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Gay–Straight Alliances (GSAs)
Gay–Straight Alliances (GSAs) are school-based student clubs that aim to make schools safer for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. This entry discusses the historical context and growth of GSAs in North America, in addition to describing the characteristics of schools and communities where GSAs are typically located as well as their members. Next, the entry discusses the various roles that GSAs play in schools and for students, and it ends with a summary of how GSAs contribute to youth development and well-being.
GSA History and School and Member Characteristics
The sections below provide a brief history of GSAs, including their beginnings on the East and West Coasts of the United States, and the legal challenges encountered when students were blocked from forming or ...
- Activism and Advocacy
- Activists in College
- Ally Development and Programming
- Ally Experience
- Antigay Ballot Initiatives (and LGBTQ Activism)
- Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
- Freedom to Marry (and Other Marriage Equality Organizations)
- Gay–Straight Alliances (GSAs)
- Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
- Gender Spectrum
- GLAAD
- Human Rights Campaign
- Intersex Society of North America
- It Gets Better
- Lambda Legal
- National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
- No Promo Homo Policies
- PFLAG
- School Professionals’ Responses to LGBTQ Training
- Stonewall
- Trevor Project, The
- World Professional Association for Transgender Health
- Family, Kin, and Friendship Networks
- Aging, Social Relationships, and Support
- Ballroom Scene, The
- Bisexual People and Community
- Cancer and Social Support
- Caregiving
- Cross-Category Friendships
- Families of Choice
- Families of Origin, Relationships With
- Friendships
- HIV/AIDS and Social Support
- LGBTQ Grandparenting
- LGBTQ Online Communications: Building Community Through Blogs, Vlogs, and Facebook
- Mentoring
- PFLAG
- Relationships With Families Who Share the Same Donor
- Relationships With Parents, Youth
- Relationships With Siblings, Youth
- Romantic Friendships
- Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
- Sibling Relationships
- Suicide, Effects on Family and Friends
- Support Groups and Resources
- Transgender Youth and Family Relationships
- Workplace Relationships
- Intersectionalities
- African American Sexualities
- Asian American/Pacific Islander Sexualities
- Binational Same-Sex Couples and Families
- Catholic LGBTQ People
- Christian LGBTQ People
- Cultural Dissemblance (of African Americans)
- East Asian Sexualities
- HIV/AIDS and Gay Masculinity
- HIV/AIDS and Racial/Ethnic Disparities
- Intellectual Disabilities
- Interracial Relationships
- Intersections Between Sex, Gender, and Sexual Identity
- Intersexuality
- Jewish LGBTQ People
- Latina/o Sexualities
- LGBTQ People of Color
- Multiracial LGBTQ-Parent Families
- Muslim LGB People
- Native American/First Nations Sexualities
- Physical Disabilities
- Racialized Masculinity
- Religion/Spirituality and LGBTQ People
- Religious Identity and Sexuality, Reconciliation of
- Religious LGBTQ Youth
- Rural and Urban Communities
- Social Class
- Social Class and Sexuality, Intersections Between
- Sperm Donor Selection and Race/Ethnicity
- Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth of Color
- Transgender People and Religion/Spirituality
- Transgender Sexualities
- LGBTQ Identity and Politics
- Asexuality
- Ballroom Scene, The
- Bear Community
- Bisexual Inclusion in the LGBTQ Rights Movement
- Bisexual People and Community
- Bisexualities
- Bisexuality, Female
- Bisexuality, Male
- Bondage, Dominance/Submission, Sadism/Masochism (BDSM)
- Butch-Femme
- Cisgenderism
- Closet, The
- Coming Out, Disclosure, and Passing
- Community Climate
- Demographics and the LGBTQ Population
- Down Low
- Drag
- Effeminacy
- Embodiment
