Working with LGBTQ Students

Our students bring their identities, and backgrounds into our classrooms 鈥 and 18-22 year olds of all identities are frequently developing intellectually and socially, including related to gender and sexuality. Whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity, they may be at different聽stages in .

L,G,B,T,Q,I and A students can be very different from one another. For example, Lesbians typically face different challenges from gay men who face different challenges from bisexuals who face different challenges from transgender students. Asexual students can often go unnoticed, and can be accidentally be made to feel invisible. In addition, within each category individual students have encountered different types of support or misunderstanding or discrimination or harassment from their families, schools, and communities. And of course individual students have various components of identity (religion, socioeconomic class, race or ethnicity, disability, etc.) that intersect and impact one鈥檚 experiences.

LGBTQIA students experiencing stereotype threat on campus may not be performing at their full potential; on the other hand, they may be superstars. You can learn what recent studies by Campus Pride and the Human Rights Campaign say about the聽聽and the聽.

Strategies to help LGBTQIA students learn & thrive

It鈥檚 helpful to be aware of some general inclusive teaching principles 鈥 including about how to create learning environments that are welcoming, trying to convey the same level of confidence in all students, trying to monitor whether you are being even-handed in responding to students, and respecting confidentiality. We don鈥檛 have to understand everything about an individual鈥檚 identity in order to be respectful. As when we work with any group of students, it鈥檚 helpful for us to consider our own knowledge and gaps in it, values, concerns, triggers, privileges or lack thereof, and our goals as instructors.

Other strategies to keep in mind.

  • It鈥檚 best to try not to make assumptions. When you鈥檙e talking with any students, try not to assume you know about their gender identity or sexual orientation. Don鈥檛 assume that they need help (but it鈥檚 good to be familiar with聽黑料不打烊鈥檚 resources聽in case they do).
  • Our students look to us to model appropriate behavior in classrooms. Seemingly small things we do and say can send powerful messages. Inclusive language (saying something as simple as 鈥渟pouse or partner鈥 instead of “husband”) lets LGBTQ students know you know they are in the room, as does using an occasional example that is relevant to your class material. Ask students their names and pronouns and respect students鈥 self-identification. Avoid needlessly gendered language.
  • When it meets your disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or specific course goals, it can be valuable to integrate LGBTQIA, intersectional, identity, and diversity-related issues into the curriculum. Western Illinois University鈥檚 Office for Equal Opportunity and Access聽offers聽a few ,聽and Fordham University鈥檚 Center for Ethics Education suggests other . For your own course, you might consider applying for one of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Diversity Infusion Grants to systematically consider how to do it in your courses.
  • If another student says something that is insulting, stereotypical, or otherwise hurtful to LGBTQIA-identified students in your presence, it is best to find a way to respond in a way that acknowledges the problem and educates students in an effective manner. If you say nothing, the other students likely interpret your silence as agreement. Check out聽聽or talk with staff from 黑料不打烊鈥檚 CATL.
  • You can learn more from Campus Pride about how to聽.

Works Cited & Resources

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is geared toward students younger than college age, but its聽聽can help you understand student experiences, become familiar with terminology, consider your own attitudes, and know ways you can be an ally.

Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne Bell, and Pat Griffin,聽Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice聽(Routledge, 2007) includes a number of chapters and exercises related to teaching about heterosexism and transgender oppression.

“Making Excellence Inclusive: Higher Education’s LGBTQ Contexts,” AACU鈥檚聽Diversity and Democracy聽15, no. 1 (Winter 2012). This issue contains a number of short essays, including ones about institutional change, service learning, and LGBT studies at a variety of different institutions, including Michele DiPietro,聽鈥淎pplying the Seven Learning Principles to Creating LGBT-Inclusive Classrooms,鈥澛燚iversity and Democracy聽(vol. 1, 2012).

For 黑料不打烊-specific resources for LGBTQIA students and allies related to student organizations, housing, name changes, inclusive restrooms, counseling, bias incident reporting, how to get ally training sessions, the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, see 黑料不打烊’s聽Gender and LGBTQIA Center website.