HETEROSEXISM WITHIN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: COPING EFFORTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL STUDENTS IN WEST TEXAS by VIRGINIA J. MAHAN, B.A., M.Sp.Ed. A DISSERTATION IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial FulfiUment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Approved December, 1998 /, Ac f3 7^? z^ ^.3 1 A/^ ^ l'^ C'S Copyright 1998, Virginia J. Mahan ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I particularly wish to thank the nine members of the Steering Committee of the Lambda Social Network who served on my advisory panel and offered comments on the first draft of Chapter IV, as well as other external reviewers: Gene Dockins, Lawrence Holbrooks, M. M., Dorinda Ann Ruiz, Virginia, and other anonymous readers. I am grateful to my committee members, Mary Tallent Runnels, Camille DeBell, and Richard Powell, for their support and valuable assistance. My appreciation goes to Terry Ann Andersen, Kathy Lewallen and the rest of the library staff at South Plains College for their assistance, as well as to Fred Logan and Kaaren Mahan for running innumerable errands. I am also grateful to Texas Tech University which provided partial support for this study through a 1998 Summer Research Scholarship Award. Pivotal to this dissertation, of course, are the 14 lesbian and gay college and university students who told their sometimes painful tales so that educators might hear, learn, and know what it is like to be a gay student in Texas. I will forever hear the echoes of their voices. Lastly, thanks to Victor Shea for his courageous letter to the editor and to whom this dissertation is dedicated. Copyright Permission Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously copyrighted material: Live to Tell 11 by Madonna Ciccone and Pat Leonard, © 1986 WB Music Corp. (ASCAP), Bleu Disque Music Co., Inc (ASCAP), Webo Girl Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP) and Johnny Yuma Music (BMI), all rights reserved, used by permission Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc., Miami, FL. 33014. III TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i i ABSTRACT xii LIST OF TABLES xiv LIST OF FIGURES xv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 Background 2 Enactment of Gay-Affirmative Resolutions 3 The Silencing of Gay-Affirmative Faculty 4 Nonsupportive, Even Hostile, School Environments 6 Culture of Fear 6 Isolation and Loneliness 8 Statement of the Problem 9 Purpose 12 Research Goals and Questions 13 Context 15 Texas 16 Demographics 16 Religious and Political Conservatism 16 High Incidence of Hate Crimes 18 Schools 19 Assumptions 21 Research Implications 23 IV Notes 25 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 28 Introduction 28 Stress and Coping: General Considerations 30 Theoretical Underpinnings 33 Symbolic Interaction and Sexual Orientation: Symbols, Meaning, and Interaction 34 Symbols and Meaning 35 Labeling and Symbolic Boundaries 37 Symbolic Annihilation 39 Symbolic Meanings and Psychological Functions 40 Meaning-Making and Coping 41 Conceptualizations of Coping 43 Origins in Ego Psychology 43 The Transactional Model of Coping 45 A Tripartite Process 46 Cognitive Appraisals 46 Emotional Responses 48 Coping Efforts 49 Key Properties of Coping 49 Process-orientation 50 Context Specificity 51 Independence of Coping and Outcome 52 Functions of Coping 54 Problem-focused Coping 55 Emotion-focused Coping 56 Germane LGB Literature 56 Quantitative Studies 57 Stress and Coping in Lesbians 57 Qualitative Studies 59 Lived Experiences of LGB Adolescents 60 Phenomenology 61 Summary 61 Notes 63 III. METHODOLOGY 66 Introduction 66 General Design 66 Rationale and Justification for a Qualitative Study 66 Emphasis on Intersubjectivity 69 Theoretical Perspectives 72 Phenomenology, Intersubjectivity, and Symbolic Interaction 72 Symbolic Interaction and Sexual Orientation 74 Labels, Stigma, Symbolic Boundaries and Meanings 74 Purposive Sampling 76 Generating Data 78 Using Personal Experiences as a Starting Point 80 Locating Experiential Descriptions in Literature, Poetry, and Other Art Forms 81 Tracing Etymological Sources 82 Searching Idiomatic Phrases 82 Obtaining Experiential Descriptions from Participants 83 Data Analysis 84 Isolating Thematic Statements 85 Issues of Representation 86 Creating Individual Maps 88 VI Trustworthiness 90 Credibility 90 Transferability 91 Dependability 93 Confirmability 93 Summary 93 Notes 95 IV. A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE DAILY SCHOOL EXPERIENCES OF LGB STUDENTS IN TEXAS 96 Introduction 96 Diversity Among Participants 97 Lived Experiences of LGB Students 99 Elementary School 104 Early Same-Sex Attraction 104 Early Labeling as 'Homosexual' 107 Middle School/Junior High 114 The Emergence of Sexuality 114 Assaults 115 Verbal Harassment 116 High School 119 Verbal Harassment 120 Involuntary Outing 121 Physical Assaults 