- Essentialist-Constructionist Debate on the Origins of Sexual Orientation
- Evolutionary Theory
- Ex-Gay Movement
- Exotic Becomes Erotic: A Developmental Theory of Sexual Orientation
- Gay Gentrification
- Gayborhoods
- Gaydar
- Gender Binaries
- Gender Spectrum
- Genderqueer
- Homosexuality, Female
- Homosexuality, Male
- Hypermasculinity
- Internalized Homophobia
- Intersexuality
- Kink
- LGBTQ Social Movements (Assimilation vs. Liberation)
- LGBTQ Umbrella
- Masculinities
- Masculinity Stereotypes
- Morality and Respectability
- Nonbinary Genders
- Pansexuality
- Psychological Approaches to Studying LGBTQ People
- Queer
- Queer Anticapitalism
- Queer Ethnographies/Autoethnographies
- Queer Politics
- Queer Theory
- Queering Heteromasculinities
- Religious Identity and Sexuality, Reconciliation of
- Sexual Fluidity
- Sexual Orientation Among Transgender People
- Sexual-Identity Labels
- Sissyboy Experience
- Stealth (Transgender Passing)
- Strategic Disclosure
- Theories of Sexual Orientation
- Tomboy Experience
- Transgender Ethnographies
- Transgender Identities
- Transgender Inclusion in the LGBTQ Rights Movement
- LGBTQ People and Aging
- Advance Health Care Planning
- Ageisms in LGBTQ Cultures
- Aging and Bisexuality
- Aging and Gay Men
- Aging and Lesbian Women
- Aging and Transgender People
- Aging, Sex, and Sexuality
- Aging, Social Relationships, and Support
- Caregiving
- Dementia
- Disabilities Among LGBTQ Elders
- Discrimination Against LGBTQ Elders
- Dying, Death, and Bereavement
- Elder Abuse
- HIV/AIDS and Aging
- Powers of Attorney
- Retirement
- Senior Living Programs and Policies
- Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
- Wills and Trusts
- LGBTQ People, Health, and Well-Being
- Advance Health Care Planning
- Affirmative Therapy
- Anxiety
- Biphobia
- Body Image Disturbance and Eating Disorders in LGBTQ People
- Body Modification
- Body Size and Weight
- Breast Care for Transgender People
- Cancer and Social Support
- Cancer in the LGBTQ Community
- Chronic Illness
- Couples Therapy
- Dementia
- Depression
- Disabilities Among LGBTQ Elders
- Discrimination on the Basis of HIV/AIDS in Health Care
- Dying, Death, and Bereavement
- Ex-Gay Movement
- Health Care Plans
- Health Care Providers, Disclosure of Sexual Identity to
- Health Care System
- Health Disparities
- Health Disparities, Transgender People
- Health Insurance Coverage for Transgender People, Access to
- History of Transgender Medicine in the United States
- HIV and Treatment
- HIV/AIDS and Aging
- HIV/AIDS and Gay Masculinity
- HIV/AIDS and Racial/Ethnic Disparities
- HIV/AIDS and Social Support
- HIV/AIDS in Prison
- HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care, Psychosocial and Structural Barriers to
- Hormones and Surgery During Gender Transition
- Hospital Visitation
- Intellectual Disabilities
- LGBTQ Health in Non-Western Contexts
- LGBTQ Parents and the Health Care System
- Marriage Equality, Effects on Well-Being and Relationships
- Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM)
- Parental Well-Being
- Physical Disabilities
- Physicians
- Posttraumatic Stress
- Powers of Attorney
- Sex Therapy
- Sexology
- Sexual Addiction and Compulsions
- Sexual Agreements and Arrangements
- Sexual Compulsivity, Treatment of
- Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy
- Sexual Risk-Taking
- Smoking
- Substance Abuse and LGBTQ People
- Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery
- Substance Abuse/Dependence and Transgender People
- Substance Use, Youth
- Suicide, Effects on Family and Friends
- Suicide, Risk Factors for and Prevention of
- Support Groups and Resources
- Therapists’ Biases Regarding LGBTQ People
- Therapists, Training of
- Therapy With Children of LGBTQ Parents
- Therapy With Families During and After Parental Gender Transition
- Therapy With LGBTQ Parents
- Therapy With LGBTQ Youth
- Therapy With Transgender Individuals: Mental Health Considerations
- Therapy With Transgender, Transsexual, and Gender-Nonconforming People
