Measuring Systemic Oppression: Possibilities and (Re)Imaginings for Measuring Cisheterosexism in Education Research

Abstract

Several disciplines have developed quantitative measures for systemic oppression against queer and trans people, including psychology, criminal justice, and gender and sexuality studies. These instruments can have wide-ranging influence on other fields, including higher education research. To explore how these studies operationalize queer and trans oppression, we conducted a systematic review of 33 survey instruments across seven disciplines, coding them within an ecological framework. Results revealed lingering challenges for accurate measurement of queer and trans oppression and have significant implications on the use of inflationary and problematic language in quantitative instruments. We offer implications for those in education who may adapt similar instruments, in the hopes that scholars and practitioners are mindful to the scope of queer and trans oppression.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).