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

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

As international exchange rebounds after the Covid-19 pandemic, higher education institutions are welcoming more international students to their campuses, with approximately 950,000 international students reported in the United States in 2022 and 14,549 U.S. college students studied abroad for academic credit on education abroad programs in 2020-2021 (Institute of International Education, 2022). At the same time, more students - domestic and international - are identifying with a sexual orientation or gender identity that does not neatly fit within the confines of heterosexual or one of two genders. These individuals are often referred to as LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer / questioning, intersex, asexual, or other sexual or gender minority) or increasingly — at least in the United States — claiming the umbrella term of “queer” to show membership in this community (Bingham, 2023).

While no exact figures on the number of queer individuals who participate in international higher education exist, studies show that LGBTQ+-identifying individuals may be more likely to pursue international education (Bryant & Soria, 2015) and explore their identities while studying overseas (Donahue & Wise, 2021). By some estimates, U.S. universities are showing that larger percentages of incoming students are identifying as something other than heterosexual and cis-gendered. For example, at Harvard, Koller and Yan (2021) reported that only 71% of incoming freshmen identified as straight, signaling that 29% did not identify as heterosexual. And within these 29% of students, 60.5% report that they have not yet come out. Moreover, recent research shows that globally, more people are shifting views to recognize sexual orientation as an identity instead of a behavior (Cole & Geist, 2023).

It is essential to understand that international and domestic students have multiple forms of identity, including nationality and ethnicity. As Yao, George Mwangi, and Malaney Brown (2019) noted, “international students can experience multiple points of privilege and oppression given their intersecting identities [and] at different points in time” (p. 45) with their experience complicated by visa status and home country culture, biases, and values. Likewise, each individuals’ queer identity is complex and likely shifts over time. For example, one key difference is the cultural, religious, and political frameworks from which a queer student comes — and may be expected to return to. Notably, 69 countries do not have legal protections for LGBTQ citizens and in some countries — like Saudi Arabia or Uganda — a queer identity is tantamount to prison or worse (LGBT World, 2022).

There is emerging research that examines the challenges queer international students face when pursuing international education, and to investigate the support services offered and needed during overseas education (Herridge, Bodine Al-Sharif, Leong, & García, 2023; Herridge, García, & Leong, 2019; Lértora, Herridge, Smith & Croffie, 2021). In addition, no scholarship affords singular attention to this for education abroad students (Bingham, Brunsting, & Katsumoto, 2023). Despite increasing awareness of this subpopulation, many limitations and challenges exist when trying to conduct research on students’ experiences (Herridge et al., 2023; Herridge et al., 2019; Nguyen, Grafsky, & Lambert-Shute, 2017). For example, Bingham et al. (2023) highlighted that scholars have largely ignored sexual orientation and gender identity from demographic reporting, have only recently begun examining queer experiences of U.S. students studying abroad, and have focused almost exclusively on cisgender female experiences abroad. Queer students may not self-identify or share their experiences for personal safety and sense of belonging (Brown, 2014; Donahue & Wise, 2021). Furthermore, literature related to queer students is found across disciplines, and many comprehensive studies of LGBTQIA+ students have not explicitly included or separated out international student data. Moreover, scholars like Hamilton and Giles (2022) indicate that most study abroad students are not getting advice necessary for ensuring LGBTQIA+ safety and accessing resources abroad.

Therefore, for students who travel abroad, questions of how one is queer, how they engage in their host university campus, whether they come out or not, and what kind of activities they participate in is a rich area of qualitative research — and the topic of this panel. In particular, we turn to look at ways that queer students are engaged in activism during their studies. Notably, international students in the U.S. are rarely active in protest in similar ways as domestic students, given that they are often concerned about maintaining status and avoiding legal trouble and subsequent visa cancellation. Moreover, students are balancing many different expectations and demands when participating in education in a new country and culture, including those from home and the diaspora community.

The panel also highlights the considerable sensitivities conducting this qualitative work with LGBTQIA+ populations, including building trust with interviews, deidentifying data, and protecting their identities (Blair, 2016). Researchers on this panel take a culturally responsive approach (Pasque & Alexander, 2023), while also noting that entrusting personal stories and experiences may be considered an act of protest itself (Hansen, 2021). This is especially relevant for those individuals from countries with no legal protections for LGBTQ individuals and during the asylum-seeking process.

This panel brings together four papers which focus on the identities, choices, and trajectories of queer students who pursue education in a new country, and how they navigate different political discourses and landscapes. Each paper takes a unique approach to understanding and working with queer students in international education, ranging from culturally-sensitive approaches, international students’ engagement with protest in the United States, queer study abroad students’ experiences, and their post-graduation activism at home and abroad. Where possible, scholars bring forth findings that relate to how (and whether) students see their role as activists, and how they go about engaging in this activism.

Sub Unit

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression SIG

Chair

• Mary Ann Bodine Al-Sharif, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Individual Presentations

• Examining the Interplay of Identity, Culture and Human Right Activism: The Experience of LGBTQIA+ Students Studying Abroad - Mary Ann Bodine Al-Sharif, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Yahya A. Ahmed, University of Alabama at Birmingham

• Narratives of Activism and its Risks Among LGBTQIA International Students - Andrew S Herridge, The University of Southern Mississippi; Mi Chelle Leong; Hugo A Garcia, Texas Tech University

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

• U.S. LGBTQIA+ Students’ Experiences Studying Abroad - Patrick Bingham, Wake Forest University; Hunter Swanson