tend to overlook teaching this topic in the classroom. Joseph claimed that young learners are exposed to tools such as social media, which expand on their ideas and understandings, and these understandings filter into the school environment. Despite having a strict no bullying policy, Joseph contends that teachers need to become aware of homo/transphobic bullying because it does exist in schools.