Preconceptions and Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body : Creating understanding and acceptance between students by illuminating underlying preconceptions about gender and sexuality

Abstract: This essay analyzes the novel Written on the Body and finds that the novel can be used as a tool in the classroom by the teacher to help spark discussions about preconceptions regarding gender and sexuality. Reader response in combination with literary analysis and Queer theory can highlight the students’ own preconceptions and views of gender and sexuality and can through discussions in the classroom led by the teacher be challenged.