Journal of College & University Student Housing Vol 49, No. 1 - 91

Designing an LLC for LGBTQ+ Students
EXPERIENCES IN RESIDENTIAL HOUSING
Prior research has documented that many LGBTQ+ students have experienced
mistreatment or were made to feel unwelcome by roommates (Kortegast, 2017;
Pryor, 2018), had concerns related to being out or outed in residential spaces (Evans
& Broido, 1999; Fanucce & Taub, 2010; Kortegast, 2017), and felt unsafe in these
spaces (Blakmon et al., 2020; Fanucce & Taub, 2010; Nicolazzo & Marine, 2015; Pryor
& Hoffman, 2020; Pryor et al., 2016). These concerns speak not only to a sense of
belonging but also to a feeling of inclusion and safety in residential spaces they are
supposed to call home. A review of the research produced conflicting results on the
role of staff in the residential experiences of LGBTQ+ students. One study demonstrated
that residential staff were either sources of affirmation and support (Pryor
& Hoffman, 2020) or upheld exclusionary campus policies that housed students in
undesirable locations (Kortegast, 2017; Nguyen et al., 2020; Pryor & Hoffman, 2020;
Pryor et al., 2016). These studies demonstrate that work is needed in creating residential
spaces that are affirming and welcoming for LGBTQ+ students.
In order to create more inclusive residential options on college and university
campuses, multiple studies have explored the needs and experiences of transgender
students in residential settings (Nicolazzo & Marine, 2015; Pryor & Hoffman, 2020;
Pryor et al., 2016). Transgender students described having to contend with genderism,
feeling unwelcome, and being unable to navigate institutional policy, while reporting
that staff had little knowledge of identity-related matters or how to navigate institutional
policy (Denton & Cain, 2020; Pryor et al., 2016). For these reasons, scholars
have called for more gender-inclusive housing options on college and university campuses
(Nicolazzo et al., 2018). The success of gender-inclusive housing is contingent
upon being able to navigate institutional and state policies that dictate how students
are housed (e.g., by biological sex versus self-identified gender), having staff who are
invested in learning more about the LGBTQ+ community and their experiences, and
centering transgender students and perspectives as they are developing student engagement
initiatives (Nicolazzo & Marine, 2015; Nicolazzo et al., 2018). The present
study adds to this body of literature by presenting factors that practitioners should
consider when designing inclusive and affirming housing options for all students'
identities along the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
Proximity to resources and peer-to-peer interactions that are
cultivated by the variety of educational and community programming
within residence halls are among the reasons why living on campus
is viewed as a foundational aspect of college life.
88 The Journal of College and University Student Housing
Journal of College & University Student Housing Vol 49, No. 1

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