Pronouns, Pin Badges and Pride: LGBTQ+ Student Experiences of Inclusion and Belonging in a UK University

This article provides findings from a small-scale project undertaken to understand the student experience of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus (LGBTQ+) student community in a large post-92 university in England. Focus groups were conducted with students that explored areas of student life, including support, the campus environment, and belonging. A social constructivist theoretical perspective underpins the article. Students develop common knowledge via social processes that are powerfully influenced by cultural factors that are constantly in a state of flux. The article also rejects essentialist delineations of LGBTQ+ gender and sexuality and subscribes instead to a Butlerian framework of identity where behaviours associated with gender and sexuality are instruments of regulatory regimes. Even within a university culture that is inclusive and welcoming, opportunities were not always provided for LGBTQ+ students to speak about their personal lives and identities authentically, and university classrooms did not always feel like safe places for students. Whilst staff were generally helpful and supportive to their LGBTQ+ students, many lacked the knowledge and skills to confidently meet the needs of these students, particularly those identifying as trans and non-binary. The recommendations include calls for universities to commit to high-quality mandatory training for staff so that trans and non-binary students in particular are supported by staff appropriately equipped to support their needs.