Queering gender: Exploring parental perceptions of gender diversity in high schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38140/ijer-2025.vol7.2.07Keywords:
Queering, trans and cisgender, parents, Ubuntu, high schools, cisnormative, gender diversityAbstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of parents of high school learners regarding gender to determine their understanding of gender diversity. Globally, emerging research suggests that parents of school-attending learners are developing a positive attitude toward gender diversity. South African high schools have embraced gender diversity since the era of democracy. However, parents' voices have not been fully explored regarding their perceptions of gender issues and inclusion at the high school level. The study utilised Ubuntu, the African philosophy that emphasises interconnectedness and compassion, and queer theory, which challenges binary constructs of gender, as theoretical frameworks. An interpretive design was adopted, and nine parents were snowball sampled from a rural location in the Free State province of South Africa. This qualitative study used thematic analysis to analyse data from focus group interviews, drawings as visual participatory methodologies, and captions for the drawings. The findings of this study indicate that the majority of parents associate gender with sexual orientation or sexual organs, as well as gender roles. However, the findings also show that there is an emerging understanding among parents that gender is a social construct and not something synonymous with sex. This study attempted to fill the gap in the scant literature about parents voicing their perceptions of what gender is. Therefore, mixed methods studies are also encouraged to explore the perceptions of parents involving a larger number of participants.
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