1043290

research-article2021
JARXXX10.1177/07435584211043290Journal of Adolescent ResearchCederved et al.

Article
Journal of Adolescent Research

A Clash of Sexual
2024, Vol. 39(1) 3­–29
© The Author(s) 2021

Gender Norms and Article reuse guidelines:

Understandings: A sagepub.com/journals-permissions
https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584211043290
DOI: 10.1177/07435584211043290

Qualitative Study of journals.sagepub.com/home/jar

Homosexual, Bisexual,
Transgender, and Queer
Adolescents’ Experiences
in Junior High Schools

Catarina Cederved1 , Stinne Glasdam2 ,

and Sigrid Stjernswärd2

Abstract
The objective of this study is to explore the inclusiveness of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents in junior high school
from the perspective of LGBTQ adolescents in Sweden. Semi-structured
in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 GBTQ adolescents aged 16 to
19. The study was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Dnr:
2019-03816). A Braun and Clark inspired thematic analysis was performed
through a theoretical lens inspired by Berger and Luckmann. The analysis
resulted in three themes: (a) a navigator among peers as friends and bullies,
(b) adults in school supported inclusion in and exclusion from the group of
peers, and (c) non-heterosexuality and non-binary gender understanding as
teaching projects in junior high school. In summary the LGBTQ adolescents
face multiple challenges related to identity development in hetero- and

1
Uppsala University, Sweden
2
Lund University, Sweden

Corresponding Author:
Catarina Cederved, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University,
SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.
Email: Catarina.Cederved@kbh.uu.se
4 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

cisnormative school environments, including adults and peers and their (re)
actions. Inclusive and exclusive strategies exercised by the self, adults, and
peers affect adolescents’ experiences of their school time. Initiatives to
increase awareness and knowledge about the LGBTQ subject in school can
lead to enhanced inclusion but also to an enhanced sense of not belonging.
Inclusive initiatives can contribute to enhanced inclusion or its opposite,
motivating further research into LGBTQ adolescents’ experiences of junior
high school from a relational perspective.

Keywords
LGBTQ youth, interview study, junior high school, inclusion, exclusion,
identity

The mental health of adolescents that are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
and queer (LGBTQ) has been the focus of many studies from Western societ-
ies during the past 20 years, and suggestions have been made on how to
improve the adolescents’ well-being (Madireddy & Madireddy, 2020; Russell
& Fish, 2016; Taylor, 2019). Adolescence is considered as the end period of
the individual’s development from child to adult, and often the adolescents
struggle to establish their identity, including their sexual and gender identity
(Erikson & Erikson, 1998). The age for coming out as homosexual has
decreased over time and is currently suggested to occur at the age of 14
(Baams et al., 2015). The period of adolescence stretches from the start of
puberty to the end of growth. The ages of 11 to 13 can be defined as pre-
adolescent and 14 to 19 as adolescent, although 19 is not necessarily the end
of adolescence (Best & Fortenberry, 2013). The period can be seen as a selec-
tive affirmation or rejection of the individual’s identity from childhood and as
society’s way to identify youth by accepting who they become (Erikson &
Erikson, 1998). School is a central part of the adolescents’ life. Not only is it
mandatory and occupies a large proportion of the person’s waking hours a
day, but it is also considered the arena where the youth can make friends and
find role models. However, school as a historic institution is run by the adult
generation and is hence influenced by this generation’s norms and beliefs
(Magnus & Lundin, 2016; Stargell et al., 2020). Even though society is rap-
idly becoming more LGBTQ-friendly through, for example, the adoption of
legislations permitting same sex marriages (Hamilton & La Diega, 2020) and
guidelines of how to perform optimal care of children and youth experiencing
gender dysphoria (The National Board of Social Services, 2021), LGBTQ
persons are still suffering from past beliefs of homosexuality seen as an
Cederved et al. 5

abnormality (Colvin et al., 2019; Katz, 2007; Roberts, 2019; Stargell et al.,
2020). Generally, adolescents who want to be acknowledged as LGBTQ
challenge society’s current norms of heteronormativity (Bosse & Chiodo,
2016). Heteronormativity marginalizes or sanctions those outside of the nor-
mative heterosexual sphere within an institution through the assumption that
privilege and power are held by heterosexuals and is therefore the norm and
ideal in society (Jackson, 2006; Magnus & Lundin, 2016). Also, cisnormativ-
ity prevails where high schools often enact heteronormative and cisgendered
traditions so that gender and sexual minority students feel less of belonging
to the school (Gannon-Rittenhouse, 2015). Society’s perception of LGBTQ
individuals can lead these individuals to reject their own identities due to
internalized homophobia (Yolaç & Meriç, 2020).
Multiple studies show that LGBTQ adolescents get bullied in school and
have poorer mental health than their peers (Eisenberg et al., 2019; Kosciw
et al., 2018; Williams, 2017). When faced with situational pressures, the ado-
lescent is more self-reliant than in earlier stages of age-development and cop-
ing strategies have become more powerful in guiding action and regulating
emotions (Rogers et al., 2017; Zimmer-Gembeck & Skinner, 2011). However,
growing up facing recurring situational pressures may have implications on
the LGBTQ youth’s sexual and gender identity development (Adegboyega
et al., 2019; Helms et al., 2014). Hobaica and colleagues (2019) show that
transgender youth experienced sex education in schools to be gendered,
insufficient, and exclusive of trans identities, resulting in a delayed under-
standing of their own identity and a need to search for more information
outside the school context. Several studies show that LGBTQ adolescents
appreciate having supportive school personnel if they are bullied in school, as
it seemed to help them cope with the situation (Day et al., 2019; Gower et al.,
2018; Marshall et al., 2015).
Adolescence can, hence, be a challenging period. As seen for young
people identifying with LGBTQ, this period can come with the added chal-
lenge of not complying with society’s norms in terms of heteronormativity
and cisnormativity. This can represent a potential threat with regard to
their identity development (Adegboyega et al., 2019) and mental health
(Russell & Fish, 2016; The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society,
2010; Williams, 2017). Internationally, research focuses on the situation
for LGBTQ adolescents in high school or college (Madireddy & Madireddy,
2020), but little to our knowledge that the situation in the junior high envi-
ronment. Within the Swedish context, every fifth person in the group of
16- to 25-year-old individuals who are homo- or bisexual report experi-
ences of physical abuse by a parent, partner, or other close adult; a figure
6 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

