An ethnographic exploration of adolescent homophobic language in a rural religiously-conservative high school

Abstract

Multiple qualitative and quantitative studies have investigated homophobic language and its associated correlates. However, very few studies have approached this phenomenon from an ethnographic methodology. Furthermore, no studies to date have used an ethnography to study this language in a conservative religious community. In this study, the primary researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 randomly selected males, all 12th-grade students attending a rural high school and conducted 102 hours of observations in the high school they attended. Utilizing a phenomenological hermeneutic method, a group of researchers analyzed the interviews and observations. Based on interpretations from this analysis, findings indicated that students used HL to marginalize other students; to both challenge adult authority and emulate admired adults; to get attention and assert authority by using rebellious and taboo language; to explore their sexuality and masculinity; to police sexuality and masculinity within the parameters of religious beliefs and expected roles; and to increase group cohesion. The researchers explored each of these themes and considered how adolescents both shape and are shaped by their within-group culture, their school culture, and their personal beliefs. To conclude, the researchers suggest group-based strategies for a more accepting school culture that decreases adolescents’ use of HL.

Keywords:

• Homophobia
• adolescents
• bullying
• culture
• essentialism
• masculinity
• religion
• schools rural

Conflict of interest

The researchers did not have any conflict of interest in completing the study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Benjamin M. Bailey

Benjamin M. Bailey received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Brigham Young University and completed an internship in health psychology at the George Washington University. He is currently a licensed psychologist working in Student Health Services at Utah Valley University

Melissa Allen Heath

Melissa Allen Heath is an associate professor for the department of counseling psychology and special education. She researches school-based crisis intervention, children’s grief, and bibliotherapy to address children’s social emotional needs.

Aaron P. Jackson

Aaron P. Jackson is the training director of Brigham Young University’s Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program. His current research focuses on philosophical assumptions inherent in training and psychotherapy, and their implications.

Carol Ward

Carol Ward is an associate professor in the department of Sociology. Her research interest include the reintegration of prisoner into society and the adaptation of social interventions into rural communities. Starting in 2021 she will be the editor of the journal, Rural Sociology.

Amelia Black

Amelia Black received her doctorate in counseling psychology from Brigham Young University and completed an internship in clinical psychology at the Los Angeles County jails. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at The PRACTICE, a UNLV community mental health clinic, where she develops, supervises, and provides group psychotherapy services for a diverse adult population.

Emily Cooper

Emily Cooper is a clinical social worker and clinician in Seattle Washington. She focuses on women's issues, body image, and eating disorders.

Derek Griner

Derek Griner is a licensed psychologist and holds a joint faculty appointment with Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS; 60%) and the Counseling Psychology and Special Education doctoral program (CPSE; 40%) at Brigham Young University (BYU). He is board certified in counseling psychology (ABPP) and endorsed as a certified group psychotherapist (CGP). Derek is committed to furthering knowledge surrounding diversity, has conducted clinical work and research in this domain, and received APA’s Division 17 Outstanding Contribution to Scholarship on Race & Ethnicity Award as well as APA’s Jeffrey S. Tanaka Memorial Dissertation Award in Psychology.

Kevin Shafer

Kevin Shafer is an Associate Professor in Sociology and Director of Canadian Studies at Brigham Young University. His work addresses fathering, men’s mental health, and how paternal mental health impacts father involvement and child wellbeing. He conducts this work in both the US and Canada.