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How Liz Meyer’s Research and Teaching Paves the Way for LGBTQ+ Affirming Teachers, Researchers and Change-Makers

It was standing room only at the South Boulder Library, where all ages gathered for a joyful drag show organized entirely by students from Fairview High School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance.

Student organizers were inspired by a book from the Title IX book club, co-led by School Librarian Rebecca Kaplan (PhDEdu’16) and School of Education faculty member Liz Meyer (MEdu’97) as part of an outreach project designed to promote public understanding of the value of education.

Denver’s professional drag performers jumped at the chance to work with the students. The show was a testament to the power of youth-led activism and the educators and allies in their corners.

“The show was full of the imagination, audacity and vision of the young people,” said Meyer, professor in educational foundations, policy and practice.

“It’s a delicate balance because we don’t want to put all the weight on the kids to make change. I think about this idea of a snowplow—we make the path for them and clear the way for their work.”

Meyer’s teaching and research have embodied that motto. From her early scholarship on anti-LGBTQ+ harassment and bullying to her recent book, Meyer centers policies and practices that build safer, more inclusive schools for LGBTQ+ students and educators.

Her journey is deeply personal. In her first year working at a small winter sports school in upstate New York, Meyer discovered she loved teaching and had found her calling.

However, despite her contract renewal and celebrated teaching, Meyer was abruptly asked to leave at year’s end. She had written an article about supporting gay and lesbian students in a national newsletter for teachers. When the headmaster saw the article, he asked her to resign quietly. She refused and was fired.

That difficult start to her career launched Meyer’s loud, proud and purposeful academic path. She sought her master’s degree at ���ӽ紫ý. In 2003, she began her doctorate at McGill University, focusing on educational equity, queer theory and learning from teachers’ voices.

At the time, alarming studies documented high suicide rates among gay and lesbian youth, but little was known about what Meyer calls “gendered harassment” in schools. Her dissertation explored how teachers understood their responsibility to interrupt bullying and violence related to gender and sexuality.

The work was groundbreaking, though not always easy. She recalls broadening her research foci at mentors’ urging and even “dequeering” her CV when applying for faculty positions.

When she was invited to apply for the associate dean of teacher education role—the job that brought her back to ���ӽ紫ý in 2015—Meyer says it was the first time she felt hired for her expertise in LGBTQ+ equity in education rather than in spite of it.

Today, Meyer’s scholarship meets urgent needs to legally and ethically support marginalized students amid resurgent anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

Meyer and faculty colleagues Bethy Leonardi (PhDEdu’14) and Sara Staley (PhDEdu’14) are launching a new mutual aid network to support queer and trans educators in Colorado. Combined with her new book and other efforts, Meyer hopes to connect and uplift educators and allies who unabashedly affirm LGBTQ+ youth.

“Research shows that by supporting our kids for who they are—not harming or shaming them—we can create humans who are more kind, empathetic and loving,” Meyer said. “What most parents want for their kids is a world that will love them back.”

Learn more about Meyer’s work in her new book, Queer Justice at School: A Guide for Youth Activists, Allies, and Their Teachers.

by Elizabeth J. Meyer