Gay guys using gay language: friendship,shared values and the intent‐context‐effect matrix

This article draws on in‐depth interviews with 35 openly gay male undergraduates from four universities in England to develop an understanding of the changing nature of language related to homosexuality. In addition to finding a diminution in the prevalence of homophobic language, we demonstrate that participants maintain complex and nuanced understandings of phrases that do not use homophobic pejoratives, such as ‘that's so gay’. The majority of participants rejected the notion that these phrases are inherently homophobic, instead arguing that the intent with which they are said and the context in which they are used are vital in understanding their meaning and effect. We conceptualize an intent‐context‐effect matrix to understand the interdependency of these variables. Highlighting the situated nature of this matrix, we also demonstrate the importance of the existence of shared norms between those saying and hearing the phrase when interpreting such language.     

“She Finally Smiles … for Real”: Reducing Depressive Symptoms and Bolstering Resilience Through a Camp Intervention for LGBTQ Youth

ABSTRACT

While summer camps are a recognized evidence-based strategy for building social and emotional skills among youth (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2009), no known studies have evaluated the effects of camp programming for LGBTQ youth in the United States. This pilot study evaluates a novel program (Brave Trails) for LGBTQ youth ages 12 to 20, using a pre-post camper survey (N = 56) and a post-camp parent survey (N = 54). Results show campers experienced increases in identity affirmation and hope and a reduction in depressive symptoms. Regression analyses found changes in identity affirmation predicted reductions in depressive symptoms and increases in resilience. Additionally, campers’ experience of key camp programming features predicted changes in depressive symptoms. Findings from the parent survey were consistent with camper survey results. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Guerrilla selfhood: imagining young people's entrepreneurial futures

In this paper, we argue that complex forms of selfhood emerge in relation to rapid economic and social changes unfolding in the early stages of the twenty-first century. We draw on literature that explores youth at risk, entrepreneurial selfhood and neoliberalism to argue that young people are developing modes of transition that allow them to acclimatise to economic and social insecurity. It is an insecurity borne of a paradoxical reliance on, and failure of, neoliberal forms of economics and society. In the context of a post-Global Financial Crisis (post-GFC) world, we explore how young people take responsibility for their uncertain futures. Via our critique of how young people are supposed to manage their lives from education to employment, we argue that a form of selfhood emerges as they are challenged by limited education and employment opportunities. We call this selfhood the guerrilla self. We use this term to designate types of identity that require participation through resistance, institutionalisation through the appearance of not being institutionalised, and individualism in the midst of a failure of individualism. In making this case, we draw on stories told by young people in the USA planning for a future in a post-GFC world.     

Learning to be gay: LGBTQ forced migrant identities and narratives in Belgium

Within the wider population of forced migrants, LGBTQs face particular challenges. While sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are recognised grounds for asylum, academic and civil society observers are critical of the imposition of Western identity labels and liberation narratives on asylum seekers. This paper explores the situation in Belgium, where an increasing number of people obtain asylum based on SOGI claims. First, the relevant regulations and practices are discussed, based on desk research as well as interviews with advocates. Second, the personal experiences of forced migrants are discussed, based on in-depth interviews with gay-identifying men. The advocates confirm the prominence of (Western) conceptions and narratives of sexual identity in the procedure. While the forced migrants seem to reinforce this view, by expressing Western views on sexuality in the research interview, this paper explores the degree to which this can be attributed to the asylum procedure.     

A decade of changes: Within-group analysis of LGBTQ individuals' perceptions of their community context and the relevance for social service providers

The previous decade has seen a drastic shift in the social environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. It is not surprising then to find that the perceived “best” and “worst” aspects of life for nonmetropolitan LGBTQ individuals have also changed. We use data from two cohorts of the Rainbow Illinois survey to examine differences between responses in 2000 and 2011. Furthermore, we examine demographic differences in the perception of what is “best” and “worst” among the 2011 cohort. Results suggest that although the general social climate has improved for some, it remains problematic for others. Implications for social service providers are thoroughly discussed.     

