LGBTQ communication studies

LGBTQ+ communication studies (also called queer communication studies, transgender communication studies) is a field of research and teaching in the discipline of communication studies that examines the communication interactions, experiences, and organizing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other queer, two-spirit, gender non-conforming, intersex, and asexual people.

While queer and trans communication research is presented across all division and interests groups at the National Communication Association (the national organization for communication studies), two sections are dedicated to LGBTQ+ communication studies scholarship, teaching, and advocacy: (1) the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Communication Studies (GLBTQ) Division, which focuses on queer and trans communication research across the discipline and globe, and (2) the Caucus on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Concerns, which focuses on LGBTQ+ advocacy, inclusion, and community at the national conference and beyond.

In 2001, the first bibliography that reviewed early histories of the field of LGBTQ+ communication studies was presented by Frederick C. Corey, Ralph R. Smith, and Thomas K. Nakayama in November 2021 at the National Communication Association in Atlanta, GA. In 2003, Gust A. Yep, Karen E. Lovaas, and John P. Elia edited a book providing a historical overview of queer theory in communication studies, and they published a history of queer communication studies and a vision for the field. In 2024, a comprehensive, international, peer-reviewed encyclopedia edited by Isaac West called The Oxford Encyclopedia of Queer Studies and Communication was published that provides 72 essays on areas of LGBTQ+ communication studies across areas, topics, regions, and frameworks.