The queer text utilised was Openly Straight (2013) by Bill Konigsberg with the method of data generation being document analysis. The study followed a qualitative approach with the use of critical hermeneutics as a strategy of inquiry and social constructivism as philosophical worldview. The social messages found in queer texts may be used as entry points to fruitful discourse in language classroom environments. The aim of the investigation on which the article is based was to examine the possibility or viability of implementing critical literacy in secondary education systems in the language classroom as an opportunity to address social issues in heteronormative environments. This article aims to show how a selected young adult queer novel, and the social messaging that emerges from the text, may be a potentially influential location for creating an awareness and better understanding of queer individuals. Advocacy and information about sexual orientation and sexual diversity through literary as characters may be instrumental in possibly changing negative perceptions of queer individuals. Research conducted by The Other Foundation has indicated that South Africans view the lives of queer individuals as lifestyle choice (34%), illness (12%), sin (5.10%), results of these individuals' upbringing (3.80%) and/or resulting from the influence of ancestral spirits (3.70%). Uys Salomé Romylos Carisma Nelĭepartment of English for Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Exposure to queer characters in Konigsberg's Openly Straight through social messaging

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg