Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Teachings that undergird Catholic universities hold seemingly contradictory messages about affirming the dignity of LGBTQ+ people and adherence to some Catholic teachings. LGBTQ+ trainings that cultivate allyship are intended to increase individual awareness/ analysis, develop skills to support students, and align with aspects of the institutional culture and mission. Yet, there remains a paucity of research of how faculty and staff navigate what it means to act as an ally to LGBTQ+ populations. Using a multi-method exploratory design, we examined how faculty and staff at a Catholic university made meaning of their experiences attending an LGBTQ+ ally training. We utilized developing a liberatory consciousness as our conceptual framework to explore attendee learning and found that using a liberatory approach allows for a nuanced understanding of allyship.
Authors: Hugh Smeltekop, D. Chase Catalano
Institution: Virginia Tech
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411264463