Welcome
This page serves as an introduction to resources on LGBTQIA+. For in-depth resources on specific subjects that Northeastern University supports please visit the research subject guides.
Defining LGBTQIA+
What does the acronym LGBTQIA+ stand for:
- Lesbian
- Gay
- Bisexual
- Transgender
- Queer
- Intersex
- Asexual and/or Ally
- The '+' stands for other terms that may not fit under the various acronyms available.
To view more in-depth glossary of terms visit the Human Rights Campaign's Glossary of Terms.
Research
These tabs offer a small selection of resources on LGBTQIA+ topics. For more recommendations see this list of more resources or explore the Scholar OneSearch.
Ace : what asexuality reveals about desire, society, and the meaning of sex by
"Ace" delves into the lives of those who identify using the little-known sexual orientation of asexuality and shows what all of us can learn-about desire, identity, culture, and relationships-when we use an asexual lens to see the world"
ISBN: 9780807014110Publication Date: 2020
The Path to Gay Rights by
An innovative, data-driven explanation of how public opinion shifted on LGBTQ rights The Path to Gay Rights is the first social science analysis of how and why the LGBTQ movement achieved its most unexpected victory--transforming gay people from a despised group of social deviants into a minority worthy of rights and protections in the eyes of most Americans. The book weaves together a narrative of LGBTQ history with new findings from the field of political psychology to provide an understanding of how social movements affect mass attitudes in the United States and globally. Using data going back to the 1970s, the book argues that the current understanding of how social movements change mass opinion--through sympathetic media coverage and endorsements from political leaders--cannot provide an adequate explanation for the phenomenal success of the LGBTQ movement at changing the public's views. In The Path to Gay Rights, Jeremiah Garretson argues that the LGBTQ community's response to the AIDS crisis was a turning point for public support of gay rights. ACT-UP and related AIDS organizations strategically targeted political and media leaders, normalizing news coverage of LGBTQ issues and AIDS and signaled to LGBTQ people across the United States that their lives were valued. The net result was an increase in the number of LGBTQ people who came out and lived their lives openly, and with increased contact with gay people, public attitudes began to warm and change. Garretson goes beyond the story of LGBTQ rights to develop an evidence-based argument for how social movements can alter mass opinion on any contentious topic.
ISBN: 9781479822133Publication Date: 2018-06-05
Trans* in College by
WINNER of 2017 AERA DIVISION J OUTSTANDING PUBLICATION AWARD CHOICE 2017 Outstanding Academic Title This is both a personal book that offers an account of the author's own trans* identity and a deeply engaged study of trans* collegians that reveals the complexities of trans* identities, and how these students navigate the trans* oppression present throughout society and their institutions, create community and resilience, and establish meaning and control in a world that assumes binary genders. This book is addressed as much to trans* students themselves - offering them a frame to understand the genders that mark them as different and to address the feelings brought on by the weight of that difference - as it is to faculty, student affairs professionals, and college administrators, opening up the implications for the classroom and the wider campus. This book not only remedies the paucity of literature on trans* college students, but does so from a perspective of resiliency and agency. Rather than situating trans* students as problems requiring accommodation, this book problematizes the college environment and frames trans* students as resilient individuals capable of participating in supportive communities and kinship networks, and of developing strategies to promote their own success. Z Nicolazzo provides the reader with a nuanced and illuminating review of the literature on gender and sexuality that sheds light on the multiplicity of potential expressions and outward representations of trans* identity as a prelude to the ethnography ze conducted with nine trans* collegians that richly documents their interactions with, and responses to, environments ranging from the unwittingly offensive to explicitly antagonistic. The book concludes by giving space to the study's participants to themselves share what they want college faculty, staff, and students to know about their lived experiences. Two appendices respectively provide a glossary of vocabulary and terms to address commonly asked questions, and a description of the study design, offered as guide for others considering working alongside marginalized population in a manner that foregrounds ethics, care, and reciprocity.
