Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender college students with disabilities: A look at multiple cultural minorities

Abstract

College students with disabilities who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) represent diverse cultural minorities with multiple service needs involving disabilities, identities, and adjustment strategies. These students are usually accommodated in the college environment because of their disability while simultaneously marginalized based on their sexual orientation. This article discusses LGBT college students with disabilities as multiple cultural minorities with a focus on educational environments, institutional issues, and strategies for university personnel. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons have received increasing attention in the published literature in various disciplines such as professional psychology, including school psychology (Baker & Campbell, 1998), student affairs (Wall, Washington, Evans, & Papish, 2000), and rehabilitation counseling (Harley, Hall, & Savage, 2000;Stuart, 1994). However, the published empirical research pertaining to these populations remain sparse (Fontaine, 1998). A further review of the literature reveals a more dismal picture of the limited attention to and inclusion of sexual minority college students with disabilities. One can assume that LGBT students are present, in similar proportions, among students with disabilities as in other populations of students. However, "it seems that university systems have often dissected minorities" in such a way as to indicate that "LGBT persons belong in one place and persons with disabilities in another" (Underhile & Cowles, 1998, p. 173). Conversely, Harley et al. emphasized that sexual orientation and disability must be perceived as interconnected rather than as parallel occurrences because there is clearly reciprocity of influence. On some college campuses, LGBT persons comprise a significant minority group, and receive considerably less attention and limited services than do other groups . According to the American Psychological Association, one in six college students is lesbian, gay, or bisexual (cited in Sherrill & Hardesty, 1994). Given this figure, "it makes good sense for colleges and universities to respond to this sizable market" (Sherrill & Hardesty, 1994, p. 6).The purpose of this article is to discuss LGBT college students with disabilities against the backdrop of being members of multiple cultural minority groups. Primarily, the focus is on college rather than high school students. The reason for this is that the literature gives relatively more attention to adolescents (e.g., Bullock, Gable, & Ridky, 1996;Henning-Stout, James, & Macintosh, 2000;Lipkin, 1999;Baker & Campbell, 1998;Tharinger & Wells, 2000), and LGBT college students with disabilities have been relegated to a status of invisibility (Underhile & Cowles, 1998). Because of this paucity of literature about sexual minority students in higher education, a discussion of the following components is presented (a) levels of awareness of sexual minority issues; (b) perspectives on disability and sexuali...

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