Students Who Transcend: The Role of Gender Performance in Self-Reported Outness Among LGBTQ Collegians

• In Event: 53.044 - Gender Performance, Sexual Knowledge, and the Influence of Campus Environments on LGBTQ Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate outness as a component of identity development among a national sample of 1599 LGBTQ undergraduates. Our empirical study brings into question the theoretical applicability of D’Augelli’s LGB identity development model for examining identity disclosure across minoritized sexual and gender identities with specific attention to gender performance expectations among LGBTQ undergraduate students. Our results demonstrate that LGBTQ students who transcend gender expectations – trans* students, feminine cisgender men, and masculine cisgender women – are more out than their peers who conform to societal expectations for gender performance and expression. Results also indicate significant relationships between outness and variables within D’Augelli’s three sets of interconnected concepts: personal actions and subjectivities, interactive intimacies, and sociohistorical connections.

Authors

• Jason C. Garvey, University of Vermont

• Lauren Bennett, The University of Alabama

• Cindy Ann Kilgo, Indiana University - Bloomington