LGBTQIA Studies : Research and topic suggestions

Arts & Culture

• queer performance art
• LGBTQIA+ writers

Education

• bullying in schools; opposition to anti-bullying efforts by those who want to maintain traditional gender roles and stereotypes
• gender nonconforming children in schools

Gender

• how people who identify as non-binary navigate a world that sees gender in binary terms
• how nonbinary and transgender identities are similar and different
• legal rights of transgender people
• transgender visibility and "passing"
• how sexual orientation (who you're attracted to) differs from gender identity (who you are)

History

• LGBTQIA+ marches and political movements
• LGBTQIA+ pioneers and activists
• transgender history-- e.g., search transgender history in San Francisco
• lesbian and gay history-- at what point did sexual behavior come to be seen as an identity?
• history of bisexuality-- at what point was it recognized as an identity?
• the influence of cultural norms and attitudes of a specific century or decade, and how/why people hid their feelings of same-sex attraction
• was there a time period and location in which the social climate was more accepting of same-sex attraction and desire?
• biography of a specific person in history whose trans identity or same-sex attraction was known or documented
• Important Legislation for LGBTQIA+ people

International

• contrast how LGBTQIA+ people experience life in other countries outside of the United States
• compare and contrast laws and culture within the Asian continent
• which countries are the most and least accepting of LGBTQIA+ people
• LGBTQIA+ couples of differing nationalities-- can they live in the same country?
• LGBTQIA+ rights worldwide (focusing on the "LGBTQIA+ climate" in a specific country or region)

Medicine

• how are transgender people transforming the medical establishment?
• sexual orientation-- what does biological research tell us about it?
• LGBTQIA+ mental health; research shows LGBTQIA+ people have higher overall rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders
• the diagnosis of "gender dysphoria" and how it has been reframed and is no longer a pathology

Parenting

• parenting as a trans, nonbinary or gender fluid person
• lesbian and gay parenting and adoption
• new reproductive technologies for LGBTQIA+ people

Religion

• the history of how LGBTQIA+ people have or have not been integrated into the priesthood of a particular faith
• what new elements have LGBTQIA+ people brought to a particular faith
• LGBTQIA+ themes in the Bible;
• use of the Bible to justify mistreatment of LGBTQIA people

Sexual Orientation

• bisexuality and issues that are unique to bisexual people
• asexuality-- what is means, how it is often misunderstood;
• new efforts at asexual visibility coming out stories/ coming out process;
• challenges to the concept of "coming out"

Society & Politics

• recent backlash against LGBTQIA+ people
• gender identity and America's (or another nation's) changing cultural norms
• opposition to gay rights
• discrimination and treatment in the workplace (search also phrases such as "openly gay teachers")
• violence and bullying of LGBTQIA+ people
• marriage of LGBTQIA+ people to heterosexuals in order to "pass" (especially in traditional cultures)
• queer film festivals as a step toward visibility
• same-sex marriage -- who supports it, who opposes it, and which countries have legalized it
• Rainbow capitalism

Scholarly and nonscholarly articles on LGBTQ topics can be found in the following sources (accessible to current Northeastern affiliates)

New:

For cultural studies, current events, political aspects, and all interdisciplinary topics:

For psychological aspects:

For sociological aspects:

For health aspects: