The Chameleon Experience: Queer Identity, Mental Health, And Transformation, Cameron Penny

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

In this autoethnographic piece, I examine the correlation between queer identity and mental health through reflective analysis of my own experiences within a Western socio-cultural setting. I expand external perspectives on the queer experience by highlighting the normalization of queer prejudice and its adverse impact on self-image. I share how the religious praxis of Catholicism enforces binary conformity by promoting dichotomous thinking that simultaneously constricts queer expression and subjugates implicit biases. In tandem, I utilize autoethnography as my medium because it provides a unique outlet to raise awareness for chronically stigmatized identities by centering marginalized voices (Atay, 2011; Chavez, 2013). …

Representasi Kehidupan Sosial Remaja Queer Di Belanda Dalam Film Out (2024), Ajie Kelana, Barbara Elisabeth Lucia Pesulima

Multikultura

Belanda dikenal relatif terbuka terhadap homoseksualitas, kondisi yang tercermin dalam film Out (2024) karya Dennis Alink tentang dua remaja queer, Ajani dan Tom, yang menjalani kehidupan baru di Amsterdam. Penelitian ini mengkaji representasi kehidupan sosial remaja queer dalam film tersebut dan relevansinya dengan realitas sosial remaja queer di Belanda, menggunakan teori representasi Stuart Hall dengan pendekatan konstruksionis serta konsep congruence Carl Rogers, melalui metode deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa film merepresentasikan kehidupan sosial remaja queer sebagai proses adaptasi yang dipengaruhi ruang sosial: keluarga sebagai ruang penerimaan tanpa syarat namun idealis dibanding realitas Belanda, desa sebagai ruang yang membatasi …

"I Don’T Know That You Can Do That Anywhere Else": The Role Rural College Towns Play In The Formation Of Queer Identity, Amy Mcdowell, Ryan J. Parsons, Julia Kraus

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Challenging dominant narratives suggesting that rural spaces are inhospitable to LGBTQ+ identities, this study examines how queer individuals navigate space, rurality, and queerness in Oxford, Mississippi, a historically conservative college town. Drawing on oral histories from the Queer Mississippi digital archive, we argue that rural institutions of higher learning (rural IHLs) and the college towns they are embedded in serve as critical sites of queer identity formation. The rural college town provides a unique space where LGBTQ+ individuals from both within and outside the South navigate self-discovery, social networks, and belonging. We highlight the transformative role of these spaces in …

Sexuality-Related Lexical (In)Visibility In Asian Englishes: A Corpus-Based Study Using The International Corpus Of English (Ice), Jess V. Mendoza, April N. Salvador, Teri An Joy G. Magpale

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

This study examines the visibility and invisibility of sexuality-related terms in four Asian Englishes using data from the International Corpus of English (ICE). Drawing on Wilkinson’s (2022) sexuality-related lexical set and informed by scholarship on heteronormativity, the study analyzes the proportional visibility of 19 target lexemes across Englishes in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, and India. The findings show that only a small subset of terms (gay, lesbian, same sex, sexual preference, bisexual, and sexual orientation) appear in the corpora, and even these occur at low frequencies. Among these, gay emerges as the most recurrent. The remaining terms are not …

Pretty Much From Scratch: A Braided Essay On Autistic Diagnosis, Creativity, Identity, And Community, Jenée Stanfield

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This braided essay uses memoir and research to explore autistic diagnosis, creativity, identity, and community. It examines how the misinformation around these topics harm and “other” autistics: the fallacy of diagnostic objectivity/neutrality, the dual myths of autistic hyper- and hypo-creativity, and autism as an identity defined solely by medical professionals. The memoir sections play with point of view and genre.

