This qualitative study examined the experiences of 14 LGBTQ+ college students in healthy intimate relationships with a focus on the ways that romantic partners give and receive affection. Framed through a consideration of "love languages," this study challenges and extends what have become socially normative strategies for demonstrating…

Nonbinary college students are an underresearched and often misinterpreted and misunderstood population. These students face compulsory heterogenderism (Nicolazzo, 2017), institutional cisgenderism (Seelman, 2014), and other structural barriers to belonging and student success. Through qualitative interviews (N = 6), this phenomenological study…

Heightened awareness and attention to campus diversity and racial climates are evident in higher education by increased student activism and social movements in reaction to perceptions of adverse and unwelcoming campus environments (Biemiller, 2018; Whitford, 2019). There is growing attention to how students perceive belonging and mattering on…

Of the research examining undergraduate students' belongingness, monolithic approaches to LGBTQ+ student studies are common. Bisexual, pansexual, and other multi-gender attracted students (also known via umbrella terms such as plurisexual, bisexual+, or multi-sexual spectrum) are relatively understudied, despite calls for a more thorough…

Using narrative inquiry methodology grounded in the polymorphous paradigm and intersectionality as a conceptual framework, this study explored the experiences of seven college student sex workers. Together, we uncovered substantial differences between the experiences of college student sex workers with dominant identities largely present in extant…

Antonio Duran Nancy E. Thacker Darrow LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other minoritized genders and sexualities) and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities contend with oppressive realities on and off college campuses. Family relationships--families of origin and chosen families--have garnered attention…

Academic disciplines are important contexts for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) students' experiences and greatly affect their collegiate journeys (Garvey & Dolan, 2021). Yet, LGBTQ students must often navigate hostile learning environments where they may be silenced, tokenized, or underrepresented in curricula (Atteberry-Ash…

College student educators have long been interested in the ways gender affects and mediates one's higher education experience. While some theories explore gender identity development for trans students, a broader conceptualization is needed. To generate such an explanation, I used constructivist grounded theory methods to analyze a two-year study…

In this phenomenological research approach (Vagle, 2018), I investigated the unique ways BGBQM faculty and staff build relationships with students to illuminate the essence of race, gender, and sexuality in BMI and MoC mentoring programs. I collected data from two sources: individual semi-structured interviews and podcast-style focus groups.…

Fraternal organizations have often received criticism from individuals who argue that these groups perpetuate harmful gendered norms and oppress members who identify with queer communities. However, scholars and practitioners alike have paid little attention to members who identify as bisexual/pansexual (bi/pan) within these organizations. This…

Faculty, students, and staff--as well as institutional structures such as record systems--can provide foundational sources of support and recognition for trans students (Linley et al., 2016; Singh et al., 2014). However, limited research has addressed the perceptions of students about both the practice of sharing names/pronouns and the inclusion…

Ambiguous loss experiences may be common among sexual minority (LGBQ+) populations who sometimes have fewer supports and increased feelings of vulnerability due to the marginalization they encounter. Consequently, it is increasingly necessary to understand how LGBQ+ individuals encounter loss during formative parts of their development and how…

The overwhelming majority of scholarship about collegiate sexual violence centers experiences of white, cisgender, heterosexual women (Harris et al., 2020; Linder et al., 2020), although LGBTQ students experience even higher rates of sexual violence than their cisgender and heterosexual peers (Cantor et al., 2019). The exclusion of asexual…

The context of the COVID-19 global pandemic has shaped all aspects of modern life, creating a unique circumstance for minoritized groups as they have explored important questions related to the self. Specifically, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers have expressed interest in understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic affected minoritized…

Using narrative inquiry and guided by crip theory, we critiqued the relationship between the experiences of one queer, disabled college student and compulsory able-bodiedness, compulsory heterosexuality, and academic ableism. Findings reveal the complexities of claiming crip and passing. They also reveal resistance to these complexities through…