Let's Talk About Sex(Ed), Baby! Queering Sexual Education | Ep. 218 (with Dr. Shanéa Thomas)

Tomorrow on Queering Education, Bryan Stanton sits down with Dr. Shanéa Thomas—a social worker, sexuality educator, educator, grief counselor, death doula, and Black queer nonbinary parent—for a conversation about what it really means to teach gender and sexuality inclusively.Dr. Thomas challenges the idea that queer and trans identities are exceptions we need to explain. Instead, what if we started with the understanding that all of us exist somewhere on spectrums of gender, sexuality, attraction, and identity—and that those things can change throughout our lives?Together, Bryan and Shanéa unpack how gender socialization begins before children can even speak, why traditional sex education so often fails young people, what accessible and inclusive sexuality education can look like, and why parents need to get comfortable having conversations about bodies, identity, attraction, and consent.They also talk about queer parenting, disability justice, code-switching, organizational responsibility, burnout among queer and trans service providers, and Shanéa’s work exploring how institutions can better care for the people doing this work.And through it all comes one powerful reminder: queer people have been here for eons. We may have to change how we move through the world, but we are not going anywhere.Resources:Cory Silverberg Books: What Makes a Baby, Sex is a Funny Word, You Know, Sex. Connect with Dr. ThomasLinkedIn, Instagram, FacebookSupport the showQueering Education is a Teaching While Queer podcast centering LGBTQ+ educators and the real-world realities of teaching while queer. We explore queer representation in education, including burnout, tokenism, doxing, visibility, boundaries, and advocacy for inclusive classrooms, safe schools, and anti-bullying practices.This podcast supports gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, asexual, aromantic, agender, and two-spirit teachers, and addresses how gender identity in schools can be honored to reduce isolation, protect educators, and build community.Support the podcast and spread the message with merch from Equalitees.Me.Follow Teaching While Queer on Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.Keywords: Teaching While Queer, queer educators, LGBTQ teachers, inclusive education, gender identity in schools, safe classrooms, anti-bullying strategies, educator burnout, LGBTQ advocacy, queer visibility in education