Inside the Sociopolitical Snow Globe: An Ethnographic Study of Queer and Fundamentalist Cultures in Utah

• In Event: Investigating the Impacts of Gender and Sexual Orientation on Policy

Abstract

In 2024, 471 bills that threaten the lives, safety, and joy of Queer people have been filed in state legislatures nationwide. Many of these bills filed across the United States directly target K-12 public schools, teachers, and students. In Utah’s 2024 session, ten anti-Queer bills were passed. Accordingly, this study sought to understand the culture of queerness that exists within a middle school in Utah, and how the culture of larger society impacts that middle school. We present our findings in three distinct themes. These themes illustrate how a pervasive fundamentalist culture
of discrimination exists around our schools, despite the schools’ best intentions to support queer and trans youth.

Authors

• Hunter Canyon Clapsadl, Iowa State University

• Shawn R. Coon, Westminster University