Negotiating queer voices: How five South African queer music educators negotiate their professional identity

Abstract

Forced to navigate and negotiate their positionality and subjectivity, queer music educators confront unique challenges in heteronormative schooling environments. This minority group is often associated with the music industry. Still, upon entering an educational context, they navigate and negotiate their identity, specifically the tension between their queer selves and the heteronormative requirements of their teaching context. This article analyses the narratives of five queer music educators situated in a South African context. Being a queer music educator myself, I used a relational approach, the Listening Guide, to listen for the contrapuntal voices that come to the fore when my participants reflected on their professional identity negotiation as music educators. The participants developed various strategies to negotiate their professional identity, with some reporting on its negative impact on effective teaching. This article suggests that heteronormativity in music education should be challenged to allow for an inclusive and affirming space for queer music educators and students.