LGBT students encounter boundless school-related problems including depression, suicidal tendencies, and drug abuse, among others. LGBT youth in school are subjected to constant bullying and discrimination from students, teachers, and the school's administration who often fail to defend them against this. Often, LGBT students drop-out of school.…

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…

Over the past 20 years, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals have made progress in attaining the same basic civil rights as heterosexual individuals. As in other civil rights movements, the college campus has played an important role. The LGBT community participates in academic and campus life, and numerous colleges are…

Sexual orientation-based discrimination in schools has evolved from primarily blatant, overt forms to include more subtle and ambiguous forms, or microaggressions. To date, the unique experiences of microaggressions among adolescents in the context of the high school environment are underrepresented among the literature. In this qualitative study,…

This dissertation aims to elucidate that current school-based mental health services need a more LGBTQI+ affirmative stance to counter and disrupt the heteronormativity, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia that LGBTQI+ students regularly encounter at school. Many LGBTQI+ students continue to be harassed, bullied, and discriminated against;…

This article reviews how sexuality is addressed in the curricula of Norwegian social work bachelor's programs. The purpose of the review was to examine whether heteronormativity was problematized in social work curricula. A keyword search revealed that sexuality was addressed in only 0.08% of curriculum materials in the 2013-2014 academic year (90…

Stigma and discrimination affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people compromise health and human rights and exacerbate the HIV epidemic. Scant research has explored effective LGBT stigma reduction strategies in low- and middle-income countries. We developed and pilot-tested a participatory theatre intervention (PTI) to reduce…

For more than two decades, there has been a concerted effort in Albuquerque Public School District (APS) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA to educate adults about LGBTQ students and the need for advocacy so that these students have the same access to education as other students in a safe and respectful environment. Populations within the district…

Sex education takes place in a wide range of contexts including through the media. Media use among young men who have sex with men is high and gender identity and sexual orientation are topics often integrated into today's media. Little is known about young men who have sex with men's perceptions of how the media frames messages about gender…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) collegiate athletes have historically faced discrimination and homophobia. Since 2011, LGBTQ student-athletes report affirming experiences after coming out as a new generation of accepting students enter college. Despite this progress, many LGBTQ athletes remain in the closet, due in part to…

Low educational attainment, often a lack of a high school diploma or matriculation degree, has been linked to negative health outcomes and lower quality of life for sexual and gender minorities globally. However, optimism and resiliency have been demonstrated to provide buffering effects on school dropout. We conducted a study in a South African…

Leadership experiences of lesbian, gay male, and bisexual (LGB) school superintendents of Color were explored in this dissertation. All LGB superintendents in recent research were White; this finding, along with literature on LGB identity, race and ethnicity, discrimination, and educational leadership, provided context for two research questions…

Over the past several decades, the shifting social climate has led to a steady increase in legal rights, social acceptance, and visibility for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. However, there are still marked individual differences in levels of sexual prejudice as well as varying levels of comfort and exposure to the LGBT…

Research indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) college students face a hostile campus climate. Despite the hostile campus climate, many LGBTQ+ students persist. Understanding what helps students persist is important to student affairs professionals as they develop data-driven interventions to improve…

Students targeted by homophobic discrimination are at risk for poor academic outcomes, yet few studies have examined how witnessing discrimination affects students. This study examined the impact of direct and indirect experiences of heterosexism on feelings of safety, belongingness, and connectedness among a sample of 1,702 students at a public…