34th Annual Student Research Conference
Playing Four Square: Quadruple Consciousness and Community Formation Habits of Black Queer Students at PWI's
Elyse Ellis
Dr. Summer Pennell, Faculty Mentor
Black and LGBTQ+ students attending Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) are known to face unique challenges when compared to their white or cishet counterparts. This project asserts that the current state of scholarship misunderstands the culture of Black queer students. Racism in the LGBT+ community and homophobia in the Black community can make it seem like Black LGBTQ+ students exist at a conflicting intersection. Minority Stress proposes that marginalized identities experience additional stressors from societal oppression and structural inequality. This idea has been applied to both racial and sexual minorities, but rarely investigated as compounding. I looked at the intersection of blackness and queerness via in-depth interviews with black, queer, college students attending a predominantly white institution. How does minority stress manifest for Black queer students? How is minority stress exasperated at PWIs? What skills do Black queer students use to form their community?
Keywords: Higher Education, LGBT+, Black Undergraduates, Community formation, Cultural Capital, Double Conciousness, Quadruple Conciousness, Intersectionality
Topic(s):Sociology
Education
Presentation Type: Face-to-Face Oral Presentation
Session: 101-2
Location: SUB GEO
Time: 8:45