The Lambda 10 Project, an educational initiative of Campus Pride, released results and a set of strategic recommendations from the first-ever national formal research exploring the LGBT experience within fraternities and sororities from 1960 to 2007.The press release about the new research, which can be found here, states the following:
This is an intriguing study, but I have a qualm. The use of the acronym "LGBT" seems like the most inclusive way to address our community these days, but if you aren't talking about transgender people, then don't imply you are.Results published in the Lambda 10 Project report suggest that fraternity and sorority organizations are more welcoming of LGB members today than in the past. Over 75% of the respondents were "out" to members of their fraternity/sorority, with current undergraduates reporting that they were more "out" (83%) than their alumni/ae counterparts (25%). The study also indicated the main reason LGBT people join fraternities and sororities are for "friendship" and that a significant number of these students are involved as leaders in their respective chapters.
"Overall the research is very encouraging and echoes the change in attitudes from younger generations to be more open-minded and inclusive of LGBT people," said Sue Rankin, Ph.D., the lead researcher for the study. "However, as the results suggest, we still have some work to do given that over 50% of current undergraduate (n=98) respondents reported that the climate within their chapters was somewhat homophobic."
Here is something to consider about the Lambda 10 project, also from the press release:
The report released today by the Lambda 10 Project is the first-ever formal research of its kind and the largest national study to date. The research builds on the data from an informal assessment published by Case (1995). Four hundred and forty people who self-identified as either current or past fraternity and sorority members responded to the call to participate in February 2006. The participants included 347 men, 88 women and one transgender person.ONE transgender person?? ONE?
I question whether this report should be called "Experiences of LGBT People in Fraternities & Sororities." Maybe just LGB?
Either way, should be an interesting read!
1 comment:
It's correct that the study included "347 men, 88 women and one transgender person," but looking at the report itself gives a little more information. In the Sample Demographics section on page 4, there is a footnote that explains that the researchers used a definition of transgender from the Oxford online dictionary as an "identity that does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender, but combines or moves between these."
Unfortunately, we don't know if that is how the survey respondents defined transgender. Maybe the questionnaire simply asked for the respondent's gender and gave a blank to fill in. Maybe the respondent had to circle Man or Woman or Transgender. In either case, we don't know if the survey question included a definition of these three terms, or if it left it up to the individual respondent to define them.
Since we don't know how the question was worded and what definitions (if any) the researchers provided on the questionnaire, it is possible that there were more respondents who might be considered transgender. The fact is, we don't know, so the validity of the study along the gender dimension is questionable.
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