Questioning a Single Narrative: Multiple Identities Shaping Black Queer and Transgender Student Retention

Abstract

Researchers explore factors that influence retention and persistence of queer and transgender students and examine retention and persistence among Black students. However, there is a dearth of retention and persistence scholarship centering the nuanced experiences of Black queer and transgender college students at the intersections of their gender, racial, and sexual identities. Using the queer of color critique conceptual framework and an anti-Black racism lens, the authors present a systematic literature review to illuminate opportunities for scholars to (a) disrupt singular narratives that erase queer and transgender experiences from Black student retention discourses and (b) address the ways scholars erase Black racial identity from broader queer and transgender student retention research. Centering the case of Joshua, a Black queer cisgender male-identified college student, the authors highlight research, practice, and policy implications that consider social class, institutional type, multilevel intervention strategies, and intersectionality in Black queer and transgender college student retention discourse.

Looking through a Prism: A Systematic Review of LGBTQ+ STEM Literature

“…The Model of Queer STEM Identity in the Workplace, which has also been called the Queer STEM Identity Framework, seeks to describe identity formation via the steps of defining identity, forming identity, and navigating identity . In addition to LGBTQ+ and STEM identities, some of the works use the theory of intersectionality to discuss nuances seen for different groups within the LGBTQ+ community, such as the examination of how racial/ethnic identities interact with LGBTQ+ and STEM identities. ,− There is a small but growing number of research studies on the transgender and gender-nonconforming experience within STEM. ,− This is important because it is common for researchers to not include or to intentionally leave out data and/or experiences of transgender individuals to look more closely at sexuality or binary gender. It is our hope that these new frameworks and emerging work on intersectionality will be used in the future to continue studying STEM and LGBTQ+ identities alongside other identities such as racial and socioeconomic identities.…”

Critically examining the experiences of queer people of color in culturally-based sororities and fraternities.

“…In addition to investigating how systems such as racism and heterosexism intersect in ways that affect the cultural and material realities of Queer People of Color, QOCC underscores the agency that Queer People of Color have to resist oppressive structures. Notably, higher education scholars have not largely leveraged QOCC as a theoretical framework in research (see Coleman et al, 2020; Garcia & Duran, 2020; Means & Jaeger, 2013 for exceptions). In comparison, individuals have employed QOCC in K − 12 scholarship more to explore how Queer Youth of Color practice resilience in response to marginalization in educational contexts (Brockenbrough, 2015).…”

Regulating sexualities through gender-based rhetoric: Examining the nuanced realities of queer women of color in culturally based sororities.

“…In doing so, Queer of Color Critique also brings to light the agency that Queers of Color hold, showcasing how people practice resilience in the face of these structures. Higher education scholars have recently begun to take up Queer of Color Critique as a framework in research with examples including literature on Black queer and trans student retention (Coleman et al, 2020) and the experiences of Queer Men of Color in culturally based fraternities (Garcia & Duran, 2020).…”