Challenging heteronormativity through literature - Teaching David Levithan’s "Boy meets boy" with norm critical pedagogy

Abstract

There are many reasons to use literature in the language classroom. It can help pupils develop their abilities to read, listen, speak and write. Literature can also give pupils new perspectives and cultural enrichment. The aim of this study is to show how teachers can use literature to combat intolerance and homophobia. The thesis statement is that David Levithan’s novel Boy meets boy can be a valuable resource for teachers who want to use norm critical pedagogy in their teaching of English as a second language. Norm critical pedagogy is a pedagogical theory that focuses on norms and their roles in power structures. Norms are usually taken for granted and made invisible and the first step in any norm critical work is therefore to discern them. Boy meets boy can help pupils do that. It introduces readers to a world without homophobia, a world where hetero-, homo- and bisexuality are considered equally normal. Heteronormativity is disrupted, and readers are encouraged to question their assumptions of normalcy. It could thus be argued that Boy meets boy is suitable to use as a starting point for norm critical discussions on gender and sexuality. This essay contains a literary and didactic analysis of Levithan’s novel as well as examples of norm critical exercises for the language classroom.