ERIC Number: ED639051
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 338
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3801-9976-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Constructivist Grounded Theory of Queer and Muslim Identity Integration in College
Musbah Shaheen
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University
The purpose of this study was to examine how college students who identify as queer and Muslim and attend 4-year colleges and universities integrate their religious and sexual identities. The study was conducted through a constructivist paradigm that acknowledged multiple truths and the role of the researcher in co-constructing knowledge. The study also used constructivist grounded theory as the guiding methodology. Students participated in two rounds of intensive interviews that explored the meaning they made of their multiple social identities and the role of collegiate spaces in influencing identity integration. Data analysis was iterative and immediate, and data were analyzed using the constant comparative method using three approaches: initial coding, focused coding, and axial coding. Codes from both rounds of interviews were combined and reconciled, then restructured using axial coding. A graphical representation of the meaning making process for queer Muslim students was constructed. Member checking, memoing, and peer debriefing were used to enhance the trustworthiness of the data. The primary outcome of the analysis was a theory of queer and Muslim identity integration which posited that identity integration is a process, not a goal and that one could not arrive at an integrated end point. Rather, the cycle of integration continues as external influences such as those coming from family, peers, religious authorities, and the community or culture relay various messages about participants' identities. These messages created crisis. The dissonance associated with such crisis was apparent at the individual and community levels. Participants then engaged in identity integration to process the experienced crisis by mobilizing four mechanisms: (a) Redefining religious truths through interpreting Islamic texts and articulating religious beliefs; (b) Preserving familial relationships by contextualizing attitudes and articulating a sense of duty toward family; (c) Navigating the paradox of choice engendered by queer and Muslim identities; and (d) Delineating and distinguishing cultural and religious beliefs. Students navigated numerous spaces where they encountered messages that influenced their identities and engaged in meaning making to resolve the resulting crises in two contexts. The first was the collegiate context, including academic and social spaces. The second was the off-campus community context, including familial environments and religious spaces. Participants expressed their identities including their performance of gender, sexuality, religion, and culture, thereby eliciting external feedback. Findings suggest that queer Muslim college students navigated identity gatekeepers by redefining religious truths and reflecting on their beliefs. They contextualized themselves within their communities as they preserved their familial connections and cultural congruity. Queer Muslims also disrupted taken-for-granted notions of authenticity through a process of selective outness and differentiated religion from culture and belief to process cultural attitudes and construct a more cohesive and integrated identity as both queer and Muslims. Finally, queer Muslims leveraged collegiate contexts, including social and academic spaces, to facilitate the process of integration. The findings make several contributions to the theoretical understanding of identity, and have implications for research, theory, and practice. This study showcases the power of representation and emphasizes the need to ask difficult questions despite the challenges that arise from studying a unique population like queer Muslims. The theory sheds light on the complexity of the Muslim identity and its evolution, and troubles religious structures by highlighting collectivist paradigms, nuancing self-authorship, and complicating the nexus between religion and culture. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: College Students, LGBTQ People, Muslims, Religion, Sexual Identity, College Environment, Self Concept, Family Influence, Peer Influence, Cultural Influences, Social Influences, Islamic Culture, Beliefs
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Related Records: EJ1447069
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A