This article examines how undergraduate instructors of pre-service educators can address complex issues of sexuality and sexual orientation within the classroom. First, we explain our own backgrounds and positionalities to provide a context for our ensuing ideas and discussions. Second, by reviewing the literature on homophobic bullying, we…

This article offers a joint reading of two cultural texts that reflect the contest over victim-oriented characterizations of queer youth in contemporary culture. The first text is a representation of queer youth taken from the popular UK television series "Shameless" (2004). The second text is an online discussion about representations…

The truth is that today, millions of children have a parent, uncle, aunt, cousin, sibling or grandparent who is gay. Thousands of dedicated teachers, school administrators and coaches are gays or lesbians. What kind of message is being sent to youth when people say that their loved ones and trusted mentors are not safe for children to meet on TV?…

Public broadcasting in the United States frequently draws criticism from conservatives who accuse it of pursuing an agenda promoting environmentalism, gay rights, affirmative action, reproductive choice, and other liberal causes, and of being hostile to conservative interests such as defense, the pro-life effort, and the promotion of Christian…

This paper reports findings from a content analysis of the main messages about sexuality in media outlets consumed by young people. It examines how sexuality is represented and the level of sexual health information provided in some UK magazines and TV programmes targeted at young people. Our findings show that such outlets included a vast range…

The Miscellaneous Studies Division of these Proceedings contains the following 13 papers: "A Trend, Imagined or Real? A Comparative Study of Development Journalism and Public Journalism" (Jiafei Yin); "Investigative Reporting about Minorities in America" (Tim Gallimore and Lillian Dunlap); "A Defining Moment: Who Says What…

Because children today are growing up in an era of increasing racial and ethnic diversity and because television provides a steady educational influence on children's attitudes and perceptions, it is important to examine the extent to which television programming reflects diversity in all its forms. This study was commissioned by Children Now to…

The law section of the Proceedings contains the following 12 papers: "Middle Justice: Anthony Kennedy's Freedom of Expression Jurisprudence" (Evelyn C. Ellison); "Defending the News Media's Right of Access to the Battlefield" (Timothy H. Hoyle); "The Freedom of Information Act and Access to Computerized Government…