- Transgender Health Care
- Transgender Parents and Well-Being
- Transgender People and Binding, Tucking, and Packing
- Transgender Youth and Cross-Sex Hormones
- Transgender Youth and Puberty Suppression
- Transgender Youth and Well-Being
- Trevor Project, The
- Vaginoplasty for Transgender Women
- LGBTQ Youth
- Abstinence Only Until Marriage
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Age of Consent
- Bullying, Legal Protections Against
- Bullying, Rates and Effects of
- Bullying, School-Based Interventions for
- Developmental Aspects of Sexuality
- Foster Care
- Gaming
- Gangs
- Gay–Straight Alliances (GSAs)
- Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
- Gender Clinics
- Gender Nonconformity, Youth
- Homophobic Language in the Peer Group
- It Gets Better
- LGBTQ Issues in K–12 Education Across Global Contexts
- LGBTQ Online Communications: Building Community Through Blogs, Vlogs, and Facebook
- No Promo Homo Policies
- Nonheterosexual Children of LGBTQ Parents
- Relationships With Parents, Youth
- Relationships With Siblings, Youth
- Religion and Spirituality, Youth
- Religious LGBTQ Youth
- Resilience and Protective Factors, Youth
- School Climate
- School Professionals’ Responses to LGBTQ Training
- Schools as Heteronormative Spaces
- School-to-Prison Pipeline
- Sexual Education Mandates for Inclusion
- Sexualities at School
- Substance Use, Youth
- Therapy With LGBTQ Youth
- Therapy With Transgender, Transsexual, and Gender-Nonconforming People
- Tomboy Experience
- Training of Teachers in LGBQ Sensitivity and Competence
- Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Individuals and Bathrooms
- Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth and the Legal System
- Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth of Color
- Transgender Students: Access to Sex-Segregated Facilities and Programs
- Transgender Youth and Cross-Sex Hormones
- Transgender Youth and Family Relationships
- Transgender Youth and Puberty Suppression
- Transgender Youth and Well-Being
- Trevor Project, The
- Violence and Victimization of Youth
- Youth and Dating
- LGBTQ College Students/Young Adults
- Abstinence Only Until Marriage
- Activists in College
- Ally Development and Programming
- Ally Experience
- Campus Climate
- Career Development and Trajectories
- College Athletes
- College Students
- Fraternities and Sororities
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities, LGBTQ Students at
- LGBT/Queer Studies Programs
- LGBTQ (In)Visibility Within College Contexts
- Transgender Inclusion on College Campuses
- Transgender Students: Access to Sex-Segregated Facilities and Programs
- Marriage and Divorce
- Child Support After LGBQ Divorce/Separation
- Colorado Designated Beneficiary
- Commitment Ceremonies
- Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
- Divorce and Relationship Dissolution, Psychological Experience of
- Divorce and Separation, Historical Perspective on
- Divorce, Legal Issues in
- Freedom to Marry (and Other Marriage Equality Organizations)
- Legal Consciousness
- Legal Recognition of Nonmarital Same-Sex Relationships
- Living Arrangements of Children After LGBQ Divorce/Separation
- Long-Term Same-Sex Couples
- Marriage Equality, Effects on Well-Being and Relationships
- Marriage Equality, Landmark Court Decisions
- Marriage, Reasons for and Against
- Mixed-Orientation Marriages
- Naming Practices
- Partners in (Gender) Transition
- Powers of Attorney
- Relationships With Former Spouses
- Same-Sex Weddings
- Wills and Trusts
- Parenting
- Adoption, Legal Considerations in
- Adoption, Openness in
- Adults with LGBQ Parents
- Caregiving
- Child Support After LGBQ Divorce/Separation
- Children With LGBQ Parents, Academic Outcomes
- Children With LGBQ Parents, Female/Male Role Models
- Children With LGBQ Parents, Gender Development and Identity
- Children With LGBQ Parents, Psychosocial Outcomes
- Children With LGBQ Parents, Sexual Identity
