Queering the Curriculum

Music therapy academic faculty responsible for teaching the next generation of healthcare practitioners have a special responsibility to ensure that the learning environment is one in which the principles of equity and inclusion are upheld and practiced. When LGBTQ+ content is unavailable in the educational environment, it marks the presence of overt and covert hostility and microaggressions toward LGBTQ+ people and their identities. The classroom then exists as a heteronormative and cisnormative space that places the burden on students to discover, include and manage reference to LGBTQ+ identities and experiences. Socially constructed roles which relied on limited conceptions of a normative binary that recognized only hetero and cis male and female identities is shifting; LGBTQ+ people are increasingly reflected in the media and our society, creating opportunities for deep thinking and expansion. Reviewing current teaching environments and methods allows consideration of the kinds of social constructions that limit our capacity as educators and music therapists to fully include LTBTQ+ people and content. In this paper, two LGBTQ+ relatively recent music therapy graduates and two hetero cis seasoned feminist music therapy educators use anti-oppressive practice theory to reflect on and reveal predominant heteronormative and cisnormative values in music therapy education and reflect on ways to make classroom and practicum settings a safe and exploring space for all students and their clients.