Sex Ed, Silence, and Teaching for Queer Teens in ’90s Alberta
Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda reconnect with Professor Tanya Callahan of the University of Calgary to revisit Alberta’s high school sexual education curriculum of the ’90s and are joined by Elinor's niece to discuss her current experience in high school.
In this episode of Late ’88, Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda reconnect with Professor Tanya Callahan of the University of Calgary to revisit Alberta’s high school sexual education curriculum of the ’90s—especially the Career and Life Management (CALM) course. They discuss how Catholic and public schools handled (or erased) topics like homosexuality, gender identity, and safe queer sex.
Tanya reflects on her time as a Catholic school teacher, the overt heterosexism and homophobia in teacher training, and the quiet forms of resistance practiced by “heroic educators” who risked their jobs to support queer students. The conversation traces the fear-based approach to sex ed, the near-total silence around the AIDS crisis, and the emergence of Gay–Straight Alliances (QSAs/GSAs) in the early 2000s as literal lifelines for queer youth.
Elinor’s niece Izzy, a queer Grade 12 student currently enrolled in a small Alberta Catholic school, joins the episode. Izzy shares what it’s like to be “the resident queer educator” for her peers, navigating unofficial support from teachers who quietly defy school board rules, and finding freedom and “vibes” in nature, music, and chosen community.
This episode weaves past and present to show how much has changed—and how much hasn’t—while making a powerful case for education, solidarity, and ongoing resistance in the fight against homophobia, transphobia, and fascism in our schools.
Episode Resources:
How to Create a Safe Classroom for LGBTQ+ Students: For Educators [video]
For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: https://latein88.com/resources/
Distributed by Women in Media Network
https://www.womeninmedia.network/
