Overview

This illuminating read bridges education history with contemporary efforts to create inclusive, equitable schools In Straighten Up, Girls and Boys, acclaimed historian and educator Jackie M. Blount exposes the hidden history of how American schools have carefully shaped and policed gender and sexuality—affecting every student and educator, past and present. With clarity and compassion, she invites readers not only to understand these forces, but to take action for positive change in their own school communities. Drawing on centuries of school design, hiring practices, and classroom curriculum, Blount uncovers how seemingly neutral decisions—from the layout of restrooms to textbooks and teacher roles—have been used to enforce binary gender norms and rigid expectations around sexuality. She explores the implications for both students and educators, highlighting moments of resistance and progress, but also the persistence of exclusion and harm. Through vivid historical storytelling and fresh analysis, Blount connects the dots between age-old anxieties and today's most pressing debates around LGBTQ issues in schools. This book empowers educators with the knowledge and historical context needed to question entrenched practices and build more supportive school cultures. Encouraging both critical reflection and practical action, Blount's work is a vital resource for anyone committed to fostering respect and opportunity for every member of the school community.

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Reviews

""Straighten Up, Girls and Boys is the definitive historical account of gender and sexuality in American schooling. Blount's clear and compelling analysis is based on comprehensive research, providing essential reading for students, educators, administrators, policy makers, scholars, and citizens in our time.""--Karen Graves, author of And They Were Wonderful Teachers: Florida's Purge of Gay and Lesbian Teachers ""In this powerful book, historian Jackie Blount examines why and how schools have engaged so deeply over time with issues of gender and sexuality. Although schools strive to be neutral, she argues, they in fact repeatedly become sites of contestation over how educators, curriculum, and even physical school spaces enact gender expectations, all connected to cycles of political and social change. Blount identifies how people's actions in past contests can guide progressive educators and advocates seeking a more equitable future.""--Linda Eisenmann, Professor Emerita of Education and former Provost, Wheaton College, Massachusetts ""In this powerful new book, Blount analyzes how schools have not only reflected but substantially shaped gender and sexuality historically with profound implications for school workers and students alike. This timely and compelling book highlights the value of historical insights into contemporary issues, the complex intersections between schools and social forces, and the agency of educational actors to envision and actualize schools as fully inclusive spaces.""--Lucy E. Bailey, Professor of Social Foundations and Director of Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies at Oklahoma State University ""This compelling book deftly synthesizes multiple historical episodes spanning centuries in demonstrating persuasively how and why American schools have long been sites of intense negotiation over gender and sexual identity. Blount's engaging narrative invites us to recognize what has appeared to be at stake in these enduring educational conflicts--and for whom.""--Sevan G. Terzian, professor, University of Florida

Author Information

Jackie M. Blount is professor emeritus of educational studies at the Ohio State University. She has received the American Educational Research Association's Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Educational Research Award. Her books include Fit to Teach: Same-Sex Desire, Gender, and School Work in the Twentieth Century.

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