No Voice In The Classroom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

I read recently that homophobic bullying is on the increase among young people. I see no end to it, especially in a multicultural society, until parents face up to the fact that there are gay people out there and a child of theirs might even be one of them.

Here in the UK we have gay-friendly legislation, but relatively few parents will entertain the prospect of any classroom discussion about gay issues. Until they get real about the world we live in, gay people worldwide will be deprived of a voice in the classroom where perhaps it most needs to be heard;  our children and young people deserve better than that. Education is a broad church and students need to be taught how life IS, not how various socio-cultural-religious groups would like it to be. 

As a teenager, I agonised about being gay because I had been taught at home and church that it was unnatural and a sin. I would not wish that on any young person. If I had learned that there are gay people from all walks of life around the world, it would have made a huge difference and I would not have spent what should have been among the best years of my life feeling  confused, ashamed, angry ... and scared of family and peers discovering my sexual identity. Anyone objecting to homosexuality being included in any school curriculum should feel ashamed of themselves for failing to give their children a more complete view of life as it is. 

NO VOICE IN THE CLASSROOM

We were fighting for real

when suddenly he kissed me

passionately on the mouth

and I lashed out confusedly

at my impotent alter ego

My body thrilled to his kiss

(so unexpected though it was)

but my mind flatly rejected it

for I had been taught only this,

that gay is ugly, dirty, sinful

My fist crashed into the face

I so longed to cup in my hands

and be spirited (safely) away

into corners of time and space

free of judgmental inhibitions

In a smoky mist, I saw him flee,

unable to call him back, my feet

(like my tongue) stuck fast…

his kiss continuing to engulf me

in the sheer ferocity of  its heat

That night I felt the two of us

making love with such intensity

there was no room for shame

as I braved giant waves of reality,

surfing desires  denied for years

The next day I waylaid him,

stumbled over a tearful apology

as gently, warily, he drew me

into his arms, joy in our sexuality

letting all conscience go free

It was a time of stereotypes

feeding off society’s prejudices

so we never dared go public,

any world for schoolboy lovers

kept waiting on its education

Copyright R. N. Taber 2013