To counter heterosexism, homophobia, and gender binarism in higher education, "safe zone" or "ally" programs are efforts by American universities to create a welcoming environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) members of the campus community. This study describes perceptions of campus…

Current estimates indicate that there are more than 7 million lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) parents with school-age children in the United States, yet little is known about the experiences of this growing number of LGBT-headed families in schools across the country. In order to fill this crucial gap in our knowledge of LGBT issues…

In this article, I present a historical overview of the queer rights movement in the United States, from the late 1940s to today, weaving snapshots of my own life into the narrative, from living in the closet to being totally out, both personally and professionally. Because I was closeted at the beginning of my career, my research agenda did not…

Using feminist, queer and postcolonial theories, this paper analyzes the public commentary and anxious concern about child-welfare in a recent lesbian teacher sex scandal in Vancouver, Canada, involving Jean Robertson. Arguing that the public and professional uproar is not really about child-protectionism so much as it is about the place of white…

This study examines how high school students were affected by having an openly gay teacher and compares its results to a previous study (Rofes, 2000). The author's lesbian, gay, or bisexual students experienced a sense of relief that they could finally feel comfortable about themselves, as well as feeling happy that others in the school were…

Objectives: To estimate how many heterosexual and gay/bisexual men self-define abusive childhood sexual experiences (CSEs) to be childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and to assess whether CSA self-definition is associated with risky behavioral and psychiatric outcomes in adulthood. Methods: In Philadelphia County, 197 (66%) of 298 recruited men…

The Christian Right opposes the inclusion of sexual orientation in school policies, charging that the schools are legitimating and promoting homosexuality. The arguments have moved past the trite, "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," to claims of violations of parental rights and the First Amendment, often positioning…

The authors evaluated emotional distress among 9th-12th grade students, and examined whether the association between being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgendered (i.e., "LGBT") and emotional distress was mediated by perceptions of having been treated badly or discriminated against because others thought they were gay or lesbian.…

This qualitative study investigated the barriers and facilitators that advisors of gay-straight alliances encounter when advocating for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) youth within schools. Twenty-two advisors were interviewed, and data revealed that multiple ecological systems (e.g., sociocultural, school, and individual…

This paper analyzes the textual data produced by both the participants and the interpreter in George W. Henry's two-volume monograph, "Sex Variants" (1941), a study of homosexuality based on a sample of 80 socially well-adjusted homosexuals from New York City's lesbian and gay community. It is stated that the Henry volumes provide a rich…

A review of existing studies on responses by female homosexuals to projective and nonprojective tests. Evidence indicates female homosexuals differ from male homosexuals in psychodynamics. (Author)

This paper discusses the importance and dangers of causal theories of sexual orientation, noting that, in recent years, the illness model of homosexuality has been thoroughly discredited and replaced with a variety of gay and lesbian affirmative constructs which explore the effects of a disparaging and hostile society on the development and…

This article deals with the concept of "homophobia": phobic fear of all aspects of homosexuality. The author feels that though homophobia does exist, it cannot be considered to explain all negative reactions to homosexuality. The article then considers the multidimensional sources of negative attitudes to homosexuals. (NG)

Presents guidelines to assist librarians in evaluating and selecting books with gay themes for children and young adults. (Author/PF)

This study assesses the permanent partner priorities of gay and straight men and women, as well as the perception of those priorities by each gender and sexual orientation. Heterosexuals and homosexuals did not differ in their rank-ordered priorities, but tended to misperceive the priorities of their own and the other groups studied. (Author)