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Dr Olu Jenzen - empowering young LGBTQ people

Making a difference in the lives of young LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer) people is what motivates Principal Lecturer Olu Jenzen.

Online digital culture and social media are ubiquitous in young people’s lives. For many young people, the internet is completely embedded within the way they think and live and for many LGBTQ youth the internet connection is a crucial lifeline.  

Dr Olu Jenzen

Dr Olu Jenzen

To be an LGBTQ activist today takes a lot of courage. Young LGBTQ people are constantly faced with the dominant view that we have already achieved full equality for LGBTQ people in our society. So when they speak up on issues like bullying, discrimination and being excluded in the curriculum, or challenge homo, bi or trans phobia in their school or college they are often regarded as trouble makers, or as being awkward or made to feel the problem is with them. Because the school has a self-image of being inclusive, young LGBTQ people’s dissident voices are not welcome.

Olu’s research explores the conditions and changing style of LGBTQ young people’s digitalised public cultural and political production.

It is based on participant led ethnographic research with LGBTQ youth. Olu has a longstanding research collaboration with the Brighton (UK) based Allsorts Youth Project which is a community organisation that supports and empowers young people under 26 who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or unsure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

Dr Olu Jenzen has worked with young people and staff at Allsorts on a range of research projects since 2011, ranging from the charity’s use of social media to do outreach work (Jenzen and Karl 2014), co-presenting papers with youth support workers, and co-authoring with young people as in the example of the case study produced for the Creative Citizens project. Most recently she has worked with young people at Allsorts to explore what they think of activism today and what their strategies are to cope and thrive both in their online and offline lives (Jenzen 2017).

Allsorts logo painted on a fence
I’m inspired by young people and their passion for global LGBTQ rights. Their activism looks different from that of my own generation but is no less urgent. I’m very lucky to be able to have formed such a good partnership with Allsorts. As a volunteer session worker I get to give something back to young people and make sure my research  is guided by their empowerment in mind.

Inspiring others

In her next project, which is a collaboration with Professor Kate O’Riordan at the University of Sussex, and the Allsorts Youth Project, Olu is looking to investigate the challenges young LGBTQ people face in accessing Higher Education in the UK. Research has demonstrated that LGBTQ youth are at risk for stigmatizing and discriminatory experiences in schools however there is very little research and debate on how this impacts on their aspirations for the future and in particular their thinking around continuing education in post-18 study programmes. This is a SLN:COP Innovations fund project originally funded by HEFCE and part of a wider programme run by Sussex Learning Network.

Getting a youth perspective on the challenges young LGBTQ people face is going to be really important for this project and the project will foreground the young people’s voice via a set of online advocacy films produced by young people themselves and aimed at peer audiences.
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