An academic department at the University of Texas at Austin pushes LGBT ideology on students. A university spokesman stated it is auditing classes and curriculum and that “courses in this area of study” will be reviewed as part of it.
The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, housed within the College of Liberal Arts, offers three distinct academic degrees. One is a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. They also offer both a minor and a certificate in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Sexualities (LGBTQ) Studies.
UT-Austin uploaded 31 syllabi for classes under the heading “women’s and gender studies” for the fall 2025 semester.
Of those classes, UT-Austin requires students seeking any academic degree from the department to complete an entry-level course.
One of the options for that entry-level course is Introduction to LGBTQ Studies.
Weston Richey is the instructor for the fall 2025 iteration of this course.
Per the syllabus, this class “explores concepts of gender and sexuality, race, class, religion, and nation; as well as skills in theory, history, and research methods relevant to LGBTQ studies.”
Prior to the first meeting of this entry-level class, students were required to familiarize themselves with PFLAG’s National Glossary of LGBT terminology and “be prepared to share one term you hadn’t heard before or didn’t know about.” PFLAG is a national LGBT advocacy group.
Examples of terminology that would have fulfilled this assignment include “Gender Performance Theory,” which is “the concept that people do not have inherent genders based on their biological sex” and “Transmisogynoir,” defined as “Misogyny directed against trans and gender-expansive Black women.”
Following this first classroom session, Richey assigned students readings such as “Queer Theory Revisited,” “Aye, and Gomorrah…,” “Sex in Public,” “Is the Rectum a Grave?” and “Unhappy Queers,” for the first month.
In future sessions, Richey assigned students readings such as “A Theory of Black Gay Life,” “Feminist, Queer, Crip,” “Homonationalism in Queer Times,” and “Trans, Feminism: Or, Reading Like a Depressed Transsexual.”
Should students wish to continue this course of study beyond entry level, they can choose from upper-level electives such as Latinx Legend Tripping, Queer Eastern Europe, and Black Queer Art Worlds.
Senate Bill 37 reforming university governance was passed by lawmakers this year. This reform specifically grants university boards of regents increased jurisdiction over academic minors and certificates such as those discussed above. Those provisions of the law take effect on January 1, 2026.
Lisa L. Moore is chair of UT-Austin’s Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Moore reports to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, who reports to the university’s provost and president. They ultimately report to the UT System Board of Regents.
“We are currently conducting an audit to assess the classes we teach and our overall curriculum,” a UT-Austin spokesman told Texas Scorecard. “Courses in this area of study, along with other areas of study, will be reviewed as part of this audit.”
The University of Texas at Austin is a component institution of the UT System, which is overseen by a Board of Regents appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate.
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