The GSA difference: LGBTQ and ally experiences in high schools with and without gay-straight alliances

Sherpa Romeo green journal: open accessWe examine the lived experiences of high-school students who participated in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)-centered activism of some kind, highlighting the promise of gay-straight alliance groups by comparing the experiences of students at schools with gay-straight alliances (GSA schools) with the experiences of students at schools that did not have an LGBTQ-specific group (no-GSA schools). We compare students at GSA and no-GSA schools based on their experiences of harassment, experiences of support from authority figures, and patterns of friendships. We find that students at both types of schools experienced harassment and heard negative comments about lesbian and gay people. However, students at GSA schools reported more support from teachers and administrators than students at no-GSA schools, who have stories of teachers and administrators actively opposing equality for LGBTQ people. Students at GSA schools reported a wide variety of friendships across sexual identities, while students at no-GSA schools felt more isolated and withdrawn. This much-needed qualitative comparative analysis of students’ experiences brings a human face to the improved quality of life that schools with gay-straight alliances can bring to young people.Ye

The GSA Difference: LGBTQ and Ally Experiences in High Schools with and without Gay-Straight Alliances

Abstract: We examine the lived experiences of high-school students who participated in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)-centered activism of some kind, highlighting the promise of gay-straight alliance groups by comparing the experiences of students at schools with gay-straight alliances (GSA schools) with the experiences of students at schools that did not have an LGBTQ-specific group (no-GSA schools). We compare students at GSA and no-GSA schools based on their experiences of harassment, experiences of support from authority figures, and patterns of friendships. We find that students at both types of schools experienced harassment and heard negative comments about lesbian and gay people. However, students at GSA schools reported more support from teachers and administrators than students at no-GSA schools, who have stories of teachers and administrators actively opposing equality for LGBTQ people. Students at GSA schools reported a wide variety of friendships across sexual identities, while students at no-GSA schools felt more isolated and withdrawn. This much-needed qualitative comparative analysis of students' experiences brings a human face to the improved quality of life that schools with gay-straight alliances can bring to young people

Rethinking Institutional Infrastructures: Institution Building as Social Movement Activity

*Social movements rely on institutional infrastructures—organizations and networks external to movements that provide supports to social movements—but comparative work is required to understand divergences in the strength of institutional infrastructures in similar movements across national borders. I conduct a historical, comparative analysis of the religious right in Canada and the United States using secondary sources. I examine the historical process of institution building in conservative, evangelical Christian communities from 1920-1950. I show that the large, dense network of para-church organizations established by conservative, evangelical Christians in the United States was not similarly established in Canada. I identify two historical factors in this critical juncture: the role of denominations and bureaucratic regulation of broadcast radio. I argue that this critical juncture produced divergences in institution building that, decades later, affected the supports available to the religious right movements in these countries.

Ex-gay Rhetoric and the Politics of Sexuality: The Christian Antigay/Pro-family Movement's 'Truth in Love' Ad Campaign

In 1998, a coalition of antigay, pro-family activist organizations published a set of full-page print advertisements in several nationally-recognized newspapers. These ads promoted sexual ("ex-gay") conversion therapy for homosexuals. I examine these advertisements as a contest over cultural symbols and values, and over the very definition of lesbian and gay identity. This discursive contest had the potential to impact activist politics greatly, but this impact was mitigated significantly by a similar set of ads produced in response by an opposing movement: the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement. The interactive dynamics between opposing movement impact the political field in which activists on each side pursue their goals

u.s. attitudes toward lesbian and gay people

In this article, I examine trends in attitudes toward lesbian and gay people over time in the United States, showing that they are changing rapidly in a positive direction. I consider the role of the LGBT movement, cultural shifts, and LGBT rights policy. This article was published in the Spring 2016 issue of *Contexts *(15: 20-27)

Solidarity or Schism: Ideological Congruence and the Twitter Networks of Egyptian Activists

Social movements scholarship on the role of coalitions in advancing social change claims that communication across ideological boundaries can foster a collective identity among diverse groups of activists. New communications technology, especially activists' widespread adoption of social media, calls into question whether these claims apply equally to online social media-based coalitions. Using the case of the Egyptian revolution in the Arab Spring, we conduct a series of social network analyses of the Twitter networks of activists. We find that social movements coalitions theory accurately predicts the conditions under which coalitions form and dissolve for online activists, as it does for on-the-ground activists. Among activists of diverse ideologies, we identify a pattern of solidarity in the early days of the revolutionary period, followed by a period of schism after a military crackdown on protestors. This research extends social movements theory to the sphere of digital activism

Condom use in penile-vaginal intercourse among Canadian adults: Results from the sex in Canada survey.

PURPOSE:This paper examines condom use in penile-vaginal sexual intercourse among adults in Canada. DATA AND METHOD:The Sex in Canada survey is a national survey of Canadian adults, ages 18+ (N = 2,303). The online survey used quota-based population sample matching of 2016 census targets for gender, age, region, language, visible minority status, and education level. We report general patterns of self-reported condom use, as well as results from zero-inflated negative binomial regression models on the relationship between condom use and social location, relationship status, and sexual health. RESULTS:Condom use varies by gender, age, education, visible minority status, and relationship status. Use of condoms is related to the perception of risk of being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the next six months and to the experience of receiving lessons in condom use. No significant associations were found between condom use and region, rural/urban residence, income, or religion. Among men, but not women, condom use is associated with language preference, past diagnosis with a sexually transmitted infection, and self-reported sexual health. CONCLUSION:Canadian adults report using a condom in approximately 30% of their sexual encounters involving penile-vaginal sex. Condom use is highest among young adults. Single people use condoms more often than people with marital or common-law partners. Condom use is higher among those with higher levels of education, among people belonging to visible minorities relative to white people, and for men relative to women. People who think they are likely to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the next six months are more likely to use condoms than those who do not