1: Complexifying Positive Youth Development in the Context of an LGBTQ+ and Allied Youth Group

In the United States in 2023, legislatures continued to target LGBTQ+ youth and especially trans youth through rights-curtailing laws. These attacks relied on deeply impoverished conceptualizations of youth development. In this chapter, we articulate an alternative conceptualization of positive youth development (PYD) that is equity-oriented and centers LGBTQ+ youth. Theoretically, we build on McWilliam’s (2016) queer critique of linear progress narratives to describe learning and development and articulate three tenets that reflect commitments to LGBTQ+-affirming PYD. We ground our discussion in our experiences as adult participants and critical ethnographers in Chroma, a youth group for LGBTQ+ and allied youth aged 12–20. Importantly, “queer youth” is a diverse group, and thus situating development in a frame of LGBTQ+ youth equity highlights the limits of linear, normative, and outcome-oriented perspectives on development. We examine—and trouble—the concepts of youth leadership development and identity development in the context of Chroma in order to offer a more complex frame that is capable of political solidarity with LGBTQ+ youth. We close by discussing implications for research and practice on learning and development across contexts.