that was twice as big as compared with non homo- or bisexual persons in
the same age group. Furthermore, young LGBTQ individuals express that
they have been subjected to unfair treatment, bullied and experienced
threats (The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society, 2010, 2019).
However, the Swedish school curriculum establishes that no student shall
be the subject of discriminating acts due to their sexual or gender identity
and that the institution shall work for the promotion of the individual’s
well-being and development (The Swedish National Agency for Education,
2019). Research in the LGBTQ field in Sweden is scarce (Swedish
Research Council for Health, Working life and Welfare, 2019). This moti-
vates the exploration of LGBTQ adolescents’ experiences of junior high
school in a Swedish context. It seems important to increase the under-
standing of how LGBTQ adolescents experience, act, and interact in the
school environment. The current study’s aim is to explore the inclusive-
ness of LGBTQ adolescents in junior high school from the perspective of
LGBTQ adolescents in Sweden.

Method
The study was a retrospective interview study where LGBTQ adolescents
contributed with their lived experiences of junior high school within the
Swedish context. The thematic analysis was inspired by the methods of
Braun and Clarke (2006) and a theoretical lens by Berger and Luckmann
(1966).

Theoretical Framework
Berger and Luckmann’s (1966) understood “society” in terms of an ongoing
dialectical process composed of three moments of externalization, objectiva-
tion, and internalization, where socialization refers to the comprehensive and
sustained governance that leads individuals into the objective world of (sub)
society. A key concept in the current study is socialization of adolescents dur-
ing junior high school. Primary socialization occurs through individuals’
growth. Secondary socialization refers to the internalization of institutional
or institutional-based “sub-worlds,” such as junior high schools, which are
determined by the division of labor and social distribution of knowledge. An
institutional world is experienced as an objective reality, confronting indi-
viduals with undeniable facts external to the individual and persistent in their
reality. Institutions require legitimations, which permit the individuals to
interpret the reality of the institutions. New generations learn these legitima-
tions through socialization, where institutions’ transmitted knowledge sup-
plies institutionally appropriate rules of conduct, motivating the dynamics of
Cederved et al. 7

institutionalized conduct and roles to be played (Berger & Luckmann, 1966).

Individuals externalize their own being into the social world and internalize
it as a reality. The specific societal context, where the individuals are, influ-
ences their understandings of “reality” and “knowledge,” which also applies
to adolescents in understanding their sexuality and gender identities. Berger
and Luckmann (1966) showed that the structure of everyday makes sense to
the individual and gives everyday life meaning because everyday life is
apprehended as normal and self-evident. However, if the reality of everyday
life becomes problematic and the integration of what the individuals perceive
as normal and self-evident no longer holds true, their understanding of every-
day life is threatened. Human activity is subject to habitualization and
repeated actions become a pattern in individuals (Berger & Luckmann, 1966).
The current study took place in the sub-world of junior high schools
among LGBTQ adolescents. It meant that sexuality and gender identity were
at stake in the study. Berger and Luckmann (1966) show that human sexual-
ity and gender constructions are socially controlled by its institutionalization
in the course of the particular history in question. Human sexuality is
directed and structured in every particular culture. Every culture has a dis-
tinctive sexual configuration, consisting of its own specialized patterns of
sexual conduct and assumptions in the sexual area. The relativity of these
configurations indicates that human sexuality and gender are the products of
socio-cultural formations rather than of a biologically fixed human nature
(Berger & Luckmann, 1966).

Recruitment
The sample consists of 10 LGBTQ adolescents who met the inclusion crite-
ria. Inclusion criteria to participate were identifying the self as LGBTQ, aged
16 to 20 at the time of interview, no longer a student at junior high school,
willing to talk about school experiences, and able to speak and understand
Swedish. Exclusion criteria were not having attended a school in Sweden
during Grades 7 to 9.
To get a variety of adolescents, the researcher reached out to four medium
to large cities located in different areas of Sweden. Multiple channels were
used for recruitment. Flyers and posters about the study were distributed in
LGBTQ venues for adolescents in three cities after consent had been given
by their respective managers. In addition, at two of the venues, verbal infor-
mation was given about the study. To display posters about the study at
senior high schools, six principals and the head of the student health care in
three cities were approached. The student health care and one principal
8 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

consented, resulting in the display of posters in two cities, in six different

schools. Six adolescents were recruited through the informational meetings
given at venues and five were recruited through the poster display. However,
one adolescent withdrew due to disease. The participants were 16 to 19
years old, with a mean age of 17.5. Before every interview, the researcher
informed the participants in more depth about the study. Written and oral
consent was obtained from all interviewed participants. Consent from par-
ents was not required as young people in Sweden above the age of 15 can
independently decide to participate in research studies of their own free will
(The Government of Sweden, 2019). Furthermore, this facilitated the par-
ticipation of adolescents who potentially may not yet be open with their
gender identity or sexuality in their families. No compensation was offered
to the participants.

