The straight textbook. : About heteronormativity in textbooks

The aim for this study was to investigate how hetero- and homosexuality were treated in textbooks for upper secondary education, focusing on representation in both numbers and quality. The empirical content consists of four textbooks, and more specifically, the written language in those said textbooks. All written language in the books have been analyzed, including extracts of fiction, poems, instructions and excerpts from real-life texts etc. Discourse analysis was then used to analyze the material. The research questions were ‘How are heterosexuality and heterosexual people described and represented in the textbooks?’, ‘How are bi- and homosexuality and bi- and homosexual people described and represented in the textbooks?’ and ‘What differences are there between the description and representation of those two groups?’. The result was that heterosexuality was far more represented in the textbooks, with many examples of a heterosexual lifestyle, whereas bi- and homosexuality almost weren’t mentioned, and only once was a homosexual relationship depicted. The analysis suggests that whereas there are several formal instances against discrimination on behalf of sexuality, bi- and homosexual people aren’t represented in a just way in the textbooks. The image of bi- and homosexuality given in the textbooks confirm solidified ideas of what and how bi- and homosexuality is, rather than challenging them and providing a more nuanced image