Jenée is a late-realized autistic with ADHD and OCD, who identifies as neurodivergent and neuroqueer. She lives in Washington state with her spouse and dog. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and is currently a Master …

Faculty Perceptions Of Lgbtq+ Students In Higher Education, Serena Gramling, Laura E. Barrow, Stacy Mikel, Mark J. Sciuchetti Dr., Falynn Turley

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: Limited faculty understanding of LGBTQ+ student experiences may contribute to exclusionary campus climates and discriminatory practices. This study examined faculty perceptions to identify ways to improve support for LGBTQ+ students and promote inclusive environments.

Method: A descriptive quantitative design was used to examine faculty perceptions of LGBTQ+ students and differences across geographic regions. 142 participants completed the 20-item instrument.

Results: Although regional differences in acceptance were observed, geographic location did not significantly predict faculty attitudes. Faculty acceptance played a key moderating role in the relationship between awareness and engagement in inclusive practices. Findings indicated that faculty attitudes alone are …

Defending Lgbtqia+ Young Adult Literature In Classrooms: A Secondary English Methods Assignment, Summer Melody Pennell

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

The author describes how teachers and community advocates can defend the use of LGBTQIA+ Young Adult Literature in the secondary classroom by aligning teaching ideas to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English. Through analyzing student work from two secondary English methods courses, the author found that students were able to find ways to teach the majority of the domains of ELA: reading literary fiction, reading informational texts, writing, and speaking and listening. Students also justified their pedagogical ideas with scholarship from English education. Rather than seeing LGBTQIA+ texts as outliers, the evidence shows they can be used to …

“I Don’T Think We Do A Good Enough Job Acknowledging How Much This Space Is Needed By The Adults”: Making Intergenerational Futures At Camp Fyrefly, Ontario Ontario, Mayera Chazan, Megan Hill, Rachael Nicholls, Ziysah Von Bieberstein

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This paper examines the liberatory potential of intergenerationality at Camp fYrefly, Ontario—an overnight summer camp for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth that is unique within its rural region. In 2023, we conducted research in partnership with Camp fYrefly, including one arts-based workshop, two focus groups, and five key informant interviews. The analysis explores one core finding: participants experience this youth-focused program as an intergenerational future-building project. Extending scholarship on queering mentorship, generativity, and futurity, the article concludes that Camp fYrefly’s intergenerationality binds past, present, and future in the collective project of queering education and making better futures possible. Intergenerationality is also what sustains …

Collegiate Experiences Of Genderqueer And Nonbinary Youth, Angela Clark-Taylor, Alexandra Kay Hicks, Heather Johnson

New York Journal of Student Affairs

This study explores the collegiate experiences of genderqueer and nonbinary students, frequently marginalized in higher education research. While scholarship on transgender students has expanded, it often centers on binary identities, thereby excluding those who identify outside the man-woman dichotomy. This research responds to that gap by asking: What are the experiences of nonbinary students in college? Drawing on in-depth interviews with six genderqueer and nonbinary undergraduate students, the study amplifies their voices to challenge dominant gender norms and essentialist narratives within academic spaces. Participants shared experiences of systemic erasure, invalidation, and microaggressions, as well as the resilience and strategies they …

Book Review – The Fierce Methodology Of Fierce, Fabulous, And Fluid: How Trans High School Students Work At Gender Nonconformity, Robyn Tomiko

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This book review of Fierce, Fabulous, and Fluid explores the methodological fidelity with which LJ Slovin centers gender non-confirming youth during a year-long ethnographic study in a high school. The focus of this review is on the mechanism of rigorous accountability of teachers that Slovin employs in order to hold themselves and their work accountable to the youth who participated in the study.