Data Collection
Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2019, eight face-to-face and
two with IP telephony (Skype). The interviews were supported by an inter-
view guide, which was first tested in a pilot interview. The pilot interview
was included in the analysis and one question was added, tapping into the
participants’ well-being and sense of safety during high school. The inter-
view guide consisted of questions about the adolescents’ experiences of
junior high school, of the school climate in relation to the LGBTQ subject,
and of their contact with the school nurse and other adults who could be
potential confidants. The first author and interviewer (CC) had knowledge
about children and school environments through her former employment as a
school nurse for 8 years. The interviews lasted between 17 and 44 minutes.
The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Analysis Strategy
The latent, thematic analysis was methodically inspired by Braun and Clarke
(2006, 2021) and theoretically inspired by Berger and Luckmann’s (1966)
theory of reality as a social construction. The empirical material was read
several times to get an overall picture and thorough understanding of its con-
tent, facilitating familiarization with the material. Next, the empirical mate-
rial was sorted through a process where the researchers used questions to
break down and reduce the empirical material and to code and reorganize the
contents in accordance with the article’s aim. The analytical questions were
inspired by Berger and Luckmann’s (1966) theory of reality as a social con-
struction, asking what individuals said about
Cederved et al. 9

•• The social norms of sexuality and gender identity,

•• Inclusion strategies of LGBTQ adolescents in junior high schools at an
individual and a group level,
•• Exclusion strategies of LGBTQ adolescents in junior high schools at
an individual and a group level, and
•• Socialization of the self and others related to sexuality and gender
identity.

Next, initial themes were constructed based on the coded material, based
on similarities and differences of the coded material, and with similar codes
being constructed into themes that answered the study’s aim. The themes
were then reviewed and further developed in a consensual process of analysis
among the authors, with the authors going back and forth between the con-
structed themes and the empirical data in this analysis process to make sure
that the themes appropriately reflected the empirical material, and that empir-
ical material answering the study’s aim was covered by the constructed
themes. The authors have handled their preconceptions through active dis-
cussions throughout the data collection and analysis processes. The use of a
theoretical lens for the analysis was also a way of lifting the authors’ preun-
derstanding to an analytical level. All researchers commonly agreed upon the
chosen analytical strategy and initially carried out the described steps sepa-
rately, and then co-jointly, including ongoing discussions along the process
and comparisons of their constructions with constant focus on and guidance
by the theoretical framework. In that way, the three themes were refined,
defined, and named: “A navigator among peers as friends and bullies,”
“Adults in school supported inclusion in and exclusion from the group of
peers,” and “Non-heterosexuality and non-binary gender understanding as
teaching projects in junior high school.” Quotes were used to illustrate the
findings and enhance transparency of the analysis process and the research-
ers’ interpretations of the empirical material. All quotes were translated into
English by the researchers.

Ethical Considerations
The study followed the ethical principles of the declaration of Helsinki
(World Medical Association, 2000). The study was approved by the Swedish
Ethical Review Authority (Dnr: 2019-03816). All participants signed an
informed consent form prior to the interviews. The participants can be con-
sidered a vulnerable group, both because they are children (Bracken-Roche
et al., 2017), and because they belong to a sexual minority group in society
(Salway et al., 2021), which is why it was of utmost importance to protect
10 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

Table 1. The Adolescents’ Self-Presentation.

LGBTQ Preferred pronoun

Bisexual She
Bisexual, transgender He/they
Bisexual She
Lesbian She
Gay, transgender He
Bisexual, queer They/any
Lesbian She
Bisexual She
Bisexual She
Bisexual, transgender They/he

Note. LGBTQ = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer.

the participants from being identified through the findings’ presentation.

Therefore, quotations from the interviews have been anonymized.

Findings
A Navigator Among Peers as Friends and Bullies
The adolescents in the study regard themselves as homosexual, bisexual,
transgender, and/or queer. The adolescents presented themselves with the
pronoun related to their assigned sex (she/he), others introduced themselves
with pronouns typically associated with gender, using she/he, any, and they
(see Table 1).
In that way, the adolescents challenged the common norm understanding
that a male person (sex) is called “he” and a female person (sex) is called
“she.” They risked disturbing the order of sexual understanding in society
and thereby, they risked to challenge this order in junior high school among
peers and teachers. They introduced a distinctive sexual understanding with
specialized patterns of sexual conduct and assumptions in a teenagers’
environment:

I have been part of the LGBTQ community since I was maybe 13-14 years old.
I came out first as bisexual, then as pansexual and lastly as lesbian, [laughter]
it’s been a pretty long journey. (Adolescent 4)

The teenagers were in fact in the process of finding an identity and defining
their own sexuality.
Cederved et al. 11

The adolescents knew the risk of being excluded from the group of peers
in junior high school due to their sexual orientation or their gender expres-
sion. They tried to behave in ways that supported an inclusion in the group. It
seemed significant to fit the heterosexual and cis norm and try to adapt to
how their peers at school dressed and/or behaved. It made it difficult to stand
up for what one believed in. Some adolescents stopped airing their opinions
in an attempt to deflect others’ attention to the self. It was thus difficult to go
against the students’ primary socialization into an internalized heterosexual
norm. The adolescents found that their peers regarded them as having a dif-
ferent gender expression or sexuality than the majority of peers, for instance,
based on the clothes they chose to wear, although they did not intend to look
different. The adolescents thus voiced a balance act, where they had to nego-
tiate their way forward while considering both the environment’s actual
norms and their own, perceived and developing gender identity and sexual
orientation. The tension between the two could ignite a sense of exclusion,
while simultaneously searching for a sense of belonging and inclusion among
their peers.

