Between online and offline: The digital divide in international queer* students’ experiences in the U.S.

• In Event: Examining Well-being and Belonging in Higher Education: Global Perspectives on Student Mental Health, Stress, and Identity

Proposal

Upon arrival to the United States, international students must wrestle with unfamiliar American social divisions that are used to categorize them; these categories are ‘social facts’ that shape the experiences of international students (Yeo et al., 2019; Yu, 2022). While studies of international student racialization have expanded, few consider parallel processes with U.S. gender/sexuality categories. Yet, international students’ queer* identities might cause stigmatization both at home and after their arrival to the U.S., where they must adjust to existing ideologies regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, or trans categories. At the same time, students increasingly navigate their “digitized selves” (Chan, 2022) as part of their everyday lives, which is also significantly influencing their experiences. Employing an intersectional lens, this study asks: How do international queer* students negotiate the conflict between expectations and reality of sexual and gender identities upon arrival in the new cultural context of U.S. higher education institutions?
In the past twenty years, studies regarding queer* and trans* students in United States higher education have expanded; they focus on U.S.-born students. Systematic literature reviews show that queer* students remain isolated on campuses (Baumgartner et al., 2023). Few studies focus on queer* people of color and trans* students (Lange et al., 2019; Renn, 2010). In addition, there are scholarly works on the internationalization of U.S. higher education focused on U.S. students going abroad (Berg et al., 2023) and queer* U.S. students studying abroad (Bingham et al., 2023; Campbell et al., 2024). Only a few scholars have studied queer* international students. Their primary focus is on counseling and mental health struggles (Lértora et al., 2022; Mitchell et al., 2007; Oba & Pope, 2013), though a few adopt the lens of sexual identity development (Quach et al., 2013; S Herridge et al., 2019). None of the identified literature has looked at queer* international students who do not enjoy the privileges of U.S. citizenship while studying in U.S. institutions through the lens of queer theory and critical scholarly approach.
Because the research question centers on the experiences and perceptions of queer* international students, open-ended, semi-structured, in-depth interviews offer the best methodological technique. I rely primarily on the interview approach developed within critical ethnography (Charmaz, 2006; Spradley, 2003). Critical scholars argue that the interview process must be “democratic with power relations equalized as much as is feasible” (Carspecken, 2013, p. 155). Feminists, in particular, use interviewing as a way “to bring people’s experiences forward and make those experiences visible in more public discussions” and, on the other hand, to raise social justice concerns by “bringing forward neglected voices” (Devault & Gross, 2007, p. 176).
To address the research question, I rely on interviews with 15 international students who self-identify as any of the possible variations within the full spectrum of queer* identities, who hold an F1 student visa, and who have studied in a land-grant public university in the Midwest for at least one academic year. I do not prioritize any nationalities among the selected group of international students, even as I acknowledge that certain groups among international students are more heavily racialized, and that fact significantly influences their experiences of sexual and gender identity as well.
My decision to not prioritize any nationalities is driven by the logic developed within the decolonizing queerness scholarly approach (Abu-Assab & Nasser-Eddin, 2023; Bakshi et al., 2016; Spurlin, 2001). Eurocentric queer theory prevails in the contemporary university scene, creating a kind of “narrowness of the spaces in which queer theory is produced” (Jung, 2024, p. 3). Recruiting and interviewing a broader, more diverse range of queer* international students may help to interrupt or decolonize Eurocentric approaches.
This presentation explores two main findings from the study: first, the conflict between expectations students had before their arrival to the United States versus the reality they faced after they came, and second, how online and offline identities and experiences are managed within the United States.
All participants highlighted that their expectations of being queer in the U.S. were formed by their consumption of media portraying particular types of queer lives. Widely circulating images portray queer folks from ethnically diverse, large liberal cities. Participants reported shock upon their arrival to the Midwest, finding these locations predominantly “white and straight,” where “being queer is even easier than being international.” However, they also report feeling surprised that, within the queer community itself, they do not fit into the existing categories of gender and sexual identities because they are not considered masculine or feminine enough, or they are considered too gay- or too straight-looking. Even their perceptions of relationships differ from U.S.-based views. All these factors discourage them from identifying with U.S. queer folks, and they often end up identifying most with other international queer students, which creates a partial isolation of the community.
Second, the students reported a sharp distinction between online and offline presence. Many prefer not to disclose their sexual orientation in online spaces for different reasons; in contrast, on campus, they report feeling safe to express themselves freely, from wearing jewelry to queer*-related symbols (different flags, stickers, etc). Moreover, all participants mentioned that the university is a welcoming and supportive place, from administrative resources to teaching faculty and staff, while the digital realm remains a highly unwelcoming and potentially damaging environment. Participants stated that they did not face any discriminatory comments or experiences on campus or in the city while stressing that racism and other discriminatory practices are commonplace for their communication via online applications, especially for queer dating apps.
Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of the transition of queer* international students to the U.S. cultural context. It also brings academic attention to queer* international students in U.S. higher education through the lens of the critical scholarly approach of decolonizing queerness, highlighting the importance of both online and offline experiences of young adults.

Author

• Max Yakubovskiy, University of Wisconsin–Madison