“Would you want to read that?”: Using Book Passes to Open Up Secondary Classrooms to LGBTQ Young Adult Literature

From Preservice Teacher to Trusted Adult: Sexual Orientation and Gender Variance in an Online YAL Book Club

“…Second, it's not necessary (or particularly worthwhile) for teachers to recommend books with LGBTQ content only to students who identify as LGBTQ. In fact, since the purpose of quality literature is not just to mirror the reader's reality but to also provide a window into different realities, teachers should attempt to recommend these texts to all students-if not as part of a required reading list, then at least during book talks, or as part of book passes, as advocated by Emily S. Meixner (2009). Additionally, teachers should never initiate a conversation about a student's sexual orientation or gender identity in an attempt to get the student to come out.…”