It was a lot that people got shunned for, well for how they dressed, how they
acted, what pronouns they wanted to use and, if you were the least bit different
it became quite difficult. (Adolescent 4)

Some adolescents had been excluded from the peers’ community and bullied
to such an extent that they had changed school or class as a way to actively
address and change their situation. Overall, the adolescents experienced sev-
eral peers’ attempts at resocialization or renormalization, which unfolded as
(attempts at) bullying, both at school and on the internet.

It was noticeable that they excluded you. Sometimes it was the things they said,
but the majority only said it after school, online. (Adolescent 6)

The adolescents were outsiders in the sub-universe of junior high schools.

However, they did not want to give their peers the right to harass them for
who they were or to use it against them.

I knew [that I am lesbian], but I didn’t want to endorse what they said about me,
I didn’t want them to have anything on me that I didn’t feel comfortable with
sharing with them. (Adolescent 7)

The experienced exclusion strategies made it hard for the adolescents to

accept themselves for who they were. Some of them reacted with sadness, a
sense of alienation and resignation, and physical and/or mental symptoms.
12 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

During eighth and ninth grade, I felt really bad. . . . There was online hatred,
and looks, really obvious looks that tell that they question you. (Adolescent 6)

They withdrew from the social community in junior high school, and in
that way, they supported the exclusion processes themselves. The adoles-
cents expressed a social alienation from their peers at school. They
regarded themselves as excluded from the peer group just because they
were LGBTQ persons. The adolescents’ experiences thus led to a double
sense of exclusion, both from the peers and from the self, by “rejecting”
their true identity or delaying its acceptance. Not adapting to the norm
represented a threat in terms of exclusion from the group, while an adapta-
tion to the norm represented a threat to the adolescents’ acceptance of their
true identity.

We were just scattered parts, like a piece from a child’s jigsaw puzzle that had
been placed in a puzzle of a thousand pieces where it doesn’t belong.
(Adolescent 6)

The adolescents knew that they had a different sexual orientation or gender
identity than other peers. They had only a few friends. However, the adoles-
cents found that friends were important to share interests and discuss matters
of importance in a nonjudgmental manner.

Through junior high I only had one friend and like, just that time, I didn’t feel
like she supported me, but she did later when I talked to her about it.
(Adolescent 1)

Some friends stood up for the LGBTQ adolescents. While doing this, poten-
tial latent conflicts regarding gender and sexual orientation were illuminated,
which could further reinforce a sense of exclusion.

We started talking about the LGBTQ subject and he [peer] said that he was kind
of neutral. He said something in the way of “I wouldn’t want to be that myself,
but people can do whatever they want.” For me, it was enough. [. . .] Then
comes my hetero friend, who is really an activist [. . .] and she thought that
being neutral was not enough [. . .] she started making this a really big political
issue that we had to discuss right there and then [. . .] which made things much
worse. (Adolescent 3)

Nevertheless, even among friends, the adolescents could feel “different”

because the friends also had a hard time understanding what it meant to be
a LGBTQ person if they were not LGBTQ persons themselves. Yet, the
Cederved et al. 13

adolescents demanded to be included among the insiders as an outsider and

from the premise of the outsider.

Like very very weird, like it is a joke, it was not like ‘Yuk it’s disgusting,’ but
people were still like God this is strange. [when discussing homosexuality]
(Adolescent 7)

Finding friends who were LGBTQ individuals themselves was expressed as

the easiest way to socialize and get a feeling of belonging. Experiencing a
sense of inclusion thus seemed to be dependent not only on having friends but
on having friends that could truly grasp the meaning of identifying as being
LGBTQ. Similar others shared the same gendered or sexual framework of
understanding and belonged to the same sub-culture in junior high school
and, by extension, also in society. Friends who themselves had gone through
a process of resocialization toward a non-normative identification were thus
experienced as more supportive.

After being in the closet for a really long time and being really nervous and
sad because of the school I came from, then I suddenly became really
energetic and super enthusiastic about actually finding people who are like
me. (Adolescent 3)

Having friends was a way for the adolescents to demonstrate their legitimate
inclusion in the group, toward themselves, and toward the peers who sought
to exclude them.

Adults in School Supported Inclusion in and Exclusion From the

Group of Peers
The adolescents expected the adults at their schools to act as helpers in their
inclusion process in the group. For instance, the adolescents expected the
teachers to (re)act immediately when they were bullied by peers, such as
when LGBTQ-related terms or degrading words were used as insults. The
adolescents thus placed the responsibility for successful school days in terms
of being equal and included members in the peer group on the adults in their
respective schools. From the adolescents’ perspective, some teachers ignored
excluding behaviors toward the LBGTQ adolescents:

They [the other adolescents] could make jokes about that people were lesbian
or . . . gay, but the teachers didn’t say anything, and then I said that you can’t
say that, it’s really bad. (Adolescent 8)
14 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

He [the principal] walked around and played guitar and stuff and that is nice,
but not right when people have it tough and are harassed or bullied.
(Adolescent 3)

Other teachers depreciated the students’ experiences of being bullied, and

some of the teachers did not have an inclusive behavior at all, from the per-
spective of adolescents:

It was about these anonymous messages. I raised the issue with my teacher
because I noticed that people were writing during class: “what the hell are you
wearing today?!.” And there was nobody else there, other than people from my
class. And the reply I got [from the teacher] was that, no it is just someone who
is joking with you. (Adolescent 4)

We had a locker room for girls, one for boys, and one for like whomever but
then some teachers commented; why should we have that? (Adolescent 1)

The adolescents expected the adults to oppose excluding behavior from fel-
low students and actions that the adolescents deemed as unacceptable. Lack
of (re)action from school personnel was in that way associated with silent
support of peers’ exclusion strategies or as an excluding strategy. At times,
the adolescents even chose to remove themselves from a school environ-
ment experienced as harmful. After having witnessed adults in junior high
schools that ignored unjust or nonchalant treatment of students, the adoles-
cents stopped asking for help when experiencing exclusive behavior toward
them by other peers. The adolescents apprehended the teachers as ignorant
or uninterested in the LGBTQ subject, which appeared as an exclusion
mechanism in itself.

