ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates how a nuanced understanding of the connections between gender and belonging holds promise for improving college student outcomes. It briefly outlines the conceptualizations of gender and sense of belonging. The chapter focuses on intersectionality and uses it as a guide to explore connecting gender and belonging in college. It utilizes Black male initiative (BMIs) programs as an illustrative example to discuss the implications of an intersectional approach to gendered belonging for research, policy, and praxis. Facilitating belonging and connection for Black male collegians is a core intention of BMI programs. Structural intersectionality can be used to understand how various identity-based oppressions converge to shape gendered belonging experiences in higher education. The relative absence of Black women’s initiatives and other forms of Black women–focused retention and persistence interventions highlights how the intersection of race and gender is used to disempower and silence Black women implicitly and explicitly.
