This technique, asking for accounts of what most people in a situation consider
normal behavior, can be a good teaching technique or social change technique.
We discussed homosexuality in my intro class yesterday. First, I gave them the
Heterosexuality Questionnaire [when did you first notice you were hetero? What
do you think caused your heterosexuality? Have you considered therapy for
changing? Etc.--just reversing the FAQ that homosexuals so often face.]. This
was one example of asking for an account of "normal" behavior, and the looks on
their faces were wonderful to behold. Then one woman told of her experiences
with a Lesbian coach in high school--"We were, you know, not comfortable."
"No, I don't know. What do you mean?" Of course, as a competent member of our
society, I DID know what she meant, but I was not going to let her get away
without examining it and its legitimacy. I reminded her that statistically,
there were 2-8 people in the room who were homosexual, so not to take anything
for granted. Time ran out before we were done, but we will revisit the
subject.
Donna.