"Cliqued Up White Groups": An Analysis of Discussions of Racism in Queer Youth Spaces

• In Event: 66.037 - Race and Radical Imaginations: Critical-Theoretical Possibilities for Education Praxis

Abstract

Perspectives: Although researchers frame queer youth spaces as supportive environments, queer youth of color in these majority-white spaces may be excluded.

Objectives: This qualitative study explored young people’s perceptions of factors and circumstances that encourage or inhibit critical dialogue in spaces dedicated to queer youth.

Methods: Data came from interviews with ten young people who participated in both a majority-white queer youth organization and an organization for queer youth of color.

Results: Themes included the race of the facilitators, the group size, the precipitating events for discussion, and the framing of the discussion as a didactic experience.

Implications: The study offers suggestions for interrupting racism, classism, and cissexism, and fostering conversations that dismantle the implicit hierarchy that marginalizes non-white youth.

Author

• Robert Marx, Vanderbilt Peabody College