Buckeye Reporter

Mollie Blackburn, a professor with The Ohio State University, attended a recent webinar the Daily Mail said shared tips on “subversively and quietly” encouraging students to cross dress.

“Dozens of Midwestern teachers met online this week and traded tips on helping trans students change gender at school without their parents' knowledge, while criticizing a raft of new Republican laws on sex and identity,” reported the Daily Mail. “In the four-hour workshop, they discussed helping trans students in the face of new laws in Republican-run states on gender, pronouns, names, parents' rights, bathroom access, and sports teams.”  

“Some teachers said they followed the rules, but others discussed being 'subversive,' how their personal 'code of ethics' trumped laws, and how to 'hide' a trans student's new name and gender from their parents,” said the report. 

The webinar was hosted by the Great Lakes Equity Center, which says it is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. 

Blackburn is a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education and Human Ecology, according to the university's website. 

"Her research focuses on literacy, language, and social change, with particular attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and the teachers who serve them," said the website.

In 2011, Blackburn authored the book, "Interrupting Hate: Homophobia in Schools and What Literacy Can Do About It." The description of the book on Amazon said, "This timely and important book focuses on the problems of heterosexism and homophobia in schools and explores how these forms of oppression impact LGBTQ youth, as well as all young people."

She also authored the 2009 book, "Acting Out!: Combating Homophobia through Teacher Activism." The Amazon description of this book discusses how "to create safe learning environments for all students they address key topics, including seizing teachable moments, organizing faculty, deciding whether to come out in the classroom, using LGBTQ-inclusive texts, running a Gay-Straight Alliance, changing district policy to protect LGBTQ teachers and students, dealing with resistant students, and preparing preservice teachers to do antihomophobia work."

A 2015 article on the university's web site said that Blackburn's "latest research interest" is "teaching literature featuring LGBTQQ characters at a local high school" in Columbus, Ohio.

"In 2015, Blackburn will have the opportunity to take the LGBTQQ literary discussions from the book club to the classroom," said the article. "She will be a guest teacher at a Columbus, Ohio, charter school to teach and discuss LGBTQQ-themed novels."

“I’m really excited to put this into practice,” Blackburn said, according to the article. “Now I personally can see how LGBTQQ issues can be taught in the classroom.”

Blackburn received her PhD in 2001 from the University of Pennsylvania, her masters degree from the University of Georgia in 1996, and her bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond in 1991.