- Children With LGBQ Parents, Stigmatization
- Children With Transgender Parents, Psychosocial Outcomes
- Coparenting
- Custody and Litigation, LGBQ Parents
- Custody Issues in Transgender Parenting
- Division of Labor in LGBTQ-Parent Families
- Foster Care
- Foster Parenting
- Foster Parenting, Legal Considerations in
- Home–School Partnerships in LGBTQ-Parent Families
- Joint Adoption
- Legal Rights of Nonbiological Parents
- LGB Parenting Styles and Values
- LGBQ Parents and the Health Care System
- LGBQ Parents, Coming Out to Children
- LGBTQ Grandparenting
- LGBTQ-Parent Families With More Than Two Parents
- LGBTQ-Parent Involvement and Advocacy in Schools
- Living Arrangements of Children After LGBQ Divorce/Separation
- Multiracial LGBTQ-Parent Families
- Naming Practices
- Nonbiological, Nongestational Mother
- Nonheterosexual Children of LGBTQ Parents
- Parent Gender Transition and Intimate Relationship Changes
- Parental Well-Being
- Parent-Child Relationships
- Polyamorous Parenting
- Relationships With Families Who Share the Same Donor
- Second-Parent Adoption
- Sense of Belonging/School Climate in LGBTQ-Parent Families
- Single-Parent Adoption
- Sperm Donors’ Involvement in Children’s Lives
- Stepfamily Division of Labor and Money Management
- Stepfamily Family Functioning and Relationship Stability
- Surrogacy, Legal Considerations of
- Therapy With Children of LGBTQ Parents
- Therapy With Families During and After Parental Gender Transition
- Therapy With LGBTQ Parents
- Transgender Parents and Well-Being
- Transition to Parenthood and Parental Roles
- Transition to Parenthood for LGBTQ People
- Work-Family Interface, LGBQ Parents
- Research Methods
- “Big Data” Bias in LGBTQ Research
- Disciplinary Tensions in Studying LGBTQ Populations
- Ethical Research With Sexual and Gender Minorities
- Focus Groups
- Heterosexist Bias in Research
- Methodological Decisions by Researchers of LGBTQ Populations
- Online Surveys
- Population-Based Surveys, Collection of Data on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
- Qualitative Research
- Quantitative Research
- Research, Use of Large Datasets in
- Sampling
- Scientific Integrity, Debates About
- Social Media, Use for Recruitment
- Routes to Parenthood
- Adoption and Foster Care Discrimination
- Adoption Type
- Adoption via the Child Welfare System
- Adoption, Choices About
- Adoption, International
- Adoption, Legal Considerations in
- Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs)
- Deciding Whether to Parent
- Ethical Debates About Surrogacy
- Foster Care
- Foster Parenting
- Foster Parenting, Legal Considerations in
- Gay Sperm Donors
- Infertility and Reproductive Loss
- Intentions and Motivations to Parent
- International Surrogacy/Reproductive Outsourcing
- Joint Adoption
- Masculinity and Pregnancy
- Nonbiological, Nongestational Mother
- Second-Parent Adoption
- Self-Insemination
- Single-Parent Adoption
- Sperm Donor Selection and Race/Ethnicity
- Sperm Donor, Choosing a
- Sperm Donors, Known
- Sperm Donors, Unknown
- Surrogacy
- Surrogacy, Legal Considerations of
- Transracial Versus Inracial Adoption
- Sexuality and Intimate Relationships
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Age of Consent
- Aging, Sex, and Sexuality
- Bear Community
- Bondage, Dominance/Submission, Sadism/Masochism (BDSM)
- Butch-Femme
- Dating, Sexual-Minority Men
- Dating, Sexual-Minority Women
- Developmental Aspects of Sexuality
- Down Low
- Interracial Relationships
- Intersections Between Sex, Gender, and Sexual Identity
- Intersexuality
- Intimate Partner Violence, Female
- Intimate Partner Violence, Male
- Kink
- Leather Culture
- Lesbian “Bed Death”
- Long-Term Same-Sex Couples
- Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM)
- Mixed-Orientation Marriages
- Monogamy and Non-Monogamy
- Monosexism
- Pansexuality
- Parent Gender Transition and Intimate Relationship Changes
- Polyamorous Parenting
- Polyamory
- Pornography
