Queer international students’ activism trajectories: Expanding notions of one’s identity and “Showing up as I am” at home

• In Event: Examining LGBTQIA+ student global mobility: Research at the intersection of queer identities in international higher education

Proposal

This paper shares findings from a larger research project on international queer-identifying students in the United States. Participants are from countries where there are no legal protections for non-normative sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity. In this study, queer is used as an umbrella term, noting that queer people are collectively denied “the cultural rewards afforded those whose public performances of self are contained within that narrow band of behaviors considered proper to a heterosexual identity” (Sumara and Davis, 1999, p. 192). The larger project focuses on motivations to come to the U.S., experiences while in the U.S., and choices made upon graduation, including whether to return and stay in their home country. National LGBTQ laws – and how they are perceived to harm queer individual in each country – are one significant factor in these choices (Nakamura, Estrellado, & Kim, 2022), in addition to multiple factors that influence individual students’ international mobility (Quach, Todd, Hepp, & Doneker Mancini, 2013; Yu, 2021).

This paper is based on interviews with 12 queer international students, who were interviewed by Zoom twice for 60-120 minutes each time. Using thematic analysis (Creswell, 2014), a comprehensive memo was designed and shared with participants. For the second interviews, participants were then asked to respond to these themes. One topic that resulted in deeper exploration was about activism and advocacy after finishing their U.S. degree.

Findings show that while enrolled in United States higher education, queer students were impressed with the U.S.’s preservation of LGBTQ history, activism efforts, and queer networks – although interviewees avoided or moved away from more conservative areas of the U.S. and were unlikely to join domestic-focused LGBTQ groups. Importantly, they noted that U.S. role models embodied a diversity of queer identities compared to a one-dimensional concept of being queer in their countries. They also spoke to the importance of openly-queer leaders in their academic disciplines and professional networks as important to understanding what was possible as a queer individual.

When individuals graduated from their U.S. degree programs, many sought employment, or additional education, in the U.S. or another country with liberal LGBTQ policies. In countries with greater protection of LGBTQ rights, graduates joined and lead LGBTQ+ affinity groups in their workplaces, displayed photographs of their partner, and gave advice to and shared resources with colleagues, including in senior leadership. If they returned to their home countries, their LGBTQ activism was less pronounced and their actions were more discreet; however, they were equally likely to advocate for minority and gender rights in their countries, especially for the status of women in professional roles. When asked whether they considered themselves activists, many reported that their activism was “showing up as I am” and not hiding their queer identities. These findings contribute to the panels’ themes and raise additional insight about queer students’ experiences in the United States, their activism in their country of origin, and how experiences and lessons about LGBTQ+ and cis-gender rights travel across borders.

Authors

• Anne C Campbell, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

• Jordyn Dezago, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey - Monterey, CA

• Quintessence M Townsend, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey - Monterey, CA