Teachers and civil partnership: (Re)Producing legitimate subjectivities in the straight spaces of schools

Abstract

LGBTQI teachers in Ireland experience identity conflicts and struggles with school culture as they negotiate the processes of ‘coming out’ in their school contexts (Neary, 2013). This chapter draws on an interpretive analysis of qualitative data generated from the interviews and written reflections of 15 primary and second-level teachers (who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual) while entering into a civil partnership in Ireland. This chapter asserts that the mechanism of CP — a very recent institution in Irish society — brings feelings of confidence and legitimacy for those teachers who avail of it. However, forces of normalisation contribute to the perpetuation of certain ‘acceptable’ norms (re)assigning others with peripheral status.