Navigating Campus Climate and Dating Among LGBTQ Students at ASU

As attitudes toward LGBTQ people become more positive, queer students may experience more friendly campus environments. That being said, institutional hindrances may still mark their college experiences, with students’ majors being one area where they might find less acceptance. Additionally, college dating scenes revolve around cisheterosexual hookups and dates, where cisheteronormativity dictates dating scripts and rituals. Queer students do not always adhere to such norms as closely, and thus may find themselves having different dating experiences than their peers. This research uses eight in-depth interviews to expose some queer experiences had by students at Arizona State University. Students find the campus climate to be relatively queer-friendly although they echo issues found with majors, more specifically some STEM majors. Additionally, students engage in the hookup and dating scenes to a variety of degrees with varying intentions. They encounter troubles with gender roles as well as their own and others’ identities. Within a predominately cisheterosexual university, some women are wary of other women who might be experimenting or are not fully comfortable with their queer identity. It is suggested that ASU work to foster stronger queer support and spaces that can better empower queer students and further affirm their identities.