The Risk Of Risk, Julia Sinclair-Palm, Lj Slovin

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

For decades, research centered on risk narratives as a strategy to compel safety interventions in schools. In this report, we query the left’s continued attachment to this discursive positioning of trans youth and ask: what are the implications of relying on an articulation of trans youths’ right to exist in relation to risk in order to advocate for resistance? Drawing on queer and trans theory, we argue that research about trans youth is trapped in an understanding of trans youth as victims in need of saving. We desire responses from the left that are not mired in conservative narratives, and …

Why Keep The Lgbtqia+ Acronym Together – "Wouldn't It Just Be Best To Split The Acronym?", Kim Andreassen, Bri Mckenzie, Julian Chen, Wendy Cumming-Potvin

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Drawing on the authors' reflections after hosting a community launch event that shared outcomes from research about LGBTQIA+ inclusion in K-12 education in Western Australia, this report examines the importance of keeping the LGBTQIA+ acronym together, emphasizing its role in promoting inclusion, intersectionality, and equitable education. Global legislative actions targeting gender-diverse and queer youth, such as recent restrictive laws in the United States, threaten the fundamental right to education and undermine efforts toward achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 4 of quality education for all. Utilizing relevant education literature, researchers' reflections and introspective questions, this report stressed the interconnectedness …

From The Field: Lessons From Saskatchewan, J Wallace Skelton, Ashlee Sandiford, Alex Schmidt, Hannah Paul

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Just before the 2023-2024 school year, Saskatchewan enacted transphobic school policy and then legislation. Four Saskatchewan educators describe the ways this legislation has impacted them, their students and their colleagues, and ways they are engaging in resistance through activism, pedagogy and research.

“No (My Parents Can’T Know I’M Trans)…For Now:" Resisting Anti-Transgender Backlash In Schools Through A Policy Experiment, Lee Airton, Mik Turje

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This From the Field account describes an intervention we and our colleagues offered in the Canadian culture war surrounding transgender children and youth, as clinical and research experts on K-12 education policy and supports for transgender youth and their parents. In 2023, following comprehensive review by K-12 school administrators, lawyers and experts in child welfare, we released No For Now (NFN). NFN responded to the impending passage of laws which directly harm transgender youth by essentially forcing them to be outed to potentially unsupportive parents. We suggest that NFN enacts an experimental kind of policy-based resistance to these laws and …

Pride On The Prairie: Resistance As Pedagogy In Oklahoma, Madelyn D. Evans, Ashley Herndon, Sage A. Mauldin

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

With an increasing number of attacks on two-spirit, transgender, queer, and gender non-conforming (2STQGNC) students, it is critical to critique the intersecting systems of oppression that work in tandem to eradicate anyone who does not conform to ‘regimes of normalcy,’ particularly cisheteronormativity. In Oklahoma, legislative assaults are taking place to erase 2STQGNC identities and limit civil rights and civil liberties within K-12 schools. This report examines various oppressive policies, highlights student-led resistance as a pedagogical tool, discusses the reciprocal relationship between student activism and community support, and concludes with recommendations for K-12 Educators and 2STQGNC Students.

Beyond The Binary: Queer And Trans Activism In Ontario French As Second Language (Fsl) Classrooms, Robert Grant, Elm Allister

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Drawing from data from a larger doctoral study, this “from the field” report showcases the activist and pedagogical practices of two queer and trans/nonbinary French as a second language (FSL) teachers in Ontario, Canada. Through detailed accounts from elementary and secondary FSL classrooms, we demonstrate activism through empowering (using students’ pronouns and bringing in multiple identities in pedagogical resources), disrupting (challenging assumptions about "normal" identities and families), and resisting (parents' and stakeholders' homophobic and transphobic rhetoric). Our experiences reveal that proactive, consistent integration of 2SLGBTQIA+ representation throughout the classroom discourse minimizes student resistance, particularly in elementary settings where children readily …

Pedagogies Of Heart/Break: Nurturing Trans Resistance Through Beloved Witnessing, Page Valentine Regan

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article calls for spiritual activism on behalf of trans young people. Drawing from the narratives and perspectives of a group of trans young adults of Color situated in the Southeastern United States, the author encourages pedagogies of heart/break. Such a pedagogical position requires a service-based orientation to education, rooted in beloved witnessing. Rather than affinity spaces, political action, or cerebral understanding, beloved witnessing may prove to be a more reliable condition for healing and self-actualization, especially in support of a trans of Color future in educational research, practice and places of learning.

