The sexual assault of children. The catcalling and income discrimination your sister faces. The struggles your granddad has connecting emotionally. These are topics explored in gender and sexuality studies classes.
But following Florida, universities in the Lone Star State, including the University of North Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, University of Texas, and now the University of Houston (UH), where I have taught in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program for a decade, are eliminating such classroom spaces.
Starting this month, according to a surprise July 7 memo, UH will remove Introduction to Women’s Studies and Introduction to LGBT Studies as courses that students may elect to take to fulfill Texas’ “language, culture, philosophy” requirement. That means they will no longer be options in the 42-credit state-mandated core curriculum for a four-year degree, with categories ranging from communication, history, life and physical science, and creative arts. All told, UH is set to remove roughly 100 courses, including Introduction to Global Climate Change and Black Liberation Theology.
At UH, the introductory courses in gender and sexuality are popular: 700 students enroll each semester, with business, education, pre-med, psychology, and other majors represented. Students, for example, might learn that some interpretations of the Bible (the word “homosexuality” first entered the collection of ancient texts we call the Bible in 1946) find no conflict with some women marrying another woman and some men marrying another man. Along with all classes, these courses provide a breadth of foundational knowledge and prepare students to engage civically, professionally, and personally.
An important value of being in the core is that it gives students a kind of permission to embrace curiosity and explore various subjects. Removing important classes sends a message that studying such is inappropriate. And if introductory gender and sexuality classes no longer count toward graduation requirements, enrollment will plummet. The reason UH is making this change isn’t because the classes fail to provide meaningful education. It’s because UH has overinterpreted current law, as have other universities across Texas.
Institutions especially point to Senate Bill 37. Enacted in 2025, the law prohibits faculty senates, creates a state-level office where people can file complaints if they believe a university has violated state law, and shifts control of the curriculum from educators to the university’s board of regents. Regents at public universities in Texas are appointed by the governor, currently Republican Greg Abbott, for their economic and political clout. They are not educators. Because draft versions of SB 37 included language that would have prohibited conversations about sex and race and because it’s anticipated that lawmakers will resurrect such restrictions in the coming session, administrators hope that anticipatory obedience will satisfy a Texas Legislature that is often hostile toward education.
This all flies against what our state celebrates: small government and personal freedom. We say that people should be able to form their own opinions. This right to form one’s own opinion should extend to a student’s opinion that studying gender and sexuality, variