LGBTQ representations in media and novels, especially in young adult (YA) literature, have become more recurrent and reliable in recent years. While little research exists on youth and transgender stories, existing LGBTQ texts predominantly deal with men, chiefly White gay men (Cart & Jenkins, 2006; Garcia, 2013). To address this imbalanced…

This paper considers the educational implications of the recent emphasis on the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer (LGBTQ) people in Ireland. Operating from the perspective that discourses constitute rather than merely reflect material reality, thereby shaping or "structuring" how we…

This article presents a periodization of educational research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues between 1970 and 2010. Developed through a frame analysis of 105 educational research reports, the periodization maps ideological and chronological patterns in the conceptual frames of research on LGBTQ issues. Five…

Overall, people whose gender identity and/or expression do not correspond to traditional norms are increasingly sharing their life experiences publicly. These narratives are offered by adults as well as children and their families. Within the last year, almost every major television network and news outlet has featured at least one such story.…

This article investigates educational experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) youth living in Northern Ireland (NI) through a mixed-methods research design and analytical framework of heteronormativity. It draws on large-scale survey data which, for the first time in NI, captured the experiences of 16 year olds who identify as…

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals disproportionately report negative academic outcomes and experiences as a result of stigma and discrimination. No research to date has investigated how being out in different social relationships may affect these youth. We compare youth who are out to family, friends, and people at school to understand…

In the past 10 years, gender-variant (GV) children (children who do not conform to traditional gender norms) have received increased attention from scholars, mental health practitioners, and popular media. In schools, these students have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to violence and harassment, leading to myriad negative…

This article responds to intermediality through a case study of an intermedial applied performance for young people. "Heterophobia," a hybrid fusion of live performance, digital technology, social media and urban street art, aimed to challenge homophobia in schools and online. Intermediality was used as a tool to enhance young people's…

Despite the increasing social tolerance accorded nonheterosexual persons in many Western countries, queer youth suicide rates remain high. This opens the need to question not only how broad social conditions continue to make lives unlivable for many queer youth but whether queer community formations and representations that emerge within a…

Our aim in this introduction is neither to enunciate an "after-queer" vision nor to denounce queer theory. In thinking through an "after-queer", we identify and seek to account for particular habits of thought that are often associated with queer research in education and queer research about young people. We trace certain traditions that frame…

Ressler's "Dramatic Changes" is a powerful guide for anyone brave enough to create a space for young people to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity. Her accessible style and tangible suggestions describe a creative and educationally sound approach to supporting youth in thoughtfully wrestling with one of the most controversial social…

Female-identified transgender youth (FIT youth) have a male birth sex but identify as female, placing them outside of socially acceptable standards and increasing the challenges of adolescence. They face numerous potential sources of stress and have a higher likelihood of experiencing negative mental health outcomes due to lack of support, lack of…

Drawing primarily on three case studies, this article proposes a framework that those concerned about the welfare of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth can consider when developing, evaluating, or arguing for more effective programming: a relational assets approach. The relational assets approach merges the…

Over the past decade Israel has experienced dramatic change in the legitimization of same-sex relationships. In recent years the LGBT social movement has succeeded in mobilizing public support not only for the rights and well-being of adults, but also for the younger generation-LGBT youth. Using a large-scale survey of the Israeli LGBT community…

"Change Matters," written by leading scholars committed to social justice in English education, provides researchers, university instructors, and preservice and inservice teachers with a framework that pivots social justice toward policy. The chapters in this volume detail rationales about generating social justice theory in what Freire calls "the…