(Un)even Terrain: Queer and Trans Staff Experiences Building Affinity, Community, and Kinship at the University of Minnesota

Abstract

In the United States, there is currently an alarming rise in legislative attacks on queer and trans people through an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and over 515 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being tracked by American Civil Liberties Union (see Figure 1; ACLU, 2024). This wave of legislative hostility towards queer and trans people, compounded by simultaneous efforts against critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), magnifies the impact on queer and trans people of color (QTPOC), who already face intersecting forms of discrimination and marginalization. These bills and rhetoric reinforce racism, heterosexism, and trans oppression that negatively impact and shape conditions for queer and trans people in U.S. educational settings (Duran & Coloma, 2023). At the same time, there has been a heightened visibility of queer and trans people in higher education and growth in the presence of Gender and Sexuality Centers (GSCs) on college and university campuses. This increased visibility and presence of GSCs coincided with greater attention on queer and trans student identity development with a greater understanding of intersecting identities (e.g., Duran et al., 2017; Goode-Cross & Good, 2009; Goode-Cross & Tager, 2011; Narui, 2011) and assessments of campus climate (Lange et al., 2019; Pryor & Hoffman, 2021; Pryor et al., 2023; Renn, 2010). However, much of the scholarship has centered on the student experience, while queer and trans staff remain an under-researched population in the study of higher education, especially queer and trans staff and faculty of color (Aguilar & Johnson, 2017; Renn, 2010; e.g., Sérráno & Gonzalez, 2022). This study explores the experiences of queer and trans higher education staff who work outside of GSCs. While GSCs serve as vital roles for support and advocacy, there exists a significant number of queer and trans staff who navigate landscapes outside these designated spaces, where acceptance and safety may be less assured. By focusing on this demographic, this research aims to fill critical gaps in existing literature and broaden the discourse surrounding queer and trans experiences in academia and shift the narrative to include how they are building community, affinity, and kinship.