Rural School Counselors Supporting Queer Students In The Southeastern United States, Harley Devon Locklear, Damaris Bates

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article aims to explore the storied experiences of school counselors who actively, overtly and covertly resist the oppression of queer students within rural schools throughout the Southeastern United States. Narrative Inquiry was the research methodology utilized to collect, interpret, and reconstruct these stories, culminating in the synthesization of six overarching themes capturing the factors contributing to and limiting the advocacy efforts of rural school counselors: View of Role, Counselor Self-Efficacy, Stakeholder Push-back, Services Offered, Advocacy Efforts, and Training and University Support. Implications for school counselors, counselor education program, and school administers are also discussed in relation to improving …

Engines For Activism: Gsa Advisors Sparking Student Activism For Lgbtq+ Equity, Elizabeth J. Meyer, Rebecca Grace Kaplan, Erin Kurtz

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article reports on a study on educators supporting student activism for LGBTQ+ equity in schools. The research questions we address are: What impacts do activist-educators have on the activities of the students in their GSA (Genders & Sexualities Alliance)? In what ways do activist-educators support student activism for LGBTQ+ equity? Based on in-depth interviews with seven educators in Colorado, we use grounded theory to present a conceptual model called “Engines for Activism” (EFA). We share data that explain how student and educator interactions within the space of a student club led by an educator-activist can drive advocacy and activism …

Knowledgemaking As Resistance For Queer Youth, Katie Clonan-Roy, Shereen Naser, Daylun Armstrong, Mars Bonilla-Gilgenbach, Thomas Haynes, Rae Jackson, Liz Goncy, Kimberly Anne Fuller

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

In an era of increasing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, queer youth continue to resist oppressive systems through knowledge-making and collective action. In this paper, we explore the transformative nature of liberatory knowledge making for sexual and gender diverse (SGD) youth, which can foster youth’s capacity for resistance work against systems that would otherwise harm them. The paper focuses on a program called Youth Research for Social Change (YRSC) program, where youth and adult co-conspirators engaged in participatory action research to challenge dominant narratives, develop critical consciousness, and foster a sense of community. We explore key tenets of liberatory knowledgemaking—community and solidarity, criticality, …

“You Can’T Ban That!”: Lgbtq+ Youth Of Color Speak Back To Book Bans In Utah, Sonny Partola, Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article explores how LGBTQ+ youth of color (LGBTQ+ YOC) in Utah perceive anti-LGBTQ+ book bans amid a hostile sociopolitical climate. Drawing from a critical ethnographic study at a public high school, and guided by Queer of Color Critique, we examine how censorship, heteronormativity, and White Christian nationalism shape book bans. Youth participants described such bans as mechanisms of erasure and harm that restrict access to affirming literature and reinforce marginalization, while also revealing contradictions in schools’ promotion of literacy alongside censorship. Despite these harms, participants resisted erasure—asserting visibility, belonging, and intellectual freedom. This study contributes to scholarship on censorship …

Editors’ Introduction: Loud, Proud, Rooted, And Resisting – Activism And Advocacy In Tough Times, Lee Airton, Elizabeth J. Meyer

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

After a (brief) period of time in which movements for equity and justice in K-12 schools had been winning and had seen sustained building for gender and sexual diversity (GSD) justice efforts in schools, calls for queer and trans erasure are not only back but are being instantiated in laws and policies on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and in other contexts around the world. These efforts, however, come far too late as students are demanding livable queer and trans lives in the schools where they are legally required to spend most of their days, supported by queer and …

‘“We Was Girls Together”’: Black Girlhood And Homoeroticism In Toni Morrison’S Sula, Summer A. Still

