High school parents complain about ``heterosexual questionnaire''

[kweerwolf]

PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. -- About two dozen parents and community members complained to a high school principal after two teachers there approved the release of a "heterosexual questionnaire" designed to raise awareness of gay-based issues.

The 10-question survey included questions such as, "What do you think caused your heterosexuality?" and "When did you decide you were heterosexual?"

The survey was given to about 400 of Port Washington High School's 930 students, principal Duane Woelfel said. It happened on April 25, the eve of the national Day of Silence, an annual event co-sponsored by the New York City-based Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.

Woelfel said he didn't know about the survey until a parent gave him a copy the next day.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wisconsin/chi-ap-wi-sexsurveycomplain,1,6651928.story

For the record, here's the "questionaire" that has their panties in a bunch:

Heterosexual Questionaire

1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality?
2. When and how did you decide you were a heterosexual?
3. Is it possible that your heterosexuality is just a phase that you may grow out of?
4. Is it possible that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex?
5. If you have never slept with a person of the same sex, is it possible that all you need is a good gay lover?
6. Do your parents know that you are straight? Do your friends and/or roommates know?
7. Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality? Can't you just be who you are and keep it quiet?
8. Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex?
9. Why do heterosexuals feel so compelled to introduce others to their lifestyle?
10. A disproportionate majority of child molesters are heterosexual. Do you consider it safe to expose children to heterosexual teachers?
11. Just what do men and women do in bed together? How can they truly know how to please each other, being so anatomically different?
12. With all the societal support marriage receives, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships between heterosexuals?
13. Statistics show that lesbians have the lowest of sexually transmitted disease. Is it really safe for a woman to maintain a heterosexual lifestyle and run the risk of disease and pregnancy?
14. How can you expect to become a whole person if you limit yourself to compulsive, exclusive heterosexuality?
15. Considering the menace of overpopulation, how could the human race survive if everyone were heterosexual?
16. Could you trust a heterosexual therapist to be objective? Don't you feel that (s)he might be inclined to influence you in the direction of his/her own orientation?
17. There seem to be very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have been developed that might enable you change if you really want to. Have you ever considered aversion therapy?
18. Would you want your child to be heterosexual, knowing the problems (s)he would face?

http://www.fortunecity.com/village/degeneres/11/hhetques.html

[iconoclastic cat]

1. Holy crap! We've got to take that one to the lounge.

I'm shamelessly reposting.

[uppityperson]

2. good questionnaire. Thanks.nt

[gordontron]

3. what bigoted people:

"The school is investigating the incident and will, along with the superintendent's office, decide whether to discipline the two teachers, Woelfel said."

[baldguy]

4. Seems like a reasonable list of questions to me...

[dsc]

5. I am glad this is still making the rounds

I first saw this as a sophomore in college which was close to 20 years ago.

[LuckyLib]

6. This is sensible, thought-provoking, and guaranteed to get

students engaged in examining their own biases. Imagine a teacher using something so subversive!

[pinto]

7. Ha! What a great educational point. n/t

[Kutjara]

8. Let's see how I do.

1. Born that way. I think it must be genetic. God knows I've tried to change, but nothing I do seems to work.
2. Mary Kelly - a little girl on my nursery school bus, who'd let anybody touch her 'there.' She was my 'Decider.'
3. For the right guy, sure. But he'd have to be rich.
4. Definitely, men are stinky and icky and like sports and stuff like that. Women smell nice and talk about interesting stuff.
5. He'd have to be pretty good, and take me to nice restaurants and stuff.
6. Parents dead but they'd probably understand. Some friends may suspect.
7. Jesus, if I kept it any quieter people would think I'm a eunuch.
8. We have nothing else to talk about.
9. They do? Do you have their phone numbers?
10. No, because they may pick up some ideas about fashion that it would take years to change.
11 Mostly snore and fart. Why? What do gay couples do?
12. Because, after five years, all the men realize they're gay.
13. Nope, which is why I've tried to convince my wife to get involved in lesbianism. For her health, of course.
14. How can you expect to be a whole person if you only get sex on birthdays and anniversaries?
15. It couldn't. And won't anyway.
16. My therapist resolutely refuses to try to convert me to her orientation, no matter how much I beg. I think she may get an injunction soon.
17. Isn't that called 'marriage'? (ba-boom, Henny Youngman lives!)
18. Nope, they'd be unemployable in any of the really cool careers.

[rzemanfl]

9. I thought you meant the one that was in the National Lampoon

25 of 30 years ago. "Men's Heterosexual Development Questionaire" it ended with a page that said: "List all the women you have had sex with: which was followed by about a hundred blank lines and the words "(attach additional sheets if necessary.)" How times have changed.

[insleeforprez]

10. If students would really be offended...

...then they are extremely stupid. It should be obvious to anyone taking a survey like this that it is not meant to be literal, and that you don't actually have to answer the questions.

[GymGeekAus]

13. Not stupid. Just prejudiced.

And I disagree. Answering these questions would be very beneficial for most people. And certainly knowing their responses would be beneficial for everyone else. No, you don't have to answer the questions. But you should nonetheless know what your answer is.

[NMMNG]

11. They don't like it because it makes them all too aware of their own

prejudices. People don't like that.

[meegbear]

12. I think this is a great way to show kids like it's like ...

good for them.

BTW, the questionnaire was handed out April 25. NOW you're complaining?