128 Privacy Concerns Overarching High School and College 132 Institutions of Higher Education 134 Autonomy and Separation 135 On- and Off-Campus Heterosexism 137 Christian: Danger in the 'Safe Zone' 138 Bryan: Gay Bashers and Protesters 144 The Music Department: A Chorus of Conservative Notes 146 VII Heterosexist Professors 147 Rumors of Heterosexism 150 Mark: Hooters, Hockey, and Heterosexism 151 Coming Out: The Never-Ending Story 153 The Assumption of Heterosexuality: A Double-Edged Sword 153 Variability in the Coming Out Process 154 Forced Out by Parents 157 Greater Freedom with Coming Out 161 Miscellaneous Issues Related to Coming Out 162 LGB Student Social Life 163 Unsteady States of LGB Organizations 166 LGB Organizations: Belongingness and Support 170 Bars and Social Clubs 173 Heterosexism at the Cinema: Censorship and Comments 175 Participants' Parting Suggestions 177 Brian 177 Jonathan 178 Kelly 178 Jason 179 Summary 179 Notes 181 V. EMERGENT STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH HETEROSEXISM WITHIN TEXAS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 183 Introduction 183 Coping Efforts of LGB Students 184 Elementary School 185 Junior High and High School 188 VIM Overachievement 189 Social Withdrawal 191 Suicide: Ideation and Attempts 195 Christian: "Live to Tell" 195 Jason 197 Kelly 199 The Internet: Relief for Isolation and Loneliness 201 Membership in Fringe Groups 202 The Occult 202 The New-Wavers 205 Dropping Out 206 Jason: Truancy Prior to Dropping Out 206 Christian: "1 hit a breaking point" 208 Assertiveness 209 "Ignore It": Ineffective Advice 209 "Stand Up for Yourself" 210 Self-Defense 211 Coping Efforts Overarching High School and College 212 Consulting a Counselor 212 Jason: From "Intimidated" to "Loving it" 213 The Pride Stage 215 Religion: A Double-Edged Sword 218 Summary 221 Notes 223 DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS 225 Introduction 225 Suggestions for Texas Educational Institutions 226 Kindergarten Through 12th Grade 228 The Early Marginalization of LGB Children 228 IX Nonrepresentation in Teacher and Counselor Education Programs 229 Failure to Provide Judgment-free Information 231 Identification of Gender Traitors and Gender Role Gatekeeping 232 Physically/Psychologically Unsafe Environments 237 Bias in Curriculum and Instruction 240 Alienation and the LGB Student 242 Summary of K-12 in Reference to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 244 Higher Education 245 Academic Oppression and Stifled Expression 245 Coping 248 The Construction, Maintenance, and Transformation of Coping Stategies Over Time 249 Unproductive versus Productive Coping Strategies 250 Ignoring 250 Social Withdrawal 252 Suicide 253 Pride 255 Summary and Conclusion 257 Educators: How Will They Hear? When Will They Learn? How Will They Know? 258 Notes 262 REFERENCES 263 APPENDIX A. GLOSSARY 285 B. MY SUBJECTIVITY 292 C. INFORMED CONSENT FORM 299 D. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) APPROVAL FORM 301 E. LETTER OF RECRUITMENT 303 F. PERMISSION TO USE COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL 305 G. PARTICIPANT MAPS OF STRESSORS, FEELINGS, AND COPING EFFORTS 307 XI ABSTRACT This investigation illuminates the lived experiences of self- identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB/lesbigay) college students in West Texas, particularly with regard to heterosexism within educational institutions. In addition, this work explores the strategies participants used to cope with the heterosexism they encountered in their daily interactions with others, as well as how these strategies were constructed, maintained, and internally revised over time. Accounts of participants' lived experiences indicate that from the elementary to the university levels, the Texas educational institutions in this investigation contributed, both actively and passively, to their many psychosocial stressors, as well as their marginalization. Some Texas educators were either unaware of or chose not to abide by the gay-affirmative philosophies of various professional organizations in education, failing both to provide equity with regard to sexual orientation and to establish a gay- affirmative environment devoid of physical and verbal harassment. For example, early in their school careers, a number of participants were punished and labeled as homosexual because they engaged in what educators and fellow classmates considered to be inappropriate gender behavior, particularly non-normative play. Having been labeled as homosexual, these participants were nonetheless unable to obtain judgment-free and accurate XII information regarding lesbigays from either parents or school personnel. By allowing epithets to be used for homosexuality while otherwise disallowing profanity and racism, school personnel not only tacitly condoned marginalization of lesbigays, but failed to furnish a gay-affirmative environment. Moreover, participants