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Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth experience disparate treatment in schools that may result in criminal sanctions. In an effort to understand the pathways that push youth out of schools, we conducted focus groups with youth (n = 31) from Arizona, California, and Georgia, and we interviewed adult advocates from across the United States (n = 19). Independent coders used MAXQDA to organize and code data. We found that LGBTQ youth are punished for public displays of affection and violating gender norms. Youth often experience a hostile school climate, may fight to protect themselves, and are frequently blamed for their own victimization. Family rejection and homelessness facilitate entry in the school-to-prison pipeline. Narratives highlight new opportunities to challenge inequity in schools.
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Author Biographies
Shannon D. Snapp is a developmental psychologist with interests in health, well-being, sexuality, gender, and sociocultural contexts that support youth. She joined the Frances McClelland Institute of Children, Youth, and Families in the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences as postdoctoral research fellow in 2011. She is on the leadership team of the Crossroads Collaborative, a Ford Foundation funded transdisciplinary research team that studies sexuality, health, and rights for youth. She served as an emerging scholar representative for the Society for Research on Adolescence and the European Association for Research on Adolescence.
Jennifer M. Hoenig is a third-year doctoral student in the department of Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona. She received her MPH in behavioral sciences and health education from Emory University in 2012 with a specific focus in socio-contextual determinants of health. Her research focuses on health and education inequity among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. She plans to focus her doctoral work on health and education, specifically the intersection of sexual, gender, and racial identities.
Amanda Fields is a PhD candidate in rhetoric, composition, and the teaching of English. Her research interests include community literacies and youth slam poetry. She is a Pushcart-nominated creative writer whose work has been published in Indiana Review, Brevity, and other journals. Her co-edited collection “Toward, Around, and Away From Tahrir: Tracking Emerging Expressions of Egyptian Identity” was published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in 2014.”
Stephen T. Russell is the distinguished professor and Fitch Nesbitt Endowed Chair in family and consumer sciences in the John & Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arizona, and director of the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, and Families. He conducts research on adolescent pregnancy and parenting, cultural influences on parent–adolescent relationships, and the health and development of LGBT youth. He received a Wayne F. Placek Award from the American Psychological Association (2000), was a William T. Grant Foundation Scholar (2001-2006), was a board member of the National Council of Family Relations (2005-2008), and is the past president of the Society for Research on Adolescence.
