Checking in on Our Assumptions

The goal of this activity is to have students and the teacher check in with their prior knowledge of and assumptions about the LGBT community, gender identity and sexual diversity, and to learn the meaning and effects of stereotypes on the health and well being of students, schools and communities.

Materials Needed:

Papers; Pencils; Pencil Crayons, markers, etc.

Instructional Procedures:

Students get into groups of 4 


In their groups, students draw what they think a Typical Gay Man, a Typical Lesbian, A Typical 
Straight Man, a Typical Straight Woman would look like and would dress like. 


The first person starts with the head, the second person draws the upper body, the third person 
draws the legs, then the fourth person draws the feet/shoes 


Once all of the students have completed their drawings, they will stick them up around the class- 
room so that all of the Typical Gay Men are in one area and all of the Typical Straight Women are in 
another area, etc. 


Students will go around classroom and will write down 5 words that come to mind when they see 
the drawings 


Ask students to share their words with a partner to come up with two words from their combined 
10 words they want to share with the class. One student from each group will write their group’s 
words on the board. 


Engage the class in a discussion about the words that they have chosen and about the pictures that 
they have drawn. Discuss gender, stereotypes, sexual orientation, the assumptions we have about people of certain genders and sexualities, and the negative consequences that stereotypes have on all people. 


Here are some example questions to propel discussions: 


1. What were the words that you thought of when you saw the Typical Gay Woman drawing? The Typi- cal Straight Woman drawing? How are they different? How are they the same? Can a Typical Gay Woman and a Typical Straight Woman (or Typical Straight Man) look the same? Why or why not?

2. What does it mean to be normal?
3. What does it mean to be outside of what people believe to be normal?

4. Have you ever heard of someone experiencing bullying because they were different or because people stereotyped them?

5. What are some examples of the differences betwen cultures and countries in the understanding of normal behaviours of men and women? How do different cultures and countries treat LGBT people? How did Canada treat LGBT people historically?
6. Can being different be a good thing? Is it better to be normal or different? 


Ask students to write a response to the activity. They should discuss the idea of normal, what they know about LGBT people and what they think of the stereotypes about them. They should discuss an experience they had when someone made an assumption about them and should explain how the experience of being judged made them feel. They should explain how their experience connects to the activity and to the idea of stereotypes and of being normal.