Definition

Whether a person’s sexual attraction is towards their own sex (homosexual), the opposite sex (heterosexual) or to both sexes (bisexual).

The Equality Act protects you if you are discriminated because of your sexual orientation; because you are believed to have a certain sexual orientation; or because you are associated with someone who has a certain sexual orientation.

How this pertains to Higher Education

There are two broad ways to consider this in relation to higher education. One is on a personal level (interactions between people), the other is the curriculum

On the personal level, discrimination based on sexual orientation can affect anyone, both people who are open about their sexual orientation and those who are perceived to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. This might be due to their physical appearance, the way they move, who they are friends with, the topics they are interested in and so on. Staff have a responsibility for ensuring that no discrimination takes place on campus as well as in online learning spaces.

Curricula tend to reproduce the heterosexism of society, which leaves little or no space for people with other sexual orientations. This erases the experiences and contributions of gay, lesbian and bisexual people, and makes it difficult for some students to see themselves in the curriculum. Staff have a responsibility for considering this in relation to their teaching and ensuring their curricula are inclusive. This can be done, among other, by including voices that represent a range of sexual orientations in reading lists, assessments and guest speakers.

Case study

Further Resources

LSE Blog post ‘Centring LGBT+ perspectives in the curriculum and the classoom’: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducation/2020/09/11/centringlgbt/

Further resources

UCL has produced a toolkit that contains practical advice to help you think about your curriculum. While produced specifically for language teachers, it is relevant to all staff: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/teaching-learning/publications/2021/jun/recognising-and-including-lgbtq-identities-language-teaching

The University of Birmingham has made a very comprehensive toolkit: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/teaching-academy/documents/public/lgbt-best-practice-guide.pdf