Queer and of color: A systematic literature review on queer students of color in higher education scholarship.

Abstract

Although the scholarship on queer students has started to increase in recent decades, a shortage of literature exists that examines the lives of collegians who identify as both queer and people of color. Queer students of color face increased marginalization as a result of their multiple oppressed identities, warranting further investigation by higher education scholars. This article presents a systematic literature review on studies centering queer collegians of color, synthesizing 68 pieces of scholarship in total. In addition to extracting common themes from the extant literature, this article also describes critical and poststructural theories that have been utilized by higher education researchers to understand the experiences of queer students of color including quare theory, intersectionality, and queer of color critique. Themes from this literature review showcase queer collegians of color and their experiences in coming out, finding sources of support, navigating campus environments, and encountering a lack of resources on campus. This article concludes with potential future directions for this line of inquiry, encouraging scholars to further engage in research alongside queer students of color.

Narratives of queer men of color in culturally-based fraternities making meaning of masculinities

“…Next, participants like Komplexity spoke about how masculinities were connected to family's belief in faith. Recognizing that scholarship has emphasized the unique relationships that Queer Students of Color have with religion (see Duran, 2019) better explains this finding. Though participants varied in the degree to which they performed outside of hegemonic masculinities, families and peers continued to serve as a significant influence for these individuals' meaning making as Men of Color.…”

“…Similarly, our investigation of masculinities for Men of Color was severely limited given that there were no trans Men of Color in our sample. Additionally, few studies in higher education have investigated how Queer Women of Color negotiate their sexuality, gender, and racial identity (Duran, 2019). The literature that exists on this population suggests that Queer Women of Color navigate collegiate environments differentially based on their gender identity (e.g.…”

What do we know about LGBQ+ college student academic experiences and outcomes?

“…Research that examines intersections of race and queer identities suggests that LGBQ+ students of color confront particular challenges in college that may hinder academic success. Duran's (2018) comprehensive review of research on experiencing higher education as both queer and a person of color reveals that much of the extant research focuses on: coming out, finding support, navigating campus environments, and encountering a lack of campus resources-all factors that are known to influence academic outcomes. As Duran's review highlights, very few studies directly examine intersections of race and sexual identities and how they shape academic outcomes in college.…”

“…There may also be important differences in LGBQ+ academic outcomes between minority-serving institutions and predominantly white institutions (Duran, 2018;Goode-Cross & Tager, 2011).…”

A Review of the State of LGBTQIA+ Student Research in STEM and Engineering Education

“…Later, research on LGBTQIA+ students evolved to take on a more intersectional lens, and identity development models became additive or cumulative in nature. The latest evolution of LGBTQIA+ research adopted a post-modern interpretation, which rejects identity as additive, and instead examines the experience of LGBTQIA+ individuals through the lenses of queer theory, critical theory, critical race theory, and feminism (Duran, 2019;Lange et al, 2019). Newer works also addressed the apparent gap in the literature with regard to researchers using queer theory that focus on race and ethnicity, known as "quare theory," as a framework for exploring LGBTQIA+ student experiences (Johnson, 2001;Means, 2017) Engineering-Specific Research Findings The first paper breaking ground on LGBTQIA+ student issues in engineering was published in 2009 at the annual ASEE conference (Cech & Waidzunas, 2009).…”