Peer-reviewed article
Intersectionality: Experiences of Gender Socialization and Racialization for Iraqi Students Resettled in the United States
Flora Cohen, Sarah Rachel Meyer, Ilana Seff, Cyril Bennouna, Carine Allaf et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study examines how Iraqi adolescents who have resettled in the United States experience gender socialization and racial identity in school settings. Using intersectionality theory, researchers analyzed interviews with Iraqi boys and girls in Texas and Virginia to understand how teachers, peers, and family interactions shape their experiences. The research highlights how schools can either reinforce or challenge inequalities faced by refugee youth from conflict-affected countries.
Key points
- School settings play a significant role in shaping gender socialization and experiences of racialization for resettled Iraqi adolescents
- Interactions with teachers, peers, and family in school contexts influence how Iraqi refugee youth develop their identities
- Schools are positioned as institutions that can either enforce or combat systemic and interpersonal inequalities
- Intersectionality framework reveals how gender and race simultaneously shape the experiences of conflict-affected youth
- Understanding these intersectional experiences is important for supporting refugee students in U.S. education systems
Limitations
As a qualitative study, findings are based on the lived experiences of participants in Texas and Virginia and may not be generalizable to all Iraqi resettled populations or other geographic contexts. The document does not provide quantitative data on the prevalence or magnitude of the experiences described.
Abstract
Individuals from conflict-affected countries, such as Iraq, face formidable challenges when they resettle in the United States. Drawing from intersectionality theory, we explore the lived experiences of adolescent boys and girls from Iraq who have resettled in Texas and Virginia. In this qualitative study, we focus on the school as an institution that is positioned to enforce, or to combat, systemic and interpersonal inequalities among young refugees, especially in terms of gender and race. Our thematic analysis identifies the ways their interactions with teachers, peers, and family in the school context have shaped the socialization of these adolescent boys and girls from Iraq. The study findings reflect the importance of understanding how education settings can affect the intersectional experiences of conflict-affected youth who have resettled in the United States.