My name is Kate Henley Averett, and I am a graduate student in Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, just beginning my second year of study. My main areas of study are in gender/sexuality and childhood/youth.
I was drawn to the study of Sociology largely by my desire to better understand the position of LGBTQ persons in our society. Why are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other gender-non conforming kids bullied in American schools in such high numbers, both in states with a good track record of LGBTQ rights and those without? Do LGBTQ people who grow up in various religious communities have different experiences of coming to terms with their sexuality and/or gender identity than those who do not? Why do some people experience great support from their families and communities when they come out, while others face resistance or ostracization? What’s the relationship between the way our society understands gender and gender roles and its overall stance on homosexuality? In other words, what I want to know is, what are the various social forces that shape LGBTQ experiences both across our country and in others?
A lot of these questions came to me as a result of my personal experiences. I grew up in a highly observant Roman Catholic family, and coming out as a queer woman was difficult for me because of the central role the Catholic Church played in shaping my worldview. Meeting other LGBTQ Catholics and hearing their stories, I came to see how aspects of my story resonated with those of others I met, while other aspects of stories I heard felt foreign to me. Trying to understand the sources of these similarities and differences led me on a path through a Master of Divinity degree and into the study of Sociology.
My interest in studying childhood also came from my personal experiences. Working for several years as a nanny for several different families, I became curious about how gender is shaped in early childhood. Some parents believe firmly that boys and girls are fundamentally different and should be treated as such, others believe that gender is something society forces upon kids and try to resist it, and plenty of others fall between these two extremes – so why do some kids from all types of these families end up being feminine girls and masculine boys, while others resist acting the way their told they “should”? What social forces are involved in the way(s) that kids experience and understand gender? What role does the family play in this process? What about media? Schools? Peer networks?
All of these questions have led me to start my research where I am today: by beginning an examination of how heteronormativity functions in early childhood. I’m hoping that the LGBTQ Parenting Study is just the beginning of a much larger project in which I can keep seeking answers to the questions above as well as new questions I haven’t even thought to ask yet. I invite you to email me with questions about my research and to keep reading to see how you can participate in this study and/or future studies.
