Chasing the rainbow: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth and pride semiotics

Abstract

While the pride rainbow has been part of political and social intervention for decades, few have researched how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer young people perceive and use the symbol. How do lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth who experience greater feelings of isolation and discrimination than heterosexual youth recognise and deploy the symbol? As part of a larger study on supportive lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth environments, we conducted 66 go-along interviews with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth people from Massachusetts, Minnesota and British Columbia. During interviews, young people identified visible symbols of support, including recognition and the use of the pride rainbow. A semiotic analysis reveals that young people use the rainbow to construct meanings related to affiliation and positive feelings about themselves, different communities and their futures. Constructed and shared meanings help make the symbol a useful tool for navigating social and physical surroundings. As part of this process, however, young people also recognize that there are limits to the symbolism; it is useful for navigation but its display does not always guarantee supportive places and people. Thus, the pride rainbow connotes safety and support, but using it as a tool for navigation is a learned activity that requires caution.

Perceptions of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Minority Adolescents About Labels

“…The present study is part of Project RESPEQT (Research and Education on Supportive and Protective Environments for Queer Teens), in which 66 SOGI minority adolescents in British Columbia, Minnesota, and Massachusetts (mean age = 16.6) participated in “go-along” interviews that involved talking about and traveling to resources in their communities (Eisenberg et al, 2018; Porta, Corliss, et al, 2017; Porta, Gower, et al, 2017; Wolowic, Heston, Saewyc, Porta, & Eisenberg, 2017). Participants were recruited through LGBTQ youth-serving organizations, flyers, and word of mouth.…”

Non-binary youth: Access to gender-affirming primary health care

“…Scholarship about non-binary people is emerging (Austin, 2016;Beemyn, 2015bBeemyn, , 2015aNicolazzo, 2014;Rankin & Beemyn, 2012;Richards et al, 2016), including work that does not focus on, but is inclusive of, youth with non-binary genders (Craig, Austin, Brennan, & Alessi, 2015;Wolowic, Heston, Saewyc, Porta, & Eisenberg, 2016). This literature often highlights necessity to take into account the complexity of sexualities and genders (Bosse & Chiodo, 2016), but it remains scarce and it is limited almost exclusively to social science research.…”

Let’s do this together: an integration of photovoice and mobile interviewing in empowering and listening to LGBTQ+ youths in context

“…Nevertheless, the youth voiced skepticism because of the relationship associated between churches (or other specific religious spaces) and the LGBTQ population. Therefore, the youth presented ambivalence and caution regarding whether the specific church was certainly a safe space and accepting (Wolowic et al, 2017). The second LGBTQ youth described her ubiquitous experience of feeling invisible, describing herself as not being seen for who they truly are, and the lack of recognizing her identity (Holtby et al, 2015).…”

“…It was the first time I've ever seen a rainbow sticker at a church. I felt really unsure if I was going to be accepted here, until the second time I started going, and I was like, "oh, people here are really accepting"' (Wolowic, Heston, Saewyc, Porta, & Eisenberg, 2017).…”