SEXUALITY & GENDER Away

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

We encourage all students to research their program of interest and its location to ensure that it aligns with their academic, professional, and personal goals. This section lists some of the factors that LGBTQIA students, transgender students, and gender nonconforming students may wish to consider. Please feel welcome to contact our office if you would like to discuss any questions or concerns you have.

LGBTQIA Climate in Program Location
Attitudes, perspectives, and laws regarding the LGBTQIA community vary around the world, including within the United States. Countries and cities may be less, more, or as supportive of the LGBTQIA community as California and specifically the Los Angeles area. Keep in mind that even in areas where progressive views are much more common, they are rarely universal. Certain neighborhoods or cities may be very supportive, while different neighborhoods or nearby cities aren’t as welcoming.

Here are some questions and points to consider:

• What is the level of LGBTQIA acceptance in the program location?

• Are there laws that support or discriminate against the LGBTQIA community?

• Are there safety concerns for LGBTQIA individuals?

• Would you have access to any medical care that you may need while studying away?

• Are there resources, organizations, or other forms of support for the LGBTQIA community?

• Note that acceptance and laws pertaining to the LGBTQIA community can vary within a country, too

Your LGBTQIA Identity While Away
Think about how out you are at home and how out you would like to be while studying away. Do you have a support system for your LGBTQIA identity at home? If so, is it important for you to also have a support system while away?

If you choose to study in a location that does not support the LGBTQIA community, are you willing to suppress that aspect of your identity? How would that impact your study abroad experience and/or your mental health? Would you prefer to choose a location that is more supportive of this aspect of your identity?

Regions that are seen as progressive in their views toward LGBTQIA people present separate, but no less challenging identity considerations. A city or country’s unique cultural foundation can lead to differences in the way locals express their sexuality or gender identity. For example, someone who grew up in a culture where their gender or sexual identity was presented as “normal” may not hold these anchors as central to their identity as someone who has felt marginalized for much of their life and/or is a committed advocate for LGBTQIA rights. Your different lived experience may also mean you are more attuned to ways in which marginalization occurs within your new community than locals who are more adapted to the area’s cultural norms.

Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Identity
Here are some questions and points to consider in addition to those listed under “LGBTQIA Climate in Program Location”:

• What is the level of trans and gender nonconforming acceptance in the program location?

• Are there additional safety concerns for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals?

• Access to gender-neutral bathrooms in program location

• Access to hormones and other medical care in program location

• Obtaining a passport that matches your gender identity

Housing
Housing arrangements vary by program. In ArtCenter faculty-led programs, students typically live in shared rooms with fellow program participants. If you have any concerns about housing that are related to your sexuality and/or gender identity, please indicate those concerns on your Housing Questionnaire. You also have the option of listing up to three preferred roommates on your questionnaire. If you and another participant mutually request each other as roommates, we will do our best to place you together. You can live with a student of any gender.

In ArtCenter exchange programs, students may have roommates, but typically have their own space in their housing unit as well.

Relationships
Do some research on the culture, behavioral norms, and laws pertaining to same-sex relationships in your program location. Depending on these factors, displaying affection for a same-sex partner may or may not put your safety at risk.

Coming Home
If you will be out for the first time while studying away, how will that impact your experience returning home and to ArtCenter?

Know that there are resources available to help you as you re-acclimate to life at ArtCenter. To start, you could consider scheduling a mental health counseling appointment.

Scholarships

• ArtCenter Diversity & Access Travel Stipend Award (DATSA)

• Rainbow Scholarship

• Diversity Abroad Overseas Ambassador Scholarship

• Point Foundation