Special Session

Gender and Sexuality / Professional and Pedagogy

Simone Pilon (Berklee College of Music)
pilo@****.com (Log-in to reveal)

Transgender and gender non-binary people and issues have come to the forefront in the past few years in the United States. For language instructors, creating a gender-neutral and gender-inclusive classroom poses significant pedagogical challenges as linguistic changes and cultural norms in many other countries are not keeping pace with societal changes in the United States. In this session, we will explore how questions of gender neutrality and inclusivity inform instruction from grammar to cultural norms.

Transgender and gender non-binary people and issues have come to the forefront in the past few years in the United States. The entertainment world has embraced YouTubers like Jazz Jennings and shows that feature trans characters such as Transparent. Politicians have grappled with so-called "bathroom" laws and the question of transgender people's ability to serve in the military.

For language instructors, creating a gender-neutral and gender-inclusive classroom poses significant pedagogical challenges as linguistic changes and cultural norms in many other countries are not keeping pace with societal changes in the United States. It was only recently, in February 2019, that the Académie française approved the feminization of professions. And terms such as Latinx are far from being universally accepted.

In this session, we will explore how questions of gender neutrality and inclusivity inform instruction from grammar to cultural norms.