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Books Have Their Own Stories: LGBTQ+ History in U.S. History Textbooks, 1990–2015

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Comparative Perspectives on School Textbooks

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Abstract

Social studies education in the United States is largely textbook-driven, with the material covered in the text informing the curriculum for the academic year. Evaluating the place of LGBTQ+ history in U.S. history classrooms, then, requires reviewing and analyzing textbooks written for and used by these classes since the 1990s. This historical study assesses the evolution of textbook references to LGBTQ+ figures and events over several decades, in addition to analyzing the frequency with which relevant events are mentioned. The major findings are threefold: first, a textbook’s intended audience to a large extent dictates its LGBTQ+ history coverage; second, publication date is an important but secondary factor in determining LGBTQ+ history’s inclusion in a text; and third, a book’s title often indicates whether the story it tells will include the LGBTQ+ population. In order to properly examine this important source and evaluate trends, this study targets multiple editions of the same book from 1990 to the present to illustrate change in particular books, rather than accruing a random sample. Moreover, this study assesses how books intended for students at different skill levels and in various geographic regions include and portray LGBTQ+ history over time.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These dates represent the 1990 founding of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which is now one of the largest organizations in the country dedicated to improving the school experience for individuals identifying as LGBTQ, and the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

    Two of the books completed in 2015 were officially published a year later. The terminology in this chapter reflects the language used in the textbooks studied.

  2. 2.

    Casper’s article is a redacted transcript of “a virtual panel of textbook authors, college teachers, and a publisher to discuss the present and future of U.S. history college textbooks” (1140). The participants were Eric Foner, Amy Kinsel, Mary Dougherty, Randall M. Miller, and David J. Trowbridge. Foner’s statements from this discussion, attributed to him in this chapter’s narrative and cited as part of this article, support the analysis in this chapter.

  3. 3.

    This is not singular to LGBTQ+ history. Other minority groups, especially those that are not as frequently included in the curriculum, similarly exist within their own section of a textbook.

  4. 4.

    California passed the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, Respectful (FAIR) Education Act in 2011, mandating LGBTQ-inclusive social studies education. Since 2015, four other states have followed: New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, and Oregon.

  5. 5.

    California, one of the largest textbook markets in the country, mandated that social studies textbooks align with its new LGBTQ-inclusive Framework. In November 2017, after a year-long review, the Department of Education approved ten textbooks for statewide use, all of which included 75–80% of the Framework’s LGBTQ content; two textbooks from the same publishing house that did not reach that level were denied (Romesburg, personal communication, 2018). California, therefore, offers a model for other states to do the same.

  6. 6.

    New York City attempted to implement its “Children of the Rainbow” curriculum, which included a section on and books about families with same-sex parents, in 1992. The city abandoned the program amid vehement backlash and protests (Mayo, 2010).

  7. 7.

    For example, tragedies like Matthew Shepard’s torture and death in 1998 captured national attention.

  8. 8.

    The 2011 edition of Out of Many includes similar information on LGBTQ history.

  9. 9.

    The 17th edition was released in 2020.

  10. 10.

    Furthermore, the twenty-first century witnessed an increase in scholarly work on LGBTQ history; this, too, trickles down to textbooks written by scholars cognizant of such trends.

  11. 11.

    Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.

  12. 12.

    Theory and Research in Social Education, a leading scholarly journal, devoted a special issue to teaching LGBTQ history in 2002.

  13. 13.

    Most textbooks are over $100/book. Depending on the size of the student population, replacing textbooks is costly or cost prohibitive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Stacie Brensilver Berman

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  1. Stacie Brensilver Berman
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Correspondence to Stacie Brensilver Berman .

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  1. Faculty of Educational Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poznań, Poland

    Dobrochna Hildebrandt-Wypych

  2. Educational Psychology and Leadership, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Alexander W. Wiseman

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Berman, S.B. (2021). Books Have Their Own Stories: LGBTQ+ History in U.S. History Textbooks, 1990–2015. In: Hildebrandt-Wypych, D., Wiseman, A.W. (eds) Comparative Perspectives on School Textbooks. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68719-9_4

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