This study examined how lesbian and gay student affairs professionals negotiate their sexual identity within the institutional culture and professional responsibilities at small colleges and universities (SCUs). Nineteen individuals participated in semistructured interviews. Using the concept of theoretical bricolage (Kincheloe, 2005; Kincheloe,…

Sexual and gender minorities have long quibbled over whether the "LGBT" moniker (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) is inclusive enough. While we celebrate the proliferation of sexual and gender identities, we also believe that this ever-expanding moniker has become an alibi for disavowing institutional violence--particularly in higher…

This article presents data from a large-scale cross-sectional survey of LGBTQ college students (N = 1,123) reflecting on their middle and high school experiences in choral music. The quantitative data indicate that students felt safer in high school than in middle school and that a small majority of high school teachers voiced support for LGBTQ…

Many community colleges are unwelcoming to LGBTQ students and this chapter provides practical suggestions to community college leaders to develop a more inclusive campus culture.

LGBTQ issues are often marginalized in teacher preparation programs. This marginalization perpetuates heternormative practices in schools. Utilizing the lens of narrative inquiry, this study examined the lives of 10 LGBTQ teachers residing in various geographical regions in the United States. Based on the theoretical framework of Queer Theory,…

Black men who have sex with men (MSM) on Historically Black College/University (HBCU) campuses face a unique set of challenges. In addition to being disproportionately affected by HIV, Black MSM are impacted by risk behavior, stigma, and environmental policies and practices that adversely influence their experiences. The purpose of this study was…

Gender neutral housing is an innovative new policy being developed in colleges around the country. One reason to create these policies is an attempt to meet the unique needs and challenges of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. As the number of gender neutral housing policies in the United States continues to rise, research has been…

While it is widely recognized that campus climate can have a profound impact on students' academic performance, mental/behavioral health, and character development, campus is not experienced equally across identity groups. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and asexual (LGBTQA) students, campus often includes added…

This ethnographic study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduates expands the higher education conversation about campus climate beyond the traditional organizational-level paradigm. Findings suggest that LGBT individuals with similar organizational roles shared common experiences and…

This research describes the impact of an integrated training program (Positive Space I and Positive Space II) on pre-service teachers' understandings of and abilities to create safe spaces for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgendered, two-spirited, queering and/or questioning (LGBTQ) youth and allies in schools. Our Bachelor of Education program…

Although all teachers are expected to be "role models," discursive trajectories reaching back to the West's gay liberation pressure queer teachers to be role models in specific ways--by "coming out" and helping queer students out of their "time of difficulty." Paradoxically, discourses that construct children as…

In this article, the author provides an overview of existing literature addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), and queer issues in higher education. She argues that although colleges and universities are the source of much critical and postmodern writing about LGBT and queer topics, scholarship on LGBT/queer people and…

The lead author questioned five fraternity members, one former member, and one non-member to assess their reasons for joining--or attempting to join--a fraternity chapter at a large public university in the Southeastern United States. Specifically, the study investigated (a) how their membership affected their sexual identity development and…

Gregory A. Love, then a student at Morehouse College, in Atlanta, was beaten in 2002 with a baseball bat by a fellow student in a dormitory shower after Love made what his attacker perceived as a homosexual advance. The attacker was later convicted of aggravated assault and battery. Love sued Morehouse, arguing that the institution was liable for…

In this study, we examine how broad heteronormative discourses circulate, become embodied within, negotiated by, and potentially resisted within a university, a college of education, and educators themselves. We pay special attention to how heteronormative discourses at Southwestern University (SWU) impact the various roles this college of…