How Does a School Become LGBTQ-Friendly? It Depends Who You Ask: An Urban High School and the Road to LGBTQ Inclusivity

• In Event: Research In Progress Roundtables Session 4
  In Invited Roundtable: LGBTQ Studies in Education Research: Inclusion, Identity, Gender Normativity, and Housing Insecurity (Table 8)

Abstract

This paper utilizes ethnographic data to explore how a school attempts to become LGBTQ-friendly. I found that the process of becoming LGBTQ-friendly was a dynamic element of school culture rather than an achieved end-point. The process relied on a small group of LGBTQ-identified people and allies, while the lack of institutional follow-through kept the school in an “almost, but not quite there” status of inclusiveness. Ultimately, I argue that the systemic change required for a school to be truly LGBTQ-friendly requires more than the well-meaning actions of the few. Instead, it necessitates a concerted effort by the entire school community, inclusive of leadership, curriculum and those with the benefits of power and privilege on their side.

Author

• Nina Mauceri, Independent Scholar