Exploring sexuality and gender diversity in contemporary Australian sex education: a transgender perspective

This research project examines young transgender and gender diverse Australians’ views of school-based sex education, bringing together a review of the relevant literature, an analysis of contemporary policy and practice, and informant accounts. It provides an insight into how sex education is done in Australia, and how it is perceived by students and the broader community. The study is informed by a queer epistemology that acknowledges the systematic, institutional erasure of trans subjectivities through highly medicalised systems of categorisation. Drawing on interviews, focus group and online survey, this doctoral research emphasises the accounts of trans and gender diverse young people as they relate to sex education at school, and informal learning about sex, gender and identity in other areas of their lives. In consensus with the literature, a main finding is that school-based, health-focused sex education is inadequate, irrelevant and alienating for trans and gender diverse students, and institutional support for trans students remains relatively rare. However, the project findings overall also draw attention to resilience and adaptation among young trans people as they seek knowledge and community. Informants described queer moments in their relationships with other people at school and beyond, and their queer readings of books and television that they utilised to fashion a transgender identity. The study specifically emphasises the importance of social networking sites in the lives of young trans people, demonstrating how digital platforms are used variably as a means to curate a queer identity, as well as constituting a critical pedagogy source on living a queer life. The concluding chapter of the thesis problematises the assumption that the sex education classroom is the most appropriate vehicle for social justice education in relation to queer issues.