There were teachers who walked by in the corridors and heard the insults [. . .]
and those [students] were never reprimanded. (Adolescent 7)

According to some adolescents, other teachers brought up bullying that

occurred outside the classroom. This was seen as an attempt at stopping the
cultivation of exclusion strategies and at conveying acceptance, tolerance,
and inclusion in the group of peers. However, it did not change how the ado-
lescents’ peers acted or how the adolescents experienced their peers’ actions.

The teachers had an idea that students should learn, so we saw a documentary
about trans people. Peers said bluntly that [. . .] we do not think that this person
has the right to define himself. [. . .] just that day, we had a substitute teacher
who didn’t know if someone transgender was in the classroom or not, or did not
Cederved et al. 15

dare to say so, but it was really a very strong signal [. . .] afterwards, the
teachers took it up [in plenary] [. . .] but then everyone was like “we never said
that and we do not think so.” Like “We have never said such a thing, it does not
exist, it is not true.” (Adolescent 10)

However, there were also peers who resented and lamented fellow students’
actions when considered wrongful.

So I talked to one of the teachers and then she talked to the guys that had said
all that and then, the day after, one of them apologised to me. (Adolescent 1)

Some adolescents had, however, experienced teachers who made efforts to

understand what had happened when the adolescents experienced exclusive
behavior from their peers. The teachers had follow-up dialogues with these
peers, which demonstrated attempts at inclusive behavior from the teach-
ers. Experiences of a good connection with a teacher contributed to the
adolescents feeling respected, recognized, and included in the wider com-
munity of junior high school. Also, school nurses could function as media-
tors in the process of acceptance by peers and inclusion of LGBTQ persons
in the sub-universe of junior high school. An adolescent got help from the
school nurse when informing the class about the forthcoming social and
medical transition:

I was really nervous, so I thought I’d talk to the school nurse and then we could
fix it together . . . She helped a lot, she came and then we informed the class
together. (Adolescent 5)

Taken together, school personnel could both reinforce a sense of exclusion or

inclusion in the adolescents by choosing to (re)act, or not, on questionable
behavior among the students.

Non-Heterosexuality and Non-Binary Gender Understanding as

Teaching Projects in Junior High School
The adults in junior high school provided different initiatives to establish an
inclusive milieu for LGBTQ adolescents by making LGBTQ a project for
awareness raising. This implied that identifying a LGBTQ identity was
regarded as something special, that is as something that is not “normal.” A
process of resocialization of the school personnel and peers was set in motion
to widen their acceptance of what they viewed as something out of the ordi-
nary. For example, the LGBTQ subject had been brought up in association
16 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

with a LGBTQ-themed day, with a lecture by a guest speaker from an LGBTQ

community. At some schools, students themselves had been educational pro-
moters by addressing the subject within art projects, school plays, or when
informing the class about a forthcoming social and medical transition. Some
of the adolescents appreciated how teachers and student counselors had
worked with the LGBTQ subject.

The teachers are quite open to letting the students express themselves about
what they do, so it was more that LGBTQ persons included themselves . . . it
was mostly because the students pushed towards it, and anyways, well at my
school there was a very positive LBGTQ environment. (Adolescent 2)

Others expressed that there had been too little focus on the subject and that
the addressed information did not include, for them, relevant knowledge.

I remember sexual education as being inclusive in general, and we had a teacher

that was really good at teaching sexuality. However, they could also have
brought up trans. . . . Another thing I have thought about a lot is that one can be
homosexual, but it was not discussed as if anyone in the room could possibly
be [homosexual]. It was more that people in the world are [homosexual] but
they could have made it more obvious that it is common and that many are
[homosexual]. (Adolescent 10)

The adolescents rated the teaching on the LGBTQ subject as inadequate since
it mainly consisted of short statements about the meaning of the letters
LGBTQ and nothing more substantial.

They said nothing about homosexuals, or wait, they said: there are homosexuals,
bisexuals and heterosexuals, or if they said bisexuals. I don’t think so. And in
social sciences, they never brought up that there is oppression against the
LGBTQ communities. And the school nurse never brought it up when we had
the health check-up, which I think they should do. (Adolescent 8)

In addition, the contributions from invited representatives from the LGBTQ-

community were rated as of little value as the adolescents could not identify
with the guest speakers (for instance, due to differing ages and sexual identity).
The presented contents did not match the adolescents’ personal wishes, expec-
tations, or needs. For instance, one guest speaker only talked about being gay
and also said very little about gender identities in the LGBTQ communities.

We had a guest speaker coming over and he was like a crossdresser. He did not
say transsexual, but said transvestite and he like, that is what I call myself and
he was like 65. (Adolescent 7)
Cederved et al. 17

Such initiatives could be regarded as resocialization and inclusion attempts,

with the aim of promoting the LGBTQ subject in the sub-universe of junior
high schools by facilitating the internalization of a new normal among the
peers. However, such a project started and ended, and as also expressed by
some of the adolescents, it had limited effect as a stand-alone event without
continuous follow-up in everyday life at school.