Interactive Hazards Education Program for Youth in a Low SES Community: A Quasi‐Experimental Pilot Study

A pilot study of an interactive hazards education program was carried out in Canberra (Australia), with direct input from youth participants. Effects were evaluated in relation to youths’ interest in disasters, motivation to prepare, risk awareness, knowledge indicators, perceived preparedness levels, planning and practice for emergencies, and fear and anxiety indicators. Parents also provided ratings, including of actual home‐based preparedness activities. Using a single group pretest‐posttest with benchmarking design, a sample of 20 youths and their parents from a low SES community participated. Findings indicated beneficial changes on a number of indicators. Preparedness indicators increased significantly from pre‐ to posttest on both youth (p < 0.01) and parent ratings (p < 0.01). Parent ratings reflected an increase of just under six home‐based preparedness activities. Youth knowledge about disaster mitigation also was seen to increase significantly (p < 0.001), increasing 39% from pretest levels. While personalized risk perceptions significantly increased (p < 0.01), anxiety and worry levels were seen either not to change (generalized anxiety, p > 0.05) or to reduce between pre‐ and posttest (hazards‐specific fears, worry, and distress, ps ranged from p < 0.05 to < 0.001). In terms of predictors of preparedness, a number of variables were found to predict posttest preparedness levels, including information searching done by participants between education sessions. These pilot findings are the first to reflect quasi‐experimental outcomes for a youth hazards education program carried out in a setting other than a school that focused on a sample of youth from a low SES community.     

Queering Counselor Education: Situational Analysis of LGBTQ+ Competent Faculty

Research demonstrates counselor educators often lack skills and knowledge to train counselors to become lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other sexualities and gender identities (LGBTQ+) competent. This study explores the process of educators integrating LGBTQ+ competencies into their professional work. Using grounded theory and situational analysis methodologies, in-depth interviews with seven LGBTQ+ competent counselor educators were conducted and analyzed. Findings suggest educators infuse personal passion for LGBTQ+ topics into their professional work, experienced discrimination and resistance across multiple domains, infuse advocacy into their work, and have a similar definition of LGBTQ+ competent counseling. Various techniques are presented to help educators infuse LGBTQ+ competency in the classroom.     

医院青年文化品牌塑造的路径探析

青年是医院的未来,引导青年医务人员树立坚定而充沛的文化自信是激发其积极性、主动性和创造性的重要方式。常州市第一人民医院以涵养文化自信为着力点打造青年文化品牌“青之源”,通过营造学习创新氛围、建设团日活动体系、搭建阅读分享平台、探索涵养青年文化自信的品牌塑造路径等方式,动力、活力、能力三源合流,为青年成长提供正向激励和人文滋养。     

The Rules of (Dis)engagement: Black Youth and Their Strategies for Navigating Police Contact

Prior work on youth–police relations examines young people's general perceptions of the police, their differential treatment by police officers, and officers' discretion in dealing with youth. Yet researchers have largely neglected the question of how young people attempt to shape these encounters. I address this critical gap, while also incorporating the experiences of “on track” youth and young women—two groups that are not exempt from police contact but traditionally ignored in the youth–police literature. Drawing on semistructured group and individual interviews with 19 black young people in New York City, I investigate the strategies they employ or subscribe to in navigating police contact. Three types of strategies emerged from my analysis: avoidance, management, and symbolic resistance. Avoidance strategies are marked by young people's attempts to preemptively steer clear of officers on the street. Management strategies are employed by young people during police encounters to limit risk or harm, while symbolic resistance is a subtle tactic used by some youth to preserve their dignity in these interactions. This study also considers the gender differences in respondents' approaches and offers new insights into how they assess their police interactions in an era of highly publicized incidents of police brutality.     

The sociological landscape of youth confinement

This article examines key sociological questions that are raised by the confinement of children and young people. Globally, there are approximately one million children held in confinement, and there is an emerging body of qualitative sociological research in this area. This article examines the role that social constructions of childhood innocence and evil play in shaping the processes of protection and removal, and how these constructions play a role in mediating state strategies of punishment and rehabilitation. The article also draws from an emerging body of qualitative sociological research to examine the role of youth confinement institutions in socializing vulnerable young people.