Embodied gender/sex identity and English language teaching: Two narratives and dissident identities from Colombia

Little is known about the professional identities of teachers of English in terms of how their gender identity is related to teaching practices. This study discusses how teachers of English narrate their gender identities and how embodiment influences their teaching principles, beliefs, and experiences. The study draws on a critical and decolonial understanding of gender/sex as embodied and its relation to embodied teaching practices. This narrative study is based on interviews with two gay Colombian teachers at a Bogotá (Colombia) private language centre. Findings reveal that the participants’ teaching practices are permeated by gender performativity, indicating that orthodox pedagogies do not consider the influence of factors like gender, age, race, social class, and level of knowledge.