The “problem” of bodies and desires in teaching

Abstract

In this article I use a combination of feminist and psychoanalytic theories to understand the surfacing of sexualized discourse in secondary classrooms as a manifestation of suppressed pedagogical eroticism. I illustrate this phenomenon with an incident that Sheila, one of my participants in a study of sexual dynamics in pre‐service teachers' classrooms, relayed as an example of a Freudian slip: The time she unconsciously drew a penis on the board. Narrative analysis provides the methodological framework for understanding how Sheila used this story and others to construct her identity as a sexy teacher. I call for a space to share these kinds of stories so that teachers can better understand the sometimes‐sexualized dimension of their teaching and to view sexual dynamics in the classroom as a condition to be lived with rather than a problem to be solved.

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