Well, the LGBTQ-themed day was the only thing, otherwise the teachers never
brought it up. (Adolescent 8)

Nonetheless, some adolescents mentioned positive examples of focus on

LGBTQ teaching during classes. For instance, some students received a book
about the subject in connection with a Swedish lesson, and other teachers had
used teaching time on the subject during biology classes.

When we had biology classes, the biology teacher spent three to four lessons
solely addressing the LGBTQ subject when we had sexual education, and that
was a lot because it was like three fourths of all the lessons we had in biology
that year. (Adolescent 9)

Despite good intentions, some teachers lacked knowledge about the LGBTQ
subject from the perspective of the adolescents.

I feel that there is a big gap in what they teach regarding LGBTQ, it is lacking
in the curriculum. // It is important for somebody who is LGBTQ. But overall,
they were not bad towards LGBTQ adolescents. It was mostly that they were
ignorant. (Adolescent 2)

According to some adolescents, certain teachers reinforced the experiences

of LGBTQ persons as abnormalities by designating the LGBTQ-themed day
as a waste of time.

I don’t know exactly, but some of the teachers did not have a positive
attitude to the [LGBTQ-themed] days. Some thought that it was a waste of
time, that there were better things to do [with the time]. So there was a mix.
(Adolescent 9)

In summary, the school personnel’s attitudes, efforts, and potential contin-

ued work on the subject thus appeared to make a difference in terms of the
adolescents’ experiences of a sense of inclusion or exclusion in relation to
such initiatives. The adolescents’ thirst for enhanced knowledge in the
school environment can be interpreted as a wish to re-socialize their peers
18 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

and teachers, or at least to expand their horizons. Overall, the adolescents

expressed a wish for the subject to be addressed to a higher extent in junior
high school, partly to normalize LGBTQ persons, partly to include them in
this sub-universe on terms equal to those of cisgender and heterosexual
adolescents.

“This is homosexuality, it is nothing strange.” Think about it like that and then
you can have that statement in your head when you grow up. But I never got
that, not from school. (Adolescent 7)

School personnel could thus make a difference for the LGBTQ persons by
actively addressing the subject and contributing to all students’ knowledge
enhancement, and thereby also to a sense of inclusion and belonging rather
than exclusion in the adolescents.

Discussion
The discussion will focus on three main findings, namely how the LGBTQ
adolescents are placed in a web of inclusion and exclusion strategies in junior
high school. This often situates them in an outsider position, enforced by oth-
ers and themselves. Second, it will focus on how the overall social norms of
sexuality and gender in society are habitualized in teenagers and how this
affects the identity development process. Third, it will focus on how articula-
tions and stagings of sexual and gender minorities simultaneously can create
both openness and silence about LGBTQ. These points will be addressed
across the findings in the following discussion.

A Web of Inclusion and Exclusion Strategies

The findings show how the LGBTQ adolescents find themselves in a web of
inclusion and exclusion strategies in junior high school, through which they
are often placed in an outsider position, both by others and themselves. The
adolescents interpret their navigation in a school environment, where the per-
sonnel’s and the peers’ actions or lack of action affect the adolescents’ rela-
tion to the self and others. Such actions can contribute to both a sense of
inclusion and exclusion in the adolescents. As seen, a sensitivity to the pre-
vailing norms and a wish to belong can contribute to igniting or strengthening
a sense of alienation while in search for a gender and/or sexual identity.
Previous studies show that marginalized persons whose self-expression is
hampered can find an outlet online, among similar others (Craig & McInroy,
2014). Studies show that adolescents spend a considerable amount of time
Cederved et al. 19

with peers, and their socialization by peers becomes narrower in adulthood

(Mousavi et al., 2019; Šikić-Mićanović, 1997; Witt, 2000). Gender identities
and sexuality are not just personal markers; they are social markers. They
arise from the individuals’ relationships to other people, through primary and
secondary socialization, and depend upon social interaction and social recog-
nition (Berger & Luckmann, 1966). It means that gender identities influence
how individuals understand themselves in relation to others (Zevallos, 2014).
Identifying with a minority in terms of gender identity and/or sexual orienta-
tion, which does not represent the dominating norms in society, may be asso-
ciated with additional challenges for adolescents. At the same time, it might
challenge and/or confuse peers that are in their own process of establishing
their sexuality and gender identity. In that way, it can trigger strong emotions
and resistance stagings. Resistance or deviance from the norms means push-
ing the boundaries of one’s own and/or others’ primary and secondary social-
ization through the cultural family unit and surroundings in which they grew
up. The findings also show that the adolescents view themselves as victims of
discriminating behaviors, expecting school personnel to counteract such
behaviors. Lack of action from the adults results in feelings of alienation,
isolation, and resignation, increasing the adolescents’ vulnerability and pos-
sibly challenging their mental and social well-being, as also shown in other
studies (McDonald, 2018; Russell & Fish, 2016). Lack of and low levels of
social support have been associated with higher levels of mental health issues,
risky sexual behaviors, shame, and low self-esteem (McDonald, 2018).
Nevertheless, the adolescents also demonstrate a sense of agency, for instance,
by actively addressing situations that were experienced as challenging. The
findings thus point to mechanisms of both inclusion and exclusion that were
set in motion by the adolescents themselves, school personnel, and peers. The
adolescents wish for inclusion from an outsider’s position and by delaying an
acceptance of their true, developing sexual and gender identity, they get
caught in a double-bind. Their longing for inclusion leads them to deny or
negotiate their gender and/or sexual identity, without increasing their sense of
inclusion. As also seen in previous studies, stereotyping, criticism, and strong
reactions by friends and family can hamper such identity explorations, also
representing risk factors in terms of mental well-being (Aranmolate et al.,
2017). Nonetheless, social support can help buffer stressful experiences in
life, including struggles with mental health issues (Stjernswärd & Östman,
2011; Takizawa et al., 2006) in LGBTQ adolescents (McDonald, 2018).
While some school personnel’s and peers’ behavior contributed to a sense of
exclusion, the presence of a supportive teacher or friends helped the adoles-
cent to cope during junior high school and contributed to self-acceptance.
Befriending other LGBTQ adolescents facilitated an acceptance of their
20 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

LGBTQ identity and a sense of inclusion in these communities, corroborat-

ing previous research that also shows the value of expressing the true self in
a community of similar others, especially in marginalized individuals (Craig
& McInroy, 2014; Dym et al., 2019).

