Opinion: Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law inspired a plethora of states to propose similar legislation. Conservative lawmakers across the country are attempting to erase queer topics from the classroom.
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On March 28, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the homophobic Parental Rights in Education Act. The law restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classrooms. The act will take effect July 1.
I wrote a piece about this already, before DeSantis signed the bill. Now this is just another example in an alarming trend of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in America. Over a dozen states have since proposed bills mirroring the language of Florida’s law. Some states, such as Iowa, propose allowing parents to opt their children in or out of LGBT-inclusive curricula.
All of this turmoil comes from legislators’ misguided belief that discussing queer topics in school makes children gay. For the narrow-minded individuals who think such, I can assure you that’s not the case. For instance, queer relationships and genders outside the binary were not covered in my school curriculum anytime between kindergarten and third grade.
I still came out as queer at 12 years old. I’m not the only one.
I spoke with second-year UO student Peyton, who chose to only go by their first name because they are not out to their conservative family members back home. Peyton attended public schools in Texas, where sexual orientation and gender diversity rarely came up in the classroom.
“People didn’t like it,” Peyton said. “It was very frowned upon as opposed to having a straight-presenting relationship in a story.”
Technically speaking, discussion of cisgender, heterosexual relationships in schools at a young grade should also be restricted based on the language used legislators. However, it’s clear the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” when used in the context of these bills, refer to LGBTQ+ identities. Otherwise, the Florida law would imply that teachers can not use terms like “boy” or “girl” in classroom discussions. Funnily enough, opponents of the law propose doing just that.
Although they saw little representation in their education, Peyton still realized they were queer in seventh grade and that they were non-binary in their junior year of high school.
“To a certain degree, I think my early education kept me from being out earlier,” Peyton said. “If I didn’t have that fear, I think I definitely would have discovered who I was sooner.”
Avoiding discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms doesn’t prevent students from being queer; it just instils a sense of wrongness that is difficult to avoid. I came out when I was relatively young, yet I still fight aspects of internalized homophobia to this day. I don’t believe this would be the case if I’d witnessed some representation in my learning environment.
In Texas, Peyton didn’t receive representation in their education either. Since moving to Oregon, things appear better, but appearances can be deceiving. While Peyton sees more queer acceptance in Oregon, discussion of underrepresentation is often swept under the rug.
“Such a big emphasis was placed on being straight and being cisgender in the South,” Peyton said. “I honestly think that my situation here in the Pacific Northwest isn’t that much better than it was back home.”
We may consider Oregon to be a LGBT-inclusive state, but that’s not necessarily true. According to the 2019 National School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Oregon isn’t considered safe for most queer secondary school students. Although our state has nondiscrimination and anti-bullying policies for LGBTQ+ students, 71% of those surveyed reported hearing homophobic slurs within school buildings on a regular basis.
Our numbers aren’t great, but our current governor doesn’t seem to be following in the footsteps of other lawmakers. In response to the Florida law, Gov. Kate Brown came out to show her support for Oregon LGBTQ+ students on Twitter.
“Oregon will always be a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place — no matter one’s sexual orientation or identity,” Brown said.
However, the Oregon gubernatorial election is currently underway, and Gov. Brown cannot run again due to term limits. The densely populated areas in Oregon, such as Portland and Eugene, are generally blue, but the southeastern quarters of the state typically swing red when voting. We can’t say who will be leading the state next, nor can we assume they will share the same views on LGBT-inclusive education as Gov. Brown.
For all we know, Oregon may be about to experience a sufficient red wave, and I worry the state may fall into the country’s trend of queer erasure. In terms of legislation, 2021 was categorized as the worst year for LGBTQ+ people with 17 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being signed into law by May. This year is expected to be even worse.
I understand we are all living in a very stressful era, but we can not let American legislators erase the queer community any more. We all deserve to be represented in the classroom, so stop assuming Oregon is a safe haven state and go make it one.