- Prison Rape
- Romantic Friendships
- Sex Therapy
- Sex Work and Criminalization
- Sex Work and Prostitution, Female
- Sex Work and Prostitution, Male
- Sexology
- Sexual Addiction and Compulsions
- Sexual Agreements and Arrangements
- Sexual Attraction, Behavior, and Identity
- Sexual Compulsivity, Treatment of
- Sexual Consent
- Sexual Desire and Relationship Quality
- Sexual Education Mandates for Inclusion
- Sexual Fluidity
- Sexual Norms and Practices
- Sexual Risk-Taking
- Transgender People and Division of Labor
- Transgender Sexualities
- Youth and Dating
- Societal Institutions and LGBTQ Issues
- Adoption and Foster Care Discrimination
- Adoption, Legal Considerations in
- Bias in the Criminal Justice System
- Binational Same-Sex Couples and Families
- Biphobia
- Bullying, Legal Protections Against
- Bullying, School-Based Interventions for
- Business
- Community Climate
- Corrective Rape
- Criminal Legal System and LGBTQ People
- Custody and Litigation, LGBQ Parents
- Custody Issues in Transgender Parenting
- DADT
- Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
- Discrimination Against LGBTQ Elders
- Discrimination Against LGBTQ People by Law Enforcement
- Discrimination Against LGBTQ People in the Public Sector
- Discrimination Against LGBTQ People, Cost of
- Discrimination on the Basis of HIV/AIDS in Health Care
- Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and Public Opinion
- Education
- Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
- Foster Care
- Foster Parenting, Legal Considerations in
- Gay Exclusion in the U.S. Military: Evolution and Demise of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
- Gay Exclusion in the U.S. Military: Evolution and Demise of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
- Gender Identity Discrimination as Sex Discrimination
- Hate Crimes
- Health Care System
- Health Insurance Coverage for Transgender People, Access to
- Heteronormativity
- Heterosexism
- HIV/AIDS in Prison
- Homelessness
- Homonormativity
- Homophobia
- Housing, Protection Against Discrimination in
- Immigration
- Incarceration
- Juvenile Justice System
- Laws Banning Homosexuality and Sodomy
- Legal Consciousness
- Microaggressions
- Military and LGBTQ People
- Military and Transgender People
- Minority Stress
- Monosexism
- No Promo Homo Policies
- Nondiscrimination Protections, State and Local
- Police Officers/Law Enforcement Officials
- Policing Masculinities and Femininities
- Pornography
- Poverty
- Prison Rape
- Religion/Spirituality and LGBTQ People
- Religious Freedoms and LGBTQ Rights
- Rural and Urban Communities
- School Climate
- Schools as Heteronormative Spaces
- School-to-Prison Pipeline
- Sex Work and Criminalization
- Sexual Minorities and Violence
- Sexual Orientation Discrimination as Sex Discrimination
- Social Class
- Spatial/Social Location of LGBT Persons
- Sports, Sexual-Minority Men in
- Sports, Sexual-Minority Women in
- Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Individuals and Bathrooms
- Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth and the Legal System
- Transgender Geographies
- Transgender Inmates
- Transgender People and Violence
- Transphobia
- Violence and Victimization of Youth
- Workplace Discrimination
- Work
- Business
- Career Development and Trajectories
- Education
- Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
- Gender Transition at Work
- Health Care Plans
- Leadership
- Leisure
- LGBT Consumer Market, The
- Mentoring
- Physicians
- Police Officers/Law Enforcement Officials
- Professional Athletes
- Sports, Sexual-Minority Men in
- Sports, Sexual-Minority Women in
- Strategic Disclosure
- Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Individuals and Bathrooms
- Veterans
- Visual Arts
- Work Environments
- Work-Family Interface, LGBQ Parents
- Workplace Discrimination
- Workplace Friendships
- Workplace Policies
- Workplace Relationships
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