The Substance and Circumstances of Race and Immigration Talk in High School Gender and Sexuality Alliances

Abstract

Gender & Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) are school‐based clubs that support youth of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. As identity‐centered spaces, GSAs could also foster discussions related to race and immigration (i.e., race and immigration talk). We conducted semi‐structured interviews from 2016 to 2018 with 38 GSA members (ages 13–20 years old) of diverse racial/ethnic, immigrant‐origin (first and second generations in the United States born of immigrant parents), sexual orientation, and gender identities. Race and immigration talk often occurred when discussing current events (e.g., the 2016 US Presidential Election). Students reported that race and immigration talk depended on representation (i.e., GSA demographics), if it was deemed personally relevant to members, and whether students perceived issues of race and immigration as part of the agenda of the GSA. Some students indicated motivation to discuss racism and nativism yet refrained from doing so due to discomfort or fear of misspeaking. Overall, youth primarily viewed the GSA as a space for LGBTQIA+‐oriented discussions and support yet expressed potential for fostering productive race and immigration talk in GSAs given the ongoing US sociopolitical climate. Discussions facilitated by advisors focusing on inter‐connected oppression (e.g., intersections of racism and heterosexism) and that leverage brave space discussion dynamics may help students develop competencies to engage in race and immigration talk.

Pride in our community: Reflecting on LGBTQ publications in the American Journal of Community Psychology

“…Research published in AJCP has aimed to examine how context shapes well-being for LGBTQ individuals at various levels of the socio-ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1977), including the relationship level (e.g., familial rejection among sexual minority women; Zimmerman et al, 2015), within community contexts (e.g., religious congregations; Foster et al, 2015), and at the societal levels (e.g., anti-gay political campaigns; Russell & Richards, 2003). This approach aligns with many current conceptualizations of LGBTQ health disparities which focus on structural stigma and the interaction of individuals with their social environments (e.g., minority stress theory; Brooks, 1981;Meyer, 2003). Overall, these studies in AJCP have continued to push beyond conceptualizing social problems as originating within the individual (e.g., holding individuals responsible for their oppression) to instead understand the individual within context.…”

“…In the qualitative analyses, Calzo and colleagues proposed that having advisors or leaders within these spaces that foster these discussions can promote engagement in these conversations. Additionally, researchers suggest shifting away from a conceptualization of Gender and Sexuality Alliances as just “Safe Spaces” and shift to being “Brave Spaces,” where members are encouraged to speak about issues such as racism or xenophobia within spaces with the ultimate goal of ensuring that spaces are safe for all (Calzo et al, 2021).…”

“…The papers we highlighted here are thus not reflective of the field of community psychology at large; however, we hope that by highlighting these articles we will encourage scholars to contribute their scholarship to AJCP . Additionally, it is important to note that scholars in allied disciplines adopting community psychology approaches frequently publish research in AJCP , reflecting the ways in which community psychology approaches have permeated into allied disciplines (e.g., Calzo et al, 2021). We hope that scholars in these disciplines (e.g., public health, counseling psychology, clinical psychology, social work) continue to adopt these approaches and submit their work in AJCP and beyond.…”

Examining the mental health needs of sexual and gender minority youth to articulate a multitiered system of supports for schools

“…Incorporating race and immigration talk into GSAs can create more inclusive environments (Calzo et al, 2021). A collection of semistructured interviews conducted by Calzo and colleagues (2021) revealed that students of color and immigrant‐origin students experience invalidation and feelings of being unrepresented due to a lack of race and immigration discussions in GSAs.…”

Gen Z GSAs: Trans-Affirming and Racially Inclusive Gender-Sexuality Alliances in Secondary Schools

“…The relationship between GSA membership racial diversity and the racial diversity of the community in which GSAs and schools are located remains opaque, with research indicating that the "frequency of meeting attendance did not differ by race/ethnicity for LGBTQ students" (Truong et al, 2021, p. xvii). However, experiences within GSAs may vary, whether due to a "lack of representation and respectful discourse" (Endo, 2020, p. 39) of the intersection of students' racialized, gender, and sexual identities, or what students prioritize as meaningful club activities based on their own identities (Calzo et al, 2021;Chong et al, 2019). GSAs "can help encourage students to be curious about difference," yet students "need to be encouraged to work beyond the exclusions that they may act out, whether racism, sexism, transphobia, or other biases" (C. Mayo, 2014, p. 88).…”