ISBN: 9781620364550Publication Date: 2016-12-22
Fragmented Citizens by
A sweeping historical and political account of how our present-day policy debates around citizenship and equality came to be The landmark Supreme Court decision in June 2015 legalizing the right to same-sex marriage marked a major victory in gay and lesbian rights in the United States. Once subject to a patchwork of laws granting legal status to same-sex couples in some states and not others, gay and lesbian Americans now enjoy full legal status for their marriages wherever they travel or reside in the country. For many, the Supreme Court's ruling means that gay and lesbian citizens are one step closer to full equality with the rest of America. In Fragmented Citizens, Stephen M. Engel contends that the present moment in gay and lesbian rights in America is indeed one of considerable advancement and change--but that there is still much to be done in shaping American institutions to recognize gays and lesbians as full citizens. With impressive scope and fascinating examples, Engel traces the relationship between gay and lesbian individuals and the government from the late nineteenth century through the present. Engel shows that gays and lesbians are more accurately described as fragmented citizens. Despite the marriage ruling, Engel argues that LGBT Americans still do not have full legal protections against workplace, housing, family, and other kinds of discrimination. There remains a continuing struggle of the state to control the sexuality of gay and lesbian citizens--they continue to be fragmented citizens. Engel argues that understanding the development of the idea of gay and lesbian individuals as 'less-than-whole' citizens can help us make sense of the government's continued resistance to full equality despite massive changes in public opinion. Furthermore, he argues that it was the state's ability to identify and control gay and lesbian citizens that allowed it to develop strong administrative capacities to manage all of its citizens in matters of immigration, labor relations, and even national security. The struggle for gay and lesbian rights, then, affected not only the lives of those seeking equality but also the very nature of American governance itself. Fragmented Citizens is a sweeping historical and political account of how our present-day policy debates around citizenship and equality came to be.
ISBN: 9781479809127Publication Date: 2016-05-24
Find research databases and topic suggestions; browse LGBTQ books at Snell Library; find information on coming out, LGBTQ history, and the transgender and nonbinary communities; and locate supportive resources at NU and beyond.
- Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowScholarly, peer-reviewed articles and professional association publications, Abstracts and links to full text, about half are peer reviewed, covering all academic subjects including STEM fields.
Use this link if you want to include video clips (Opens in new window) from the Associated Press in your search results. - GenderWatch (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowFull articles from women's studies magazines and newsletters (including some that are hard to find in print), as well as some scholarly journals. Some articles go back to the 1970's.
- Gale In Context: Global Issues This link opens in a new windowCourtesy of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the Massachusetts Library System
Global Issues in Context offers international viewpoints on a broad spectrum of global issues, topics, and current events. - Health and Medicine (Gale Cengage) This link opens in a new windowScholarly, peer-reviewed articles and professional association news in health and medicine, the majority of content is full text. Some images and video content.
- PsycARTICLES (Proquest) This link opens in a new windowFull text articles in psychology and related fields
- Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive database of books, articles, and dissertations in sociology and related disciplines, from 1952 to the present. International in scope, links to full text.
- Resources for Research on Gender Identity, Sexual Behavior, and Sexual OrientationHere you'll find data resources for those interested in studying gender identity, sexual behavior, and sexual orientation, or in finding datasets in which those populations are well-represented.
- Digital Transgender Archive (Northeastern University and others) This link opens in a new windowThe purpose of the Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) is to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world.
- Openly Transgender Olympians in Tokyo (Bay Windows Newspaper) Bay Windows is New England's largest publication for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers
Looking for a topic?
Consider one of these:
- gender identity and American (or another nation's) cultural norms
- how people who identify as non-binary navigate a world that sees gender in binary terms
- contrast how LGBTQIA people experience life in other countries outside of the United States
- how sexual orientation (who you're attracted to) differs from gender identity (who you are)
- LGBTQIA mental health; research shows LBGTQIA people have higher overall rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders opposition to gay rights
- asexual representation in media
For more ideas visit the Research and Topic Suggestions page on the LGBTQIA Studies guide.
Northeastern & Beyond Resources
We invite you to explore different organizations available at Northeastern University and in our surrounding communities:
LGBTQA Resource Center - The LGBTQA Resource Center provides information, support and other resources for the Northeastern Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Asexual people and their allies.