ABSTRACT
Schools in the United States continue to be antagonistic environments for students who embody and express sexual and gender identities beyond what Atkinson and DePalma (2009) call heterosexual hegemony. This is well and regularly documented by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) biannual nation-wide school climate survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students. Even the most recent of these reports show that where LGBTQ youth persistently experience biased remarks, victimization, harassment, and assault, they exhibit pervasive absenteeism, lowered educational aspirations and academic achievement, and poor psychological well-being (Kosciw, Greytak, Giga, Villenas, & Danischewski, 2016). However, when teachers and other adults offer social support, protection from victimization, and active advocacy for LGBTQ youth in schools, including sponsoring or supporting the presence of Gay–Straight Alliances, developing and delivering inclusive curriculum, and providing comprehensive bullying and harassment policies that include enumerated language, these students’ sense of school belonging, academic success, and overall psychological well-being are enhanced (Kosciw et al., 2016; Murdock & Bolch, 2005).