Caroliniana Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper examines Toni Morrison’s Sula through the intertwined frameworks of Black girlhood and homoeroticism, with a focus on the friendship between Sula Peace and Nel Wright. By analyzing moments of intimacy, dreams, and kinship terminology, I argue that Morrison portrays their bond as both a survival mechanism against oppressive social structures and as a site where homoerotic desire emerges. Concepts such as “fictive kin,” “chosen kin,” and “quare” are used to show how Morrison complicates traditional categories of friendship and queerness in American literature. Ultimately, the novel positions Sula and Nel’s relationship as one of enduring love that exceeds …

The International And Comparative Aspects Of United States V. Skrmetti: The Detrimental Rise Of Anti-Trans Sentiment In The United States, Julia Parrey

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

In recent years, anti-trans sentiment has significantly increased in the United States. This Article examines the legal advocacy by the LGBTQ+ community that laid key legal groundwork for basic protections through landmark US Supreme Court decisions like Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges and analyzes how recent judicial and legislative actions signal a dangerous reversal of that progress.

The central analysis focuses on the consequences of United States v. Skrmetti, where the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors by applying rational-basis review, concluding that the law classified based on age or medical diagnosis, rather …

Together Forever, William L. Blizek, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a review of the short film, Together Forever (2026), directed by Gregory Barnes.

Expressing Experiences Of Being Gender Non-Conforming In The “Ladies” Restroom Through Autoethnography-Based Research Poetics, Ellen D. B. Riggle

The Qualitative Report

Three research poems are created as an autoethnographic response to feedback on a research article on the author’s experiences as a gender non-conforming person in women’s public restrooms.  The feedback loop includes the sharing of lived experiences by others and theoretical (why?) discussions in the context of the gendered policing and politicalization of women’s restrooms.  The first found poem includes words, phrases, and descriptions of images used to label spaces designated as women’s restrooms.  The second prose poem recounts the author's experiences through a reframing of risk to women’s health, understanding the cultural context of male entitlement and White supremacy, …

Transwoman Motherhood: Analyzing Film Die Beautiful Within Butler’S Gender Performativity Theory, June Louie A. Flores, Mina Elfira

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study explores the representation and construction of gender identity and motherhood of transgender women within the Philippine society, focusing on Jun R. Lana’s 2016 film, Die Beautiful. Recognizing the increasing visibility of the queer community in media and social discourse, the research aims to analyze how the film reflects and challenges the binary construction of gender and societal gender norms using the theory of gender performativity by Judith Butler from her book Gender Trouble. Employing a qualitative content analysis approach, specifically the conventional method, selected scenes were examined to identify instances of gender performance and explore how …

Leviticus, Dereck Daschke

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Leviticus (2026), directed by Adrian Chiarella.

Review; Rural Education And Queer Identities: Rural And (Out)Rooted, Sara Hall

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This book review examines Rural Education and Queer Identities: Rural and (Out)Rooted, edited by Clint Whitten and Amy Price Azano, an interdisciplinary collection that reconceives rural education as a site of queer worldmaking rather than marginalization. Organized around the metaphors of taproots, root systems, and aerial roots, the collection brings together scholarly essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry to challenge dominant narratives that position queerness as incompatible with rural life. The review considers the collection’s implications for pedagogy and place-based education while noting opportunities for further engagement.

Power, Privilege, And Perceptions: A Critical Case Study Of Ffa And Gsa Members’ High School Experiences In A Southern Rural High School, Eric Moser, Stacy Vincent, Rebekah Epps

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

There is an urgent need to address the rampant homophobic and transphobic systems and rhetoric in the United States. School cultures reflect the systemic privileging of heterosexual and cisgender identities, which places queer students at an increased risk of victimization and harassment. Rural schools have been found to uphold heteronormative and cisnormative cultures more than suburban and urban schools, which increases safety concerns for rural queer students. Rural schools commonly offer school-based agricultural education (SBAE) and FFA programs, which have been found to struggle in their inclusion of racial minority students. To combat hostile school cultures, many schools offer a …