Habitualization of Norms in Society

Furthermore, the findings show that the school environment is ruled by domi-
nant norms in society pertaining to sexual and gender identity, that is a het-
eronormative and cisnormative society (Foucault, 1978; Katz, 2007). It
means that the overall social norms of sexuality and gender expressions in
society may be habitualized in teenagers. A norm that teenagers, positively or
negatively, benchmark themselves against and through which they relate
their sexuality to heterosexuality, regardless of gender identity. Deviance
from or resistance toward prevailing norms creates reactions in the environ-
ment, for instance, from school personnel and peers. Nonetheless, the transi-
tion from current norms to an identity orientation that is not in line with the
dominant norms is not free of friction (Fish & Pasley, 2015), especially if the
adolescents themselves have their primary and secondary socialization rooted
in heteronormativity and cisnormativity. The adolescents in the current study
balance between accepting their developing LGBTQ identity and avoiding
attracting attention to their identification with a sexual and gender minority,
as this makes them easy victims of bullying and unwanted attention (Jackman
et al., 2020). Simultaneously, they do not want to appear different from their
peers, and thereby, they cannot fully take on a gender or sexual identity that
differs from that of most of their peers. However, Stewart et al. (2019) show
that many adolescents are nuanced and dynamic in how they identify and
experience their developing sexuality and gender identities. Jensen et al.
(2016) show that Modern societies are characterized by increasing trends
toward projectification. There is ongoing pressure for each individual within
a crowd to, paradoxically, “stand out” from the crowd. In this process, indi-
viduals merge their private and professional persona into a single identity,
and “private” decisions such as gender identity and/or sexual orientation all
become part of the development of a unique and interesting profile. In the
current study, the LGBTQ adolescents strive to be accepted for who they are,
which could also be regarded as a projectification of their gender identity and
sexuality. The feeling of being different was hence amplified by being teen-
agers in their own quest for a sexual and gender identity. This projectifica-
tion, driven and aided by social media, acts as a form of de-marginalization
and helps with the development of an alternative profile. Therefore, the con-
struction of meaning becomes essential for adolescents. Previous research
Cederved et al. 21

has also shown that marginalized individuals can take on and try different
roles through mediated and partly anonymous communication, thereby
affecting their self-concept and increasing feelings of self-worth and accep-
tance (Dym et al., 2019), with social support showing associations with posi-
tive self-esteem (McDonald, 2018).

Re-Socialization Takes Time

The findings show that articulations and stagings of belonging to a sexual and
gender minority simultaneously can create openness and silence about
LGBTQ. The openness from the LGBTQ adolescents could be regarded as a
confession. Foucault (1978) shows how confessions have become highly val-
ued techniques for producing truth where people go about telling with the
greatest precision, whatever is most difficult to tell. The LGBTQ adolescents
described several initiatives supporting their confessions, with the aim of
enhancing knowledge on the LGBTQ subject, although their value was ques-
tioned. They expressed a wish for further education on the subject in school.
A question is whether time limited projects, such as thematic days, contribute
to increasing the sense of not belonging or if they contribute to higher degrees
of inclusion and to stretching the boundaries of prevailing norms toward
more accepting attitudes toward minorities. Such initiatives are deeply rooted
in a knowledge-behavior (cognitive-behavioral) tradition, as there is an
attempt to change behavior through knowledge and recognition of how
behavior affects acceptance of heteronormativity and cisnormativity inside
and outside the school environment. Apparently, this is a problematic starting
point as socialization processes happen over a lifetime in environments with
more or less dominant norms (Berger & Luckmann, 1966). A process of re-
socialization and re-habitualization, through which dominating views are
challenged, may take time, perhaps unless they happen in times of upheaval
(Wolfsfeld et al., 2013) or crises (Glasdam & Stjernswärd, 2021). Events can
turn the world upside down overnight and rapidly give rise to a “forced”
acceptance of a “new normal” (Glasdam & Stjernswärd, 2021). Nonetheless,
inclusive school policies have been associated with a better climate for stu-
dents, with less victimization and bullying for LGB youth, and higher grades
for transgender youth (Day et al., 2019), indicating the value of inclusion
strategies on strategic levels.

