Daring to be ordinary: the potential of ‘ordinariness’ for LGBTQ+ lives in schools

In recent times, many contexts have seen an increase in de-humanizing discourses related to LGBTQ+ lives, spilling over into primary schools. This paper explores how families with LGBTQ+ children (Aged 10–13), and families with LGBTQ+ parents/guardians are navigating primary schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2022/2023 with 21 families as part of a larger mixed-methods study entitled Belong To Primary. A thematic analysis yielded a central theme: ‘ordinariness’. For many LGBTQ+ children, an on-going desire to ‘just be’ necessitates inclusivity labour on the part of their parents/guardians because of the cis-heteronormative character of primary schools. Their accounts are complicated too by the ‘coming out’ imperative and dominant tropes of the homonormative family. Ultimately, this paper asks the question: what can the concept of ‘ordinariness’ do for the future of LGBTQ+ inclusivity in schools; one that at the same time avoids the pull of both normalization and exceptionalism?