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Abstract
This article is written in response to the work of Damien Riggs, providing a critical reading of his analysis of the inherent homophobia and gender normativity present in a selection of sexuality education websites targeted at children. Taking up the productive possibilities of both silences and narrative disruptions, the author examines a moment of unlearning from his own educational practice alongside a reading of the film Tomboy (dir. Sciamma, 2011) in which a narrative of gender development is plotted around contingency, lack of explanation and emergence. In contrast to Riggs' call for ‘proactive’ strategies of inclusiveness as a way of countering the closing down of sex and gender conversations among children, the author reconsiders the childlike capacities of adults and thus aims to destabilise privileged constructions of adulthood.
References
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