Lebanese, Indian and Anglo LGBTQ + young Australians’ experiences at school and university

Abstract

This article explores LGBTQ + young adults’ schooling and university experiences at the intersection of ethnicity and sexuality in Australia. Using the lenses of sexual citizenship and belonging, a sociomaterial polytextual analysis of the ‘middle’ was conducted with data from qualitative in-depth narrative and photo-elicitation interviews among Lebanese, Indian and Anglo LGBTQ + young adults. The analysis found that while participants had encountered bullying and prejudicial attitudes based on sexuality, gender and ethnicity, many of them had positive experiences at school and viewed university as facilitators of opportunity and discovery. The findings suggest that educational institutions are neither inherently safe nor unsafe; rather, they are important spaces whereby the sociomaterial entanglements of identity, sexual citizenship and belonging are negotiated. Crucially, they demonstrate that minority sexuality, ethnicity and gender themselves are not immutable barriers to participation, and call for strategic investment into spaces that support both student safety and critical discussion. Show more