Binary-trans, non-binary and gender-questioning adolescents' experiences in UK schools

A growing number of adolescents are using a number of different identities to describe their gender. Schools have been noted for their uninclusive environments and high levels of discrimination for LGBTQ + individuals, yet research has neglected the school experiences of UK gender-diverse adolescent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of LGBT youth Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 74 - 92
Main Authors: Bower-Brown, Susie, Zadeh, Sophie, Jadva, Vasanti
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Routledge 02.01.2023
Subjects:
adolescence
Adolescents
Bullying
Cognitive Restructuring
Coping
Curriculum
Educational Discrimination
Educational Environment
Foreign Countries
gender-questioning
Interpersonal Relationship
LGBTQ People
non-binary
school
Self Disclosure (Individuals)
Social Bias
Student Experience
United Kingdom (Wales)
United Kingdom (England)
United Kingdom (Scotland)
adolescence
Transgender
non-binary
school
gender-questioning
ISSN:1936-1653, 1936-1661
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A growing number of adolescents are using a number of different identities to describe their gender. Schools have been noted for their uninclusive environments and high levels of discrimination for LGBTQ + individuals, yet research has neglected the school experiences of UK gender-diverse adolescents. This article explores the school experiences and navigation strategies of gender-diverse adolescents in the UK, examining the experiences of binary-trans, non-binary and gender-questioning adolescents separately. The data presented in this article come from a large survey of LGBTQ + young people's social experiences; a subsample of 74 adolescents' (25 binary-trans, 25 non-binary, and 24 gender-questioning) open-ended responses were selected for qualitative thematic analysis. Findings highlight that gender-diverse adolescents experience discrimination within the school environment from the curriculum, space, peers and teachers, and a number of strategies, including disclosure negotiation, cognitive restructuring and proactive protection, are used to navigate this environment. Findings shed light on the school experiences of gender-diverse adolescents, and suggest that the British school system is fundamentally unsuitable for non-binary and gender-questioning identities.
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ISSN:1936-1653
1936-1661
DOI:10.1080/19361653.2021.1873215