Heteronormativity posits the superiority of heterosexuality and heterosexually-based norms over all other forms of sexual or gender expression, and heteronormative beliefs have been shown to affect how individuals view sexuality and gender. The concept of gender transition inherently goes against the ideals of heteronormativity. The current study…

Our understanding of gender is evolving from a binary system to a continuum whereby gender is fluid, multifaceted, and individually defined or expressed. Businesses, through owners, employees, and customers, as well as company policies and practices, play a role in the acceptance and inclusion of gender nonconforming individuals. One group with a…

This narrative inquiry explores the experiences of LGBTQ+ teacher candidates of color in a teacher education program. Composed of vignettes written by teacher candidates and narrative analysis to frame the significance of and contexts within which the vignettes were written, this study first offers insight into the ways teacher candidates…

Background: College sexual violence (CSV) victimization is associated with mental health issues with more recent research showing that victimization also has a negative impact on academic outcomes. While many universities offer a wide range of both advocacy and supportive services for survivors that can help address the negative impacts of CSV,…

Purpose: This study examined sexual minority status on perceived sense of belonging and compared sexual minority students and exclusively heterosexual students as a function of participating in work-integrated learning (WIL). Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional, quantitative design was used with participants grouped by sexual minority…

We used a phenomenological approach to explore 12 sexual minority Korean college students' coming out experiences. Emergent themes from in-depth interviews included (a) expression of universal needs, (b) awareness of sociocultural violence, (c) coping strategies, and (d) cocreating an inclusive culture. These four themes characterize interactions…

Asexuality was absent from the sexual orientation lexicon as recently as a decade ago (Bigio, Davenport, Pinder, Chevigny, & Tucker, 2011). However visibility of asexual people has been growing. For example, Asexuality Visibility and Education Network's (AVEN, n.d.b) first Community Census in 2011 received 3,430 responses while responses to…

This self-reflexive activity acts as an introduction to how we talk about and express gender identity, as well as the assumptions we may have about gender identity norms and expression. The activity illuminates student's subconscious behaviors and understandings of gender, pushing them to sit self-reflexively with their own understandings of…

This article provides a theoretical contemplation on how reciprocation of an assimilationist, liberationist and/or transgressive approach by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and/or questioning (LGBTIQ+) individuals on university campuses may encourage transformation initiatives in South African universities. The author ascribes…

Mental health issues have been shown to be more common in LGBTQ+ youths when compared to heterosexual cisgender youths. This study aimed to understand the process of disclosure of sexuality and gender identity in Maltese LGBTQ+ university students and explored dynamics within the individual's family and social circles during this process.…

This article encourages postsecondary educators to expand the scope of applications of universal design and universal instructional design by exploring how principles of UD and UID can be applied to other social identities, and specifically to gender identity and sexual orientation. There are many parallels that can be drawn between students who…

This paper examines how transgender and gender non-conforming youth are represented and shaped as specific subjects vis-à-vis the cisgendered problematics of the washroom space in schools. In the first part of the paper, I undertake a critical analysis of one policy-informing text on the implementation of the gender neutral washroom in schools to…

How can teachers help students understand the importance of gender pronouns for transgender and gender-nonconforming people? This article presents a gender pronoun reversal activity that simulates the experience of being verbally misgendered. Students followed up on the activity by posting reflections on an online class discussion board. The…

Being labeled as "abnormal, or deviant, or not being one of the rest of us" has real effects for one's life chances. Trans* people are one such group who have continually been codified as abnormal, abject, weird, deceptive, and social pariahs. The purpose of the following study was to explore how the concepts of passing, realness, and…

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…