by Randy Duckworth

Created on: September 01, 2009   Last Updated: September 08, 2009

The topic of teaching gay history is one that will undoubtedly make some people uncomfortable. It is also likely to elicit fierce opposition from those who feel that it is inappropriate to teach anything about the gay community in this nation's schools. Regardless of these narrow-minded views, gay individuals have been making important contributions to our society since the beginning of time...valuable contributions that have been of great benefit to ALL people. The teaching of history in any society is never complete or well-rounded until it includes every group of people who has helped to make that history what it is. Students are cheated of essential knowledge when this is not done.

Another advantage that comes from the teaching of gay history is that would help to eliminate much of the misleading and erroneous information that has been held in the collective consciousness of American society for so long. Ironically, that erroneous information, and the fear that it creates are the very reason that people are so reluctant to teach our history. Some grossly misguided individuals seem to see it as a threat; they see it as a small step in a much larger plot to further gay domination of heterosexual society. If it weren't for the fact that so many truly believe that idea, it would be completely laughable. There are no words strong enough to convey the depth of its ridiculousness.

It seems that in this case, the concept of presenting a balanced view and allowing students to draw their own conclusions...a concept which has proven valuable many times down through this nation's history...has been abandoned. Looking back, this concept has proven that topics which were once thought to be inappropriate or unimportant have actually shown themselves to be of great value once they were finally added to the curriculum taught in our schools. We have received great benefits from learning about the achievements of many groups of people who had previously been overlooked, such as women, Native Americans, and people of color. The same is true of contributions made by the LGBT community. Unfortunately, it seems that revisionist history is alive and well, and just as it has done with minority groups of the past, it has pushed the gay community into obscurity.

Oh sure, our country has made the small concession of designating the month of October to examine the history of all things gay, but our history cannot be fully covered, nor can its significance be fully conveyed or appreciated

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>