I didn't come out until well after college. Attending a small New England liberal arts college, it would have been a fine place to be the real me, but I just wasn't ready. Friends were great while I figured things out. I was fortunate in having a single my last two years. My environment was well established and aided me in remaining in the closet.
I remember all of that, the things I did to keep my sexuality hidden, the environments I placed myself in, but there are things that we cannot avoid. One recent study shows that college may not be an easy place for LGBTers to keep their sexuality hidden if they choose to do so.
The researchers found that all of the students who identified as LGBTQIA struggled in some way with group work. While the students faced more opportunities to interact more closely with others, this presented more opportunities for them to have to self-identify. The researchers say this is important because often times, students come out during college years, but are hesitant to do so before they're fully ready to announce their LGBTQIA identity to the outside world.
"In a traditional lecture course, students can sit in the back of the group and be somewhat invisible," shared Brownell. "But in the interactive class, we ask them to engage with others. This is extending into conversations they don't want to have. They have to decide, 'Do I come out to this person I don't know? Do I lie? Do I change the conversation?'" – scienmag.com
I've always hated group work! But now I can see why college students trying to figure their lives out may hate it for other reasons.
Did this hit home for you?
Did you avoid certain scenarios in college to keep yourself in the closet?
Was one of those group work?
For more on the study, head over to scienmag.com
h/t: scienmag.com
As someone who finally
As someone who finally emerged from the closet just recently (at 31), and exists as a highly visible member in academia, this study only touches the surface of what the experience of a closeted student, or faculty member feels as part of the academic environment. I certainly experience some of these issues as a student, wove an intricate and elaborate fiction that maybe nobody was buying (the usual), but I was for the most part respected even if i didn't see the eyerolls. However I would argue that along with the wonderful benefits of millenial inclusivity, there is also the drawback with respect to some of these open attitudes–not everyone is ready to be out just because their peers want to show how inclusive they are. There is a perception among this generation of students that everything is there business, because, you know, they are not homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist, etc. Instead of respecting those boundaries eager "allies" often push their peers out in an effort to really solidify their own inclusive identities. My students even think it is their business to try to figure out my deal, which we all know wouldn't happen if I was a straight professor. Unless you are queer, you don't understand the stakes and you don't live with these complicated bodies/desires, and perhaps we need a return to minding ones own business a little bit.