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discussions about sexuality, to gain knowledge about sexual identities, and to celebrate
multiplehumanexpressionsofsexuality—throughstudentclubsorteachervalidationor
through the academic curriculum—is not a passive vote of acceptance or indifference.
Institutionally, it is a clear endorsement and reproduction of dominant values. This was
made evident, for example, when neither the board nor the headmaster would approve
the Gay Students Alliance without the other's consent. Neither acted; in their inaction
not only was heterosexual privilege maintained but homosexuality was overtly margin-
alized and even denigrated within the institution.
During the time of this study, hetero-normative values had a strong presence at Rock-
port and topics like homosexuality were rarely discussed, either as a lack of awareness
or as described by some faculty members, out of resistance because of personal belief.
Our data suggested that safe spaces for gay students were not widely available at Rock-
port. Most concerning, developing initiatives to address issues around homosexuality
and homophobia continued to be, as one faculty researcher recently told me, “off lim-
its.”
Conclusion
This chapter revealed, through intensive discussion with student and faculty researchers
and mediated by collected data from at least three levels of the institutional hierarchy
(students,faculty,andadministration),thatverbalandphysicalbullyingwaswidespread
atRockportandrelatedtothereproductionofhegemonicmasculinityandprivilege.Our
data suggested that masculine oriented bullying and Rockport's hidden curriculum de-
signed to teach privilege were connected to space: the of use space, the messages space
conveyedandthetypesofsocialinteractionsspacefacilitated.Ourdataalsorevealedthe
ways in which not only students but also faculty and administrators helped to co-con-
struct, communicate, and discipline the institution's hegemonic values. What emerged
clearly in our work was that school bullying was not only a student problem; it was also
a faculty problem and an institutional problem. As Jill (FR) and the other faculty re-
searchers conclude, “From the headmaster on down … it is systemic.”
The reproduction of cultural privilege is likely to occur in subtle spaces at schools
like Rockport through institutionalized discourse around meritocracy or hetero-normat-
ive violence. These processes may be embedded in the hidden curriculum and embod-
ied in students', teachers' and administrators' performances of masculinity, whiteness,
heterosexuality, and wealth. Research within elite schools can help expose the hidden
curriculum and bring to the school community's awareness the ways in which it may
have damaging social, cultural, and political implications. The participatory work de-
scribed in this chapter helped to carve open spaces for a school-wide conversation not
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