Evans, Kate. (2002). Negotiating the Self: Identity, Sexuality, and Emotion in Learning to Teach.

	Evans, Kate. (2002). Negotiating the Self: Identity, Sexuality, and Emotion in Learning to Teach. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer. Pp. xv + 202 $23.95 (paper)     ISBN 0-415-93255-6 Reviewed by Karen Kusiak Colby College December 20, 2003 In November 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court determined that the Commonwealth’s Constitution protected the right of same sex couples to marry. The Court’s majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, includes an explicit statement supporting basic human rights: “The Massachusetts Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals. It forbids the creation of second-class citizens.” (Note 1) In the aftermath of this recent decision, some conservative politicians, lawmakers, and religious leaders are condemning the ruling and calling for a national Constitutional amendment that would ban same sex marriages. Meanwhile, lesbian and gay couples, along with their heterosexual and queer-identified allies, rejoice at the decision (Belluck, 2003). Both the public controversy circulating about the Massachusetts decision as well as Justice Marshall’s understanding of the subordinate positioning – or second-class citizen status – awarded to queer-identified people in a heterosexist society buttress the importance and timeliness of themes addressed in Kate Evans’s examination of queer-identified pre-service school teachers. These days the voices of the conservative uprising compete with the voices of those who support Marshall’s reading of the Constitution. Both sides clamor to answer the question that over-arches Evans’s work: Who belongs here? Answers to the questions, “Who belongs?” as well as, “What is the cost of belonging?” are implicitly presented in Kate Evans’s study. She argues that queer-identified people do belong in our society and in our schools, yet her study highlights the emotional costs to queer people of their belonging. Evans’s Negotiating the Self: Identity, Sexuality, and Emotion in Learning to Teach presents findings of her inquiry concerning the experiences of queer-identified pre-service teachers. Evans uses her own experiences as a young teacher in a heterosexual marriage and – following her divorce – her subsequent experiences in a lesbian partnership with a schoolteacher as one analysis frame for her study. Moreover, she applies critical analysis of global discourses related to “queer” and “teacher” as well as to the personal narratives of her research participants. Her inquiry unveils the ways in which global heteronormative discourses and local, or personal, communications construct our sense of self. Evans interviewed four queer-identified, pre-service teachers – three lesbian women and one gay man – about their experiences growing up in their own families, about their experiences in teacher education programs, and about their experiences in schools. Several themes emerge from her critical analysis of the conversational yet structured interviews with the pre-service teachers. Two important themes are that queer-identified pre-service teachers’ identities are constructed by global as well as local discourses about “queer” and “teacher,” and that negotiating a sense of self when social structures and institutions position any queer sexual identify as deviant, subordinate, or second-class, demands continuous, emotional work. Evans blends a scholarly discussion of theory related to the social construction of the self and of the operations of dominant discourse patterns in this construction along with practical considerations for educators. Education scholars interested in social construction theories will find that Evans expects that readers understand the interactions of sociohistorical contexts and identity, although she provides an adequate overview of these processes for readers who are confronting the concept of the social construction of identity for the first time: Who I am and how I feel is not just about me in a vacuum. It is about me in relationship to others, and them in relationship to me… And we are not only in relationship with other people, we are also in relation to historically developed social roles, such as Teacher, Students, Heterosexual, Gay, and so on. (p. 3) Evans pushes academic readers to understand the intensely emotional aspect of the work involved with negotiating the self ­– especially when dominant heteronormative views construct gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people as deviant and second-class. For example, a seemingly simple question often asked about someone who is applying for a teaching position is, “Is she married?” Even though direct questioning about marital status is illegal, such questions are often asked indirectly or informally during the time a person is a candidate for a position. Heterosexual people ask such a question mindlessly, expecting that it can be answered by the candidate with out her experiencing anxiety about being viewed as deviant. A lesbian woman, however, when questioned in this way must “engage in the emotional work of negotiating her position as a lesbian.” When asked that question “…socially imbued deviance [becomes] an issue that she [has] to face internally” (p. 103). Further, Evans argues that heterosexual people must also engage in an emotional understanding of heterosexism and homophobia since understanding these machinations at the intellectual level only continues to prevent would-be allies of queer people from fully understanding what Justice Marshall calls the second-class status of gay, lesbian, transgendered, and bisexual people. Readers seeking practical strategies for banishing heterosexist teacher education practices will find good information in Evans’s book. Teacher educators, cooperating teachers, higher education faculty and administrators, as well as student teachers themselves will find Evans’s discussion of queer-related issues engaging and her recommendations for confronting homophobia insightful. Evans advocates teacher education curricula and practices that are fully inclusive and affirming of the dignity of all participants in the teacher education process. She warns against a well intended but shortsighted approached that carves out space for queer-identified teacher education students as “others” rather than as “us.” She encourages readers to notice expressions of heteronormativity in schools – such as displays of weddings pictures ­– and reminds readers that homophobia is commonplace in pubic schools in the United States. Lest readers begin to expect that homophobia will be addressed solely by global or structural changes such as the encouraging ruling from the Massachusetts Court this month, we do well to notice other “news” that has captured national attention recently. Let us also consider the recent suspension of two girls who kissed in the cafeteria of River Hill High School in Clarksville, Maryland. The girls were carrying out a nonconformist act in the name of ending homophobia, yet they were suspended for engaging in what school officials termed a disruptive act (Mui, 2003). The naming of an “anti-homophobic” act as “disruptive” underscores the reality of antigay sentiment in American public schools. The use of a local interpretation of school policy in the Clarksville case should urge thoughtful educators to consider the ways in which daily personal discourses marginalize queer-identified people, both queer students and queer teachers, in American public schools. Readers of Evans’s book will be prepared well for engaging in the antihomophobic work that needs to be completed in both the global and local spheres. Changes in local as well as global discourses are needed to ensure there are no second-class citizens in public schools and that everyone, queer and heterosexual, belongs here. Note 1. The excerpt was published in the New York Times on November 19, 2003. The excerpt accompanied a front-page article written primarily by Pam Belluck with contributions by Katie Zezima. The excerpts appeared on page A19. References Belluck, P. (2003, November 19). Marriage by gays gains big victory in Massachusetts: Top court tells legislature to act – impact is seen elsewhere. The New York Times, pp. A1, A19. Mui Y.Q. (2003, November 15). Girls’ buss causes fuss at school and in media. The Washington Post, p. B01.Retrieved November 19, 2003, from http://www.washingtonpost.com About the Reviewer Karen Kusiak Colby College Email: kkusiak@colby.edu Karen Kusiak is an assistant professor in the Education and Human Development Program at Colby College where she oversees the student teaching program. She is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Maine.