Based on Peggy McIntosh's (1988) pioneering investigations of white and male privilege, we can, by analogy, understand Christian privilege as constituting a seemingly invisible, unearned, and largely unacknowledged array of benefits accorded to Christians, with which they often unconsciously walk through life as if effortlessly carrying a knapsack tossed over their shoulders. This system of benefits confers dominance on Christians while subordinating members of other faith communities as well as nonbelievers. These systemic inequities are pervasive throughout societies of many nations across the globe. They are encoded into the individuals’ consciousness and woven into the very fabric of their many social institutions, including schools, having enormous implications on all students. The current exploratory qualitative study investigates the relative level of awareness of Christian privilege among preservice teachers who self‐define as “Christian” at a large Midwestern United States research university, and situates this awareness and level of resistance upon Watt's Privilege Identity Exploration (PIE) model (2007, 2009).
Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this article is to outline a pedagogical framework we as trans* educators utilize to center trans* identities and epistemologies in classrooms alongside graduate students.
Background: Little has been written about the experiences of trans* educators in classroom spaces, in particular how gender mediates pedagogical approaches.
Methodology : This article is conceptual in nature, and as such, does not draw on any particular methodology. Instead, we draw from our ongoing experiences as trans* educators in the classroom.
Contribution: Due to the lack of theorizing or empirical work about trans* educators in classroom spaces, this article serves as an entry point into thinking what we as authors describe as ‘teaching trans*.”
Findings: This article is broken into three theoretical components: teaching as trans*, teaching about trans*, and teaching with trans* epistemologies.
Recommendations for Practitioners: Through this article, we as authors encourage practitioners to be aware of how gender is always already present in all spaces, including in classrooms. Thus, it becomes incumbent upon practitioners to use expansive notions of gender through pedagogical strategies, materials, and praxis.
Recommendation for Researchers: This article promotes a deeper understanding of how one’s gender identity, expression, and/or embodiment mediates and can enhance classroom teaching. While this article starts to address an under-theorized and under-researched area of study, more should be done to address how gender influences pedagogy.
Impact on Society: Due to the omnipresence of gender binary thinking, this article has implications not just for classroom spaces, but for student affairs graduate preparation programs, as well as society writ large.
Future Research: This article opens the door for further research into student resistance to trans* and gender nonconforming educators’ pedagogy.
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