Shannon D. Snapp

Messy, Butch, and Queer LGBTQ Youth and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

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.

The Upside to Hooking Up: College Students’ Positive Hookup Experiences

ABSTRACT Objectives: Popular media and research have predominately focused on the risks of hooking up, which may stigmatize young people. In the current study, we identify factors that facilitate positive hookups. Methods: College students (N = 250) in the United States reported hookup motives, sexual self-concept, sexual satisfaction, and emotional reactions to a hookup. Results: Emotional reactions were more positive than negative. Intimacy and pleasure motives predicted sexual satisfaction; self-affirmation motives predicted positive emotional reactions. Hookups with a previous partner were rated as more satisfying. Conclusions: Understanding qualities associated with positive hookups may better equip young adults to make informed decisions about their sexual lives.

Students’ Perspectives on LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum

Implementing curriculum that is inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) people has the potential to create an equitable learning environment. In order to learn more about students’ experiences of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, 26 high school students with diverse racial/ethnic, sexual, and gender identities were recruited from the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Network in California. Students participated in focus groups conducted by telephone by GSA staff, sharing their experiences of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in school. Qualitative coding methods, including grounded theory, were used to identify themes and interpret students’ responses. Data revealed that LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum was most often taught in social sciences and humanities courses as stand-alone lessons. LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum rarely met standards of social justice education, though opportunities for critical conversations about systemic oppression regularly emerged. For instance, teachers often failed to intervene in LGBTQ bullying and missed teachable moments conducive to inclusive curriculum. Some students learned positive LGBTQ lessons and highlighted the ways such curriculum reflected their identities and created a supportive school climate. Implications for equitable education are discussed.

LGBTQ-inclusive curricula: why supportive curricula matter

There is growing attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) issues in schools, including efforts to address such issues through the curriculum. This study examines whether students’ perceptions of personal safety and school climate safety are stronger when curricula that include LGBTQ people are present and supportive. LGBTQ and straight middle and high school students from California (1232 students from 154 schools) participated in the 2008 Preventing School Harassment survey. They reported their experience of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, its level of supportiveness and perceptions of safety. Multilevel methods allowed for an examination of differences between individuals in the same school while controlling for differences between schools. LGBTQ-inclusive curricula were associated with higher reports of safety at the individual and school levels, and lower levels of bullying at the school level. The amount of support also mattered: supportive curricula were related to feeling safer and awareness of bullying at the individual and school levels. The implications of school- versus student-level results for educational policy and practices are discussed.

A Right to Disclose. LGBTQ Youth Representation in Data, Science, and Policy.

There has been growing attention to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in child and adolescent development, public discourse, and research. A strong tension is clear: The right for participation, and thus representation in data, science, and policy, is often understood as conflicting with the right for protection, that is, safety from disclosure of a marginalized orientation or identity. Both participation and protection rights are also closely tied to young peoples rights to privacy (or lack thereof). We review recent scholarship on SOGI in developmental sciences in light of this tension. We focus on schooling as a salient developmental context for all youth, a place that is historically unsafe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, and a context where researchers have identified gaps of knowledge as well as strategies for improvement. Our review focuses on the politics and processes of SOGI inclusion in education data collection efforts in the United States, an area where SOGI data collection is scarce in comparison to other systems of care, such as health. We suggest that one solution to the dilemma would be that youth have the right to disclose their SOGI information to whom and when they choose. We offer strategies on how to hold these tensions in balance and move toward SOGI-inclusive research and data collection so that LGBTQ youth can be represented in data, science, and policy.

A Right to Disclose

There has been growing attention to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in child and adolescent development, public discourse, and research. A strong tension is clear: The right for participation, and thus representation in data, science, and policy, is often understood as conflicting with the right for protection, that is, safety from disclosure of a marginalized orientation or identity. Both participation and protection rights are also closely tied to young peoples rights to privacy (or lack thereof). We review recent scholarship on SOGI in developmental sciences in light of this tension. We focus on schooling as a salient developmental context for all youth, a place that is historically unsafe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, and a context where researchers have identified gaps of knowledge as well as strategies for improvement. Our review focuses on the politics and processes of SOGI inclusion in education data collection efforts in the United States, an area where SOGI data collection is scarce in comparison to other systems of care, such as health. We suggest that one solution to the dilemma would be that youth have the right to disclose their SOGI information to whom and when they choose. We offer strategies on how to hold these tensions in balance and move toward SOGI-inclusive research and data collection so that LGBTQ youth can be represented in data, science, and policy.

Discipline Disparities for LGBTQ Youth: Challenges that Perpetuate Disparities and Strategies to Overcome Them

Snapp and Russell identify factors that give rise to and perpetuate discipline disparities towards LGBTQ youth, as well as put forth strategies to reduce them. Challenges include an overly punitive approach to discipline and security in schools; untrained and overextended school staff; explicit and implicit bias towards against LGBTQ students; and a lack of school support for LGBTQ students. The authors suggest non-punitive discipline practices and the creation of safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQ students, with properly trained school personnel. Although specific to LGBTQ students, these policies have the potential to improve safety and learning for all students due to their emphasis on inclusion and respect for diversity. These cross-constituency alliances identify, advocate for, and implement school practices and policies that will reduce discipline disparities for all students.