The Center Cannot Hold: Censorship and Queer(ing) Literacies in the Rural South

ABSTRACT There are more anti‐LGBTQ+ policies and legislation affecting schools now than ever before. Within this political milieu, teachers navigate censorship, surveillance, community criticism, and curricular mandates that limit or even illegalize their efforts to foster queer‐ and trans‐affirming classrooms. This article presents a case study of Echo's efforts and experiences, as she found her curricular agency and teaching effectiveness stripped away by ever‐increasing restrictions from censorship laws and policies that disallowed ranges of topics, texts, and pedagogical practices—and the ways that she resisted. Based on a 4‐year longitudinal qualitative study, using individual interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations, this discussion focuses on “Echo,” an experienced English Language Arts high school teacher who initially felt defeated by these political restrictions and ultimately found effective counterstrategies through queer pedagogical emphasis on discomfort as a generative and empowering literacy practice.