Gay boys’ experiences and outcomes in pre-tertiary education

Abstract

The focus of this narrative literature review paper is the pre-tertiary education experiences of gay boys. Sexual-minority youth tend to experience more unfavorable classroom environments than heterosexual youth, and some evidence indicates that the climate and its consequences are harsher for boys than girls. However, discussions of issues for boys in school largely ignore sexual-minority boys. Therefore, this paper focuses on the education experiences of and outcomes for gay boys. Feminist theory frames the research and perspectives presented in this paper, which have been synthesized from main ideas identified in recent academic literature. This theory gives strong attention to intersectionality, one example of which is the inextricable connection between sexuality and gender, a foundational concept for this paper. The paper concludes with implications for practice regarding the education experiences of gay boys.