[davidinalameda]

14. what utter bullshit

I read this story in 365gay and just wanted to find those parents and slap them up side the head

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

15. boohoo, stop making people question the heteronormativity of our

culture

:eyes:

[election_2004]

16. What I'd prefer....

Is some HONEST and OPEN discussion in our public schools of human sexuality, including viewpoints of people (heterosexual and homosexual alike) who can attest that sexuality per se is NOT a "choice."

But no, the parents' groups would get their bloomers in a knot...

[election_2004]

17. I'll try my hand at "answering" these questions...

1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality? I'm not heterosexual, I'm homosexual; and it's a natural occurence
2. When and how did you decide you were a heterosexual? I only deluded myself into believing I was a heterosexual as a teenager...I actually admitted to myself I was homosexual at the age of 16 after watching the episode of Dawson's Creek where Jack comes out
3. Is it possible that your heterosexuality is just a phase that you may grow out of? Nope, seeing as I'm a homosexual...
4. Is it possible that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex? Nope, since I'm a guy, and hot guys make me cum...
5. If you have never slept with a person of the same sex, is it possible that all you need is a good gay lover? I'm a virgin, hon...
6. Do your parents know that you are straight? Do your friends and/or roommates know? My dad *thinks* I'm straight (yeah right...) because my homosexuality would not be something he'd want to discuss
7. Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality? Can't you just be who you are and keep it quiet? Fortunately, I don't 'flaunt' my (non-existent) heterosexual...I'm gay, and anyone who doesn't like it can suck mine...
8. Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex? Because they're human beings, and humans of every sexual orientation are sex-crazed. And we're damn proud of it!
9. Why do heterosexuals feel so compelled to introduce others to their lifestyle? Because there's a stigma against being perceived as 'gay,' and no one wants to endure that stigma
10. A disproportionate majority of child molesters are heterosexual. Do you consider it safe to expose children to heterosexual teachers? Yes, since not all teachers are child molesters...
11. Just what do men and women do in bed together? How can they truly know how to please each other, being so anatomically different? They fuck. And they make each other horny, so that results in sexual pleasure. It's how their hormones work.
12. With all the societal support marriage receives, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships between heterosexuals? Because people jump into marriage without thinking about the long-term
13. Statistics show that lesbians have the lowest of sexually transmitted disease. Is it really safe for a woman to maintain a heterosexual lifestyle and run the risk of disease and pregnancy? Those 'low-risk lesbian' statistics are fundamentally flawed from the get-go...
14. How can you expect to become a whole person if you limit yourself to compulsive, exclusive heterosexuality? Because it's who they are
15. Considering the menace of overpopulation, how could the human race survive if everyone were heterosexual? Two words: birth control
16. Could you trust a heterosexual therapist to be objective? Don't you feel that (s)he might be inclined to influence you in the direction of his/her own orientation? You're assuming that therapists in general are manipulative and self-serving
17. There seem to be very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have been developed that might enable you change if you really want to. Have you ever considered aversion therapy? You mean brainwashing? Who'd want that?
18. Would you want your child to be heterosexual, knowing the problems (s)he would face? If I had a child, I would want him/her to turn out however he/she was meant to turn out, sexually

[One_Life_To_Give]

18. 5 was guaranteed to cause flames

5. If you have never slept with a person of the same sex, is it possible that all you need is a good gay lover?

While normally turnabout is fair play.
You had to know that this would be cited as proof of an agenda to get everyone to become gay.

[Xeric]

19. Update:

Seems the Asst. Principal and the two teachers were "disciplined".
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=426177 and
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=426882


Port Washington - A first-year assistant principal has been suspended for two days without pay for his role in the use of the "Heterosexual Questionnaire" at Port Washington High School last month.

snip

Burke is being disciplined but so are the teachers because, according to Woelfel, they used questionable judgment in proposing the questionnaire and failed to follow policy in not getting it approved by the principal.

Woelfel's announcement of the disciplinary actions marks the conclusion of his investigation into how the questionnaire was used in classrooms April 25.

Many details of the actions, however, remain secret.

Woelfel said that Burke, a first-year assistant principal, was suspended without pay Monday and Tuesday, will receive a letter of reprimand and will have weekly "follow-up" meetings with Superintendent Michael Weber.

Following policy of the Port Washington-Saukville School District, Weber decides all disciplinary actions involving administrators, Woelfel said.

Teachers Sarah Olson and Julie Grudzinski had told Burke about an activity they wanted to do in connection with A Day of Silence, a national effort to reduce harassment of non-heterosexuals in schools, and had told him the activity would include a survey, Woelfel said.


snip

He said the Heterosexual Questionnaire would not be used again, but that the school needs to find other ways to teach tolerance.

"We need to find instructive ways to support a school climate that is nurturing for all students regardless of what their differences are," he said.

----------------------------------


I find the hysteria about this fascinating. The questionnaire was certainly not obscene, nor was it mandatory. It simply made the students think about something. And that is what seems to get fundies in a rage; when their kids are taught to think for themselves rather than be controlled by their parents. Whether it's some book that they don't want their kid reading, or some idea that they don't want them exposed to, it's all about control and making the child an exact copy of themselves and their narrow view of the world. Really sad.
The Principal here is one of those gutless wonders who caves in to the bullies. Seems also that he's scapegoating the Asst. Principal in order to deflect responsability. This is another aspect of the problem. Our society is so intimidated by these bullies that we let them control our institutions. It's never enough for these people just to have their say. They have to shut out any dissenting opinion from their own. The principal says he wants to find "other ways to teach tolerance" but the fundies will never let him do it without having a fit. And he'll cave in again. So the real lesson learned will be that threats and bullying work.