Some people believe that "queer" expands the definition without categorical labels, while others reject the term due to its harmful history.
Inspired by ethnic studies, women's studies, and similar identity-based academic fields influenced by the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, the initial emphasis was on "uncovering the suppressed history of gay and lesbian life;" it also made its way into literature departments, where the emphasis was on literary theory.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges in upstate New York were among the first to offer a full-fledged major in LGBTQ Studies in the late 1990s.
Historians John Boswell and Martin Duberman made Yale University a notable center of lesbian and gay studies in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
[2] However, Boswell died in 1994, and in 1991, Duberman left for the City University of New York, where he founded its Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies.
[2] Anita Bryant, a popular face in the media and widely known by the public, was at the forefront of the "Save Our Children" movement in 1977, born in response to an Oklahoma ordinance criminalizing discrimination due to sexual preference.
[10] Negotiations broke down as Kramer, frustrated by what he perceived to be "homophobic" resistance, condemned the university in a front-page story in The New York Times.
[2][13] The five-year program aimed to bring in visiting faculty, host conferences and lectures, and coordinate academic endeavors in lesbian and gay studies.
[9][10] Believing the post to be "the first professorship of its kind in the country,"[10] Harvard President Drew G. Faust called it "an important milestone.
While queer studies initially emerged in the North American and, to a lesser extent, European academy and mostly relates to Western contexts, it recently has also developed in other parts of the world.
For instance, since the 2000s there has been an emergent field of Queer African Studies, with leading scholars such as Stella Nyanzi (Uganda), Keguro Macharia (Kenya), Zethu Matebeni (South Africa), S.N.
Their work critiques the eurocentric orientation of Western queer studies and examines the longstanding traditions of sexual and gender diversity, ambiguity, and fluidity in African cultures and societies.
UFMG offers a multidisciplinary program on Gender and Sexuality for undergrad students: "Formação Transversal em Gênero e Sexualidade: Perspective Queer/LGBTI" (https://www.ufmg.br/prograd/).
Interdependence on different academic focuses was achieved in the curriculum by covering "Theories of homosexuality and Chinese reality", "homosexual sub-culture" and "Men seeking men (MSM) intervention in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention," in addition to reading literature with gay characters and themes and taking field trips to a gay bar.
The authors depict the creators' fear of attracting too much negative attention from the Chinese media could adversely affect the course and its continuation.
Many states also have curriculum laws that require teachers to educate their students from the viewpoint that abstinence before marriage is the sole option for safe prevention against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
[12] In 2022, an estimated 5,000 books featuring LGBTQ characters and stories have been banned from bookshelves, libraries, and classrooms according to a report by PEN America.
[20] Regardless of topic, 40% of these book bans are estimated to be in direct result of lawmakers' public opinion and presence, as well as enacted legislation.
PEN America also reports that the overwhelming majority of these titles are books for young adults, restricting education relating to gender, sexuality, diversity, and differences from 13 to 17 years old.
Gender Queer was met with a contrast of responses, many expressing gratitude and love for the sharing of their story, as it was written with an audience of family, friends, and those that can identify and sympathize with Kokabe in mind.
[22] In an interview with NPR, Kokabe discusses how they felt they included the appropriate amount of illustrations to tell their story accurately and due to their importance in the representation of their journey with gender and sexuality.
Bookstore owners and booksellers have been taking actions into their own hands and giving their books away, covering some costs out of their own pocket and gaining donations both in person and through social media.
This act also includes restrictions on a public school's ability to protect and maintain the privacy of a student's gender identity or sexual orientation from their parents.
"[25] There has been an increase in protests as students and parents across the country respond negatively to the bill, as some assert that the broad language is meant to specifically target the LGBTQ community.
[26] The discourse surrounding this legislation also resulted in backlash from The Walt Disney Co. employees, who shared their disappointment with the company on social media for not publicly denouncing the bill.
[27] On February 1, 2023, College Board, the organization that is responsible for creating standardized tests such as the SAT and AP, revealed the changes that it made to its African American studies course.
However, College Board has historically given in to many conservative leaders' demands in other courses, such as AP United States History, where readings would focus less on colonial settlers' harm towards indigenous people and more on founding fathers and their religious influences.
[30] While this was originally used as a term to describe the specific type of oppression that African American women face, it has grown relevant to many other groups of people.
Third-wave feminism became the springboard for intersectionality when there became an awareness that women faced different types of oppression based on their race, gender, and class.
Kimberlé Crenshaw maintains the fact that the idea of intersectionality and true feminism is lost if black women continue to be overshadowed by their white counterparts.