Making the invisible visible: Shining a light on gender and sexuality in courses primarily focused on other topics

Instructors often wish to address gender and sexuality in a wide variety of courses. Yet concerns regarding how to productively intertwine these topics with other class material while remaining attentive to feminist and queer concerns may lead to hesitation. We discuss two of the most frequent challenges that arise when discussing gender and sexuality in courses primarily focused on other topics. These challenges are related to (1) class materials that reinforce a gender binary and (2) students’ denial of gender and sexual privilege. We then demonstrate how highlighting exceptions to predominant social patterns and incorporating intersectionality in class readings and discussions can address these stumbling blocks. We conclude with a discussion of the proposed solutions help instructors present gender and sexual disparities in a critical and complex manner without being defeatist.