Study Limitations
Finally, the study’s methods are discussed in short. As this is a retrospective
study, there might be a reconstruction and re-interpretation of the narratives
22 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

over the years. The older participants more often described their feelings in
relation to the school environment instead of particular events, while younger
participants talked about specific events and did more rarely make a deeper
analysis of how that affected them. During adolescence, a person matures cog-
nitively and coping strategies become more evolved (Graber et al., 2010;
Zimmer-Gembeck & Skinner, 2011), which in itself may alter how events are
perceived in hindsight. During some of the interviews, when it became evident
that the participant struggled with emotions, the investigator reminded the ado-
lescents that participation was voluntary and that they were to freely choose
what to share or not. A card with numbers to helplines was prepared in advance
in case participants showed signs of needing professional help. No such signs
were displayed during the interviews and no cards thus distributed.
Quotes were included to enhance transparency and facilitate alternative
interpretations of data. The data proved to be rich even though the sample can
be considered small. The empirical data give voice to differing opinions and
experiences within the studied group. A potential limitation of this study
when assessing the findings in view of credibility is that the sample is not
evenly distributed in terms of gender identity and/or sexual orientation repre-
sented in the LGBTQ group. The participants represented a varied group in
terms of gender identity and sexual orientation. The current study did primar-
ily focus on the experiences of adolescents defining themselves as non het-
erosexual and non cisgendered. It means that the study did not focus on
differences in gender identity or sexual orientation as such among the studied
adolescents but on their experiences of junior high school from the perspec-
tive of individuals who do not identify with the dominant norms on gender
and/or sexual orientation. The literature nevertheless shows that there may be
differences in experiences of marginalization, (self) stigmatization, and social
exclusion for trans people compared with other gender identities and sexual
orientations among adolescents (Hughto et al., 2015; Reisner et al., 2016;
Takács, 2006), which motivates further research with larger samples to fur-
ther explore these issues in more depth. The literature indicates unique bio-
logical, behavioral, social, and structural contextual factors surrounding
health risks and resiliencies for transgender people, which represent areas of
exclusion and marginalization of specific importance for this population
(Hughto et al., 2015; Reisner et al., 2016).
The choice of Berger and Luckmann (1966) as a theoretical framework
and analytical lens made it possible to minimize the potential influence of the
researchers’ preconceptions on the analysis process. By moving the research-
er’s pre-understandings to a theoretical perspective, it is possible to be strin-
gent and transparent in the process of analyses with a limited disruption of the
researchers’ unconscious pre-understandings. This strengthens the study’s
Cederved et al. 23

trustworthiness. A weakness of the method is that it is based on how adoles-

cents articulate feelings, actions, and interactions in the school. The study
does not address how daily life in school is handled within the practical real-
ity. Likewise, the study does not address the perspective of the adults and
peers in the school environment, which means that it is not possible to
describe all the relational understandings of the complex reality, the actions,
and interactions in the studied context.

Conclusion
The current findings showed that LGBTQ adolescents faced multiple chal-
lenges in their school environment related to their own identity development,
the personnel’s attitudes and behavior, and those of their peers. The adoles-
cents found themselves in a web of inclusive and exclusive strategies, exer-
cised by the self and others, which affected their experiences of junior high
school. Furthermore, in a world dominated by heteronormativity and cisnor-
mativity, they struggled with developing and accepting their gender identity
and sexual orientation. They balanced between adapting to and resisting the
norm so as to be included, and not actively excluded, from the group of peers.
Like most teenagers and their fellow peers, the adolescents were in a process
of identity development, including gender and sexual identity development.
They were in a school environment ruled by the dominant heteronormative
and cisnormative norms in society pertaining to sexual and gender identity.
Deviance from or resistance toward prevailing norms creates reactions in the
environment where the LGBTQ adolescents represented a minority group.
Offensive and discriminating behaviors, lack of supportive networks and of
role models they could identify with risk enhancing the vulnerability and
sense of alienation and isolation in LGBTQ adolescents. Opposite, the ado-
lescents’ projectification of their gender identity and/or sexual orientation
support the construction of the meaning of being an LGBTQ adolescent. This
must be regarded in line with the adolescents’ wishes for more initiatives
aiming at increasing the school environment’s knowledge about the LGBTQ
subject, which could enhance people’s understanding of the subject and pre-
vent discriminating behaviors. At the same time, such initiatives could rein-
force a sense of not belonging, thus contrary to the primary goal of introducing
the subject at school.

Implications
The findings added to the body of work on how LGBTQ adolescents per-
ceived their time in school. Further studies are needed to enhance our
24 Journal of Adolescent Research 39(1)

knowledge and understanding of the LGBTQ adolescents’ situation in junior

high school through anthropological field studies of the actions and interac-
tions from relational perspectives.

Acknowledgments
The authors warmly thank all the adolescents for participating in the study and the
LGBTQ venues that, through their help, facilitated participation in the current study.

Author Contributions
Catarina Cederved: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, transcription, writ-
ing—original draft preparation, writing—review & editing, project administration.
Stinne Glasdam: conceptualization, methodology, writing—original draft preparation,
writing—review & editing. Sigrid Stjernswärd: conceptualization, methodology, writ-
ing—original draft preparation, writing—review & editing.

Data Availability Statement

The authors elect to not share data for confidentiality reasons.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.

ORCID iDs
Catarina Cederved https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7242-5559
Stinne Glasdam https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0893-3054

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Author Biographies
Catarina Cederved is a PhD student, pediatric nurse, and teaches at the master’s
level at the program for specialist nurses in child and youth health. Cederved’s
research interests are primarily health promotion, preventive care, child and adoles-
cent development, school nursing, LGBTQ issues, and child oncology.
Stinne Glasdam is associated professor and teaches at the bachelor’s, master’s, and
doctoral level, primarily in qualitative research methods and medical sociology,
where the focus areas are health care, oncology, and nursing. Glasdam’s research
interests are primarily oncology, gerontology, antibiotic resistance, COVID-19, rela-
tives, and professions. Glasdam has edited and written a number of textbooks primar-
ily for undergraduate students in health sciences and the pedagogy field.
Sigrid Stjernswärd is associated professor and teaches at the bachelor’s, master’s, and
doctoral level, primarily in qualitative research methods, e-health and psychiatry.
Stjernswärd’s research interests are primarily mental health and mental health care
interventions, family support, e-health, mindfulness and compassion, and COVID-19.