In Search of Community: The Experiences of Black Queer Women in College

Y

10

Student Experience; African American Students; Females; LGBTQ People; College Students; Sense of Community; Student Attitudes; Social Isolation; Barriers

Since the conception of higher education there has been an increase of diversity amongst students. According to the William Institute (2018), 11% of the LGBT population is African American, and out of the African American LGBT population in America, 57% are female. While there is not an exact statistic on the number of Black queer women on campus, the above statistic allows to infer that there is a significant population that may need support. This study examines what community looks like and how it is created for black queer women on college campuses using both intersectionality and queer theory frameworks. For the sake of this study, "queer" is being used as the umbrella term that encompasses the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community (Rogers, 2017). Additionally, this study will use "Black" to describe all people of African descent. This study uses semi-structured interviews to further explore what it means to be a Black queer woman in college by answering the following question: What are the experiences of black queer women on campus?

ERIC

2022

EJ1341820