Queer Kids in the Country: Challenges, Resources, and Queer Cultural Capital of Rural LGBTQIA+ Youth

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Publication Title

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Volume

3

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates the experiences of rural youth who identify as LGBTQIA+. Both rural young people and LGBTQIA+ youth are less likely to pursue higher education and more likely to report negative experiences in their schools and communities. Rural LGBTQIA+ youth face different challenges than do urban and suburban queer youth; therefore, different resources and strategies must be unveiled, developed, and employed in an effort to support rural LGBTQIA+ young people. This study explicates the challenges and assets of rural queer youth, finding that such young people continue to experience challenges in their schools and communities, particularly around identity formation. However, these young people also deploy many forms of queer cultural capital (Pennell, 2016). Understanding and cultivating informal resources and tapping queer cultural capital in schools and communities in order to enhance the well-being of rural LGBTQIA+ youth.

Issue

1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.60808/w0wv-xm89

ISSN

2837-9659

Primo Type

Article

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