Supporting Queer and Trans Students Amidst a Rise in Anti Queer and Trans Legislation and Policies

Abstract

Despite scholarship describing college campuses as becoming more affirming of queer and trans students, queer and trans people continue to be under attack legislatively, recently in growing intensity, such as Florida's “Don't Say Gay” law. These political and legal movements will have deleterious effects on these communities for years to come. However, queer and trans communities have always fought for their existence in the face of cisheterosexist violence. In this chapter, the scholars contend higher education professionals at every level have potential to be advocates of and support the holistic well-being and academic success of queer and trans students. Building off decades of traditions, theories, and strategies of activists and changemakers, namely those from multiply marginalized communities, the authors highlight three central ideas for those working in postsecondary education: 1) supporting students' positive meaning making of their identities, 2) creating and fostering counterspaces/counternarratives, and 3) collectively organizing for liberation.