Lgbtq Student Experiences on Historically Black College and University Campuses
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2020 Lgbtq Student Experiences On Historically Black College And University Campuses Kirstin Byrd William & Mary - School of Education, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Byrd, Kirstin, "Lgbtq Student Experiences On Historically Black College And University Campuses" (2020). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1593091486. http://dx.doi.org/10.25774/w4-rqhk-0y03 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LGBTQ STUDENT EXPERIENCES ON HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education The College of William & Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Kirstin D. Byrd May 2020 LGBTQ STUDENT EXPERIENCES ON HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES By Kirstin D. Byrd Approved by Pamela L. Eddy, Ph.D. Chairperson of Doctoral Committee Fanchon Glover, Ed.D. Committee Member Margaret E. Constantino, Ph.D. Committee Member ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Abstract ............................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 2 Problem Statement .................................................................................................. 3 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 5 Significance of Study .............................................................................................. 6 Overview of Literature Review ............................................................................... 9 Methods Summary ................................................................................................ 10 Assumptions .......................................................................................................... 11 Delimitations and Limitations ............................................................................... 11 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................... 12 Summary ............................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 16 Campus Environment ............................................................................................ 16 HBCU Context ...................................................................................................... 20 Conservative HBCU culture ........................................................................ 21 HBCU climate ............................................................................................. 22 Campus Student Affairs ........................................................................................ 25 Student Experiences and Identity Formation ........................................................ 28 Astin‘s Theory of Student Involvement ...................................................... 28 Chickering and Reisser‘s Model of Student Identity Development ............ 30 Baxter-Magolda‘s Model of Self-Authorship ............................................. 31 iii LGBTQ Identity Formation......................................................................... 33 Effects of Homophobia ......................................................................................... 38 Risk Factors ................................................................................................. 40 Protective Factors ........................................................................................ 41 African American Identity Formation ................................................................... 42 Black Church and Identity Formation ................................................................... 45 Effect of Black Church on HBCU Environments ................................................. 47 Coming Out: Homosexuality in College ............................................................... 48 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................... 52 Feminist Theory .................................................................................................... 55 Queer Theory ......................................................................................................... 57 Queer of Color Lenses ........................................................................................... 59 Intersectionality ........................................................................................... 59 Black Queer Identity Matrix ........................................................................ 63 Disidentification .......................................................................................... 64 Theory in the flesh ....................................................................................... 66 Theory Interaction ................................................................................................. 69 Summary ............................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER 3: METHODS ................................................................................................ 72 Qualitative Methods .............................................................................................. 74 Social Constructivism............................................................................................ 75 Feminist Methods .................................................................................................. 76 Summary ............................................................................................................... 77 iv Case Study Method ............................................................................................... 77 Research Design .................................................................................................... 81 Site Selection Criteria ............................................................................................ 81 Participant Selection Criteria ................................................................................. 81 Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 82 Participant selection .................................................................................... 83 Interview protocols ...................................................................................... 83 Institutional Case Descriptions .............................................................................. 85 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 85 Researcher Role ..................................................................................................... 88 Limitations............................................................................................................. 91 Delimitations ......................................................................................................... 92 Trustworthiness of Study....................................................................................... 92 Summary ............................................................................................................... 94 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS ................................................................................................. 95 Findings ................................................................................................................. 96 Bringing Yourself to College ................................................................................. 97 Being Queer at an HBCU ..................................................................................... 102 Administrative actions .............................................................................. 106 Splitting identities ..................................................................................... 109 Dress codes ............................................................................................... 110 Homecoming courts and reputation .......................................................... 112 Battle with LGBTQ student organizations ............................................... 115 v Classroom ................................................................................................. 119 Homophobic peers .................................................................................... 121