2026 Theses Master's

A Cultural Encounter That Challenges Queer Youths' Self-Understandings, Communal and Individual Ways of Seeing Queer Youth

Guichardo, Jalen

Examines through queer of color theory and womanist pastoral theological methods how the effeminacy of gay boys of color is scrutinized within their racial and other communities, and how this compromises their self-perceptions. Further, how joy and possibility inherent in their relationships to their queerness are only challenged when they experience the negative perceptions of it held by a variety of individuals in their communities, creating challenges into adulthood. Gay men of color's experiences of childhood are also explored in memoirs to elucidate the interior experiences of queer youth, and to argue for more cultural regard for queer youth experiences. The homophobia that they experience is argued as in part due to America’s historical Protestant Christian founding, which diffused Christian moral beliefs into secular society.

Keywords: queer youth, gay men of color, gay boys of color, queer of color theory