Research suggests that there are Queer educators in nearly every school in America (Woog, 1995). With the knowledge that there are Queer educators working within schoolhouses across the nation, it is necessary to understand their experiences in order to close gaps in the literature and to identify implications of the understanding of their…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to explore the stories and experiences of openly gay Latino males who serve as mid-level administrators in higher education. This study focused on narrative stories of personal and historical context of the participants' intersecting identities that have implications for their daily interactions in…

Five biracial multiracial lesbian gay bisexual queer student leaders shared stories about their undergraduate experiences at a prestigious southern university. Critical cultural and constructivist paradigm provided the framework for supporting this narrative inquiry. Through multiple interviews, participants shared stories of their background,…

All modes of oppression, including psychological, political, and economic, as well as the kinds of alienation that they generate, serve and maintain a caste system of privilege. The belief systems on which the realities of structural oppression rest are especially relevant for people of color and other subordinated identities (e.g., LGBTQ…

School can be inhospitable for any lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) parents with children in pre-K-12 classrooms (Kosciw & Diaz, 2008). Some LGBTQ parents feel they must be silent and discreet so their children will not endure any discrimination at school (Fakhrid-Deen & COLAGE, 2010). Some reasons for this silence…

This qualitative study focuses on the stories of six self-Identified Gay Latinos in a higher education. The participant's stories are documented using "Testimonio." The six men were uniquely situated to give their "testimonios" about their campus experiences of seeking support in that they were the narrators of the experiences.…

This autoethnography describes one administrator's experience with being openly queer in an urban school. This study aims to describe, through story, the process of coming out and the how the lived experiences of one administrator impact her leadership identity. This works aims to be an example of the process of leadership development through…

Schools are often hostile and unwelcoming spaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer/questioning (LGBTQ), and gender-nonconforming students, teachers, and parents. This qualitative study sought to address that problem by examining the role that teacher education can play in preparing teacher candidates to transform those spaces. The…

Boys who sing in school are often marginalized, taunted, sometimes called "gay." What if "singer" is someone's whole identity, and that person also happens to be gay? This autoethnography (Ellis, 2004) is a story of the education and development of such a singer and how, within this context, a voice teacher with an empowering…

This narrative inquiry explored how transgender college students construct, experience, and make meaning of gender. Gender is not constructed or understood in isolation; it is therefore essential to consider how personal cognition intersects with and is influenced by an internal sense of self and relationships with others when exploring how…

Thinking of identity as a multi-dimensional process through which individuals actively experience and create the self-definition of themselves, this dissertation examines the multiple dimensions of identity that undergraduate college students consider when making meaning of their lives inside and outside of the classroom. Only recently have…

This dissertation, as a qualitative sociolinguistic analysis, focuses on the use of narrative in identity transformation and sustainment. In particular, it examines the language of those involved in the fashioning of "ex-gay" sexual identity. Such identity work is conducted largely within religious ministries. Particular to evangelical…

There is a paucity of literature that examines the narratives of heterosexuals who struggle against the discourse of heteronormativity. There is even less literature that discusses how the discourse of heteronormativity may play out between egalitarian heterosexual counselors and clients who identify as sexual minorities. Employing the qualitative…