‘I had a lump in my stomach’: Swedish gay and lesbian students' experiences of their time in school

Hammarlund, Kina; Sjunnesson, Sara; Tettenborn, Nina; Jomeen, Julie; Thorstensson, Stina

Abstract

Objectives: Gay and lesbian youth can experience ignorance and a lack of acknowledgement surrounding their sexual orientation during their time in school. This qualitative interview study describes how Swedish gay and lesbian students experience their secondary school years on the basis that society has heteronormative values. Methods: The data is based on eight telephone interviews with gay and lesbian young adults, aged 18–25 and was analysed using a qualitative narrative approach. Findings: The findings presented four themes: not fitting into the norm of heterosexuality, lacking confirmation of their own homosexuality, finding courage, seeing the school as a supportive or a non-supportive environment. Conclusions: A way to normalise homosexuality can be to discuss sexual development and attraction from a health-promoting perspective. Professionals working in school need to feel comfortable with issues such as sexuality in order to create a situation of confidence for the student.

Citation

Hammarlund, K., Sjunnesson, S., Tettenborn, N., Jomeen, J., & Thorstensson, S. (2017). ‘I had a lump in my stomach’: Swedish gay and lesbian students' experiences of their time in school. British Journal of School Nursing, 12(6), 284-290. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjsn.2017.12.6.284

• Acceptance Date: Jul 5, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 20, 2017
• Publication Date: Jul 2, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 17, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 23, 2018
• Journal: British journal of school nursing
• Print ISSN: 1752-2803
• Electronic ISSN: 2052-2827
• Publisher: MA Healthcare
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 284-290
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjsn.2017.12.6.284
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/453645
• Publisher URL: http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/bjsn.2017.12.6.284
• Additional Information: This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in British journal of school nursing, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/bjsn.2017.12.6.284