Space, surveillance, and stress: a Lefebvrian analysis of heteronormative spatial production in schools, using a photo elicitation method with LGBT+ teachers

Abstract

This article examines how schools are produced as spaces for heterosexual, cisgender citizens. Lefebvre’s spatial triad is employed to analyse how conceived, perceived and lived spaces interact to produce a space that is often experienced as one of surveillance for LGBT+ people. This surveillance can lead to the internalisation of negative social attitudes and experiences of minority stress. The article details the experiences of four LGBT+ teachers who took part in a photo elicitation study, which involved taking photographs of spaces in their school that represented where they felt most and least safe. These accounts bring to life the small and subtle ways in which schools are produced and experienced as heteronormative environments. The article concludes that more needs to be done by school leaders to ensure the inclusion and safety of their LGBT+ staff and students, and that an equity model that listens to the lived experience of LGBT+ people is central to achieving this.