Their Research
Queering The Gap
We aim to Queer the Gap in research and in societal knowledge and inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals. Queering the gap was created to bridge the gap between cisgender, straight individuals, and the LGBTQ+ community and even within the LGBTQ+ community. We aim to create a space to learn and better understand each other. Their Research offers research consulting and LGBTQ+ inclusivity training.
With everything going on in the U.S., from attacks on trans youth to banning Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the real history of the U.S. in schools, to racism as a public health emergency, to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, now it is especially important to stand and work together. Current policies, practices, and laws affect the LGBTQ+ community as it includes people of all races/ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, capacities for pregnancy, (dis)abilities, citizenship status, cultures, ages, socioeconomic status, and so on. The LGBTQ+ community is not a monolith; in our research and trainings, we consider and acknowledge intersecting identities.
We also aim to bridge the gap in general knowledge within our trainings, especially with the fluidity of language. The language we used 30 years ago or even 10 years ago is not the same language as we use today. Our goal is to start with some basic definitions of terms like sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to ensure we are all on the same page to have meaningful conversations to better understand each other.
Meet the Founder
Laur Rubino, PhD
(they/them/theirs)
Founder & Executive Director
Dr. Laur Rubino received their Ph.D. at the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati, received their M.S. degree in criminal justice, B.A. in psychology, and B.S. in criminal justice from Wayne State University (WSU). Their research focuses on inequities in the criminal/ juvenile legal system, voting rights of individuals in the legal system, program evaluation, wrongful convictions, racial/ethnic disparities, LGBTQ+ individuals in the legal system, and how the juvenile system responds to youth with marginalized intersecting identities. They published in American Journal of Community Psychology, Crime & Delinquency, Feminist Criminology, and Women & Criminal Justice among others. Currently, Dr. Rubino is a part-time professor at WSU in the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, as well as the Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies Department due to their passion of education and their drive to challenge students to think about concepts from a variety of perspectives. Dr. Rubino is also a co-founder of Voting Rights Now (VRN), an organization aimed to promote and uphold voting rights for people currently and formerly involved in the criminal legal system. Further, they worked on policy analysis across state-level laws and juvenile court guidelines, and they are involved in community-engaged activism on issues such as social and racial justice, voting rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.