Learning Beyond the Binary in the Bible Belt : Supporting Transgender and Non-binary Students in Higher Education in the Heartland

Whobrey, Megan and Jackson, Carolyn (2024) Learning Beyond the Binary in the Bible Belt : Supporting Transgender and Non-binary Students in Higher Education in the Heartland. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Within the realm of education, among other public spaces, gender queer, transgender, non-binary, and other gender non-conforming identifying students struggle with their sense of self in spaces that deny their identities by design. Like most of the public realm, institutions of higher education were established and designed around a strict gender binary that leaves these spaces inaccessible for gender queer students and staff. Gender diverse students entering public education in the South-Central and South-Eastern region of the United States, often referred to as the Bible Belt, face even greater aspects of inaccessibility. This region is dominated by fundamentalist Christian thinking which often influences the ways in which legislation is passed within these states affecting all public spaces, including higher education. Despite legislative attempts to hinder and even eradicate gender diverse individuals from accessing public spaces like higher education, public institutions within this region continue to work to create accessible and supportive environments in which gender queer students can participate if not thrive on their campuses. This research explores the ways in which institutions of higher education in the Bible Belt support transgender, non-binary, and other gender diverse individuals on their campuses in addition to how well, if at all, students within this community perceive their institution as an accessible and supportive environment for them. Through interviews with gender queer students and support staff specifically dedicated to creating accessible spaces for them on campus, this research seeks to discover current practices and their efficacy, as well as the expectations and needs of students while on campus. Although most institutions have a small support staff specifically dedicated to serving underrepresented students on campus, the desperately needed systemic, structural, and administrative changes require both the buy-in of higher administration and a lack of legislative interference. The student voices represented in this study provide a further understanding of the needs of gender diverse people on campus providing the opportunity to better serve this population on individual campuses.