How the COVID-19 pandemic impacts LGBTQ students
Photo by Adam Nieścioruk is licensed under CCO
The students interviewed have asked to remain anonymous.
The COVID-19 outbreak has had an impact on many LGBTQ students, from not being able to be fully themselves while staying with family to losing access to vital resources. Financially, mentally, medically, and emotionally, LGBTQ students are going through a period of difficulty. University of Virginia students were urged to leave Grounds if they could to stop the spread of COVID-19, and some students had to weigh whether leaving UVA to stay with family would impact their mental health.
For students living in on-Grounds housing, the decision of whether they could stay was in the hands of the University. In a March 17 email sent from UVA President Jim Ryan, the language on whether students facing less-than-tolerant home situations could stay was ambiguous. The email gave the following criteria for who could stay in on-Grounds housing:
1) International students who are unable to secure travel to return home;
2) Persons for whom their on-Grounds residence is their only home (including graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff for whom their on-Grounds residence is their permanent address); or
3) Students for whom traveling home would present a severe health or safety risk.
One student expressed concern that it was unclear in this statement whether LGBTQ students facing uncomfortable, but not necessarily abusive, home situations, would meet these standards. In a request for comment on whether LGBTQ students facing intolerant homes meet these standards, University Spokesman Brian Coy said that this scenario “would meet [the University’s] criteria for permitting a student to remain on Grounds.”
Alex Winkowski, program coordinator for LGBTQ student services at UVA, also confirmed that some LGBTQ students stayed on grounds. “This might be due to an unwelcoming/unsafe home environment or not having another home to return to at all. Housing and Residence Life has been working with students in on-Grounds housing to ensure that students in these situations have access to their housing through the remainder of the school year.”
Of LGBTQ students who made the difficult choice to return home to less than accepting families, one UVA student simply stated: “My life is a lot less queer than I would like it to be.”
The decision to stay at school or go home to family is not always an easy one. A fourth year at UVA who identifies as queer is struggling with being back in the closet while at home. The student formerly identified as a cisgender queer man, but they have recently been questioning their gender identity. “My support network is mostly my fellow college students at UVA. I’m in the closet to my family, except two siblings. And in recent months, I’ve been questioning my gender, which I only had the chance to tell one close friend before we were sent home. I live off-grounds, but I would have been alone in my apartment if I stayed, and my family really wanted me to come home, so I packed up and left UVA, despite knowing I was going back into a conservative home where I do not feel I can come out.”
Being alone and in the closet at home has been an emotional challenge for the student. Having a chosen family is an important source of emotional support for LGBTQ people who may not feel fully accepted by those who raised them. “I think I am falling back into some depressive habits. Focusing on schoolwork has been a real challenge. I do love my family a lot, and I enjoy spending time with them in manageable doses. I just miss my chosen family. I feel like I can be myself around my UVA friends, whereas at home, I know I have to hide who I am.”
“On top of all of this, I was looking forward to securing a job and moving out after graduation. With this pandemic, and with many in the field I am interested in going through layoffs, much less hiring, it is completely uncertain when I will be independent enough to have my own place and be out as both queer and possibly nonbinary.”
Living a queer life while staying with family can come with compromises. “I went on a date over FaceTime with a man, and I was so worried about being overheard that I went into the car so I could speak freely, which was quite awkward to explain to my date. All of this sneaking around feels like I am regressing to who I was in high school and all of the growth I’ve experienced has vanished.”
Another student noted how even being out at home has brought challenges for them. “The one thing that has been personally difficult, and always is coming home, is the code switching. When I’m at school I don’t feel like I have to filter myself as much. At home it’s definitely a lot different.” The student noted that the lack of access to queer spaces in their home town and the inability to see queer friends during social distancing is a sad absence.
A student enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill has had difficulty at home, having come out at the start of social distancing. “Coming home… from UNC-Chapel Hill, and driving my girlfriend, meant that I had to come out to my parents sooner than I hoped, and it hasn’t gone too well. It’s been a tense time at home since.” She noted that since her girlfriend has since gone home as well, it is hard not knowing when she can see her again or get out of her stressful home situation. On top of that, being away from her chosen family at school has been an added source of difficulty.
A third UVA student has faced intolerance from his family as well. “I received a strange, and not-so-positive text from my grandfather saying he wanted to talk on the phone a few days ago. I’d come to realize it was because my parents had outed me to him, and he had some pretty pointed questions about my ‘chosen lifestyle.’ While I’m fortunate to have the option to remain quarantined at my off-Grounds apartment away from a less welcoming environment, this moment was a reminder that the more quotidian aspects of queer existence remain just as present during a global pandemic.”
“Overall, many of the trans/queer students I’ve spoken with have expressed feeling anxious and overwhelmed,” said Alex Winkowski. “The pandemic has significantly impacted LGBTQ+ students’ community connections. We know that LGBTQ+ folx experience mental health concerns at rates higher than their cisgender/heterosexual peers, and in this era of social distancing, it is important to provide opportunities to come together and support one another.”
Beyond impacting LGBTQ students, LGBTQ people are in general more at risk, medically and financially, during the COVID-19 crisis. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, homeless centers across the US have closed, and LGBTQ people, especially LGBTQ youth, are particularly vulnerable to homelessness. These closures can be devastating for homeless people who rely on shelters for essential healthcare like HIV treatment. LGBTQ people experience higher rates of HIV and cancer, which can compromise the immune system and put them at greater risk for the virus.
LGBTQ organizing has faced challenges as well, an important way for LGBTQ people to come together in mutual support and advocate for their rights and visibility. Time reports that hundreds of global Pride events have been cancelled or postponed.
“The crisis has posed challenging financial situations for many students,” said Alex Winkowski. “I’ve been working closely with the Office of the Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer (VPSA) to identify those in need and connect them with financial resources—the support from VPSA is ongoing.”
UVA’s LGBTQ center, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the Women’s Center, and other University programs continue to provide virtual resources for UVA students. “The LGBTQ Center and partners across Grounds have been hosting virtual programming over the past month. For example, the LGBTQ Center has organized programs with CAPS focused on maintaining LGBTQ+ connections, self-care, and academic success. CAPS has also been organizing coffee hours and continuing individual counseling sessions through remote appointments.”
Students have reached out to Alex, expressing that Zoom meetings and mass emails are already taking up much of the remote University experience, so they have started to reach out to students individually. “I’ve found that the most impactful way to reach out and provide support for trans/queer students has been to make personal, one-on-one connections. Myself and the LGBTQ Center Interns have been texting and e-mailing individual students throughout the past month, and these messages have allowed us to identify students who are in need and let them know that we are here to support them.”
On May 14, the LGBTQ center held their annual Lavender Graduation virtually, which Alex added aims to "recognize the contributions and achievements of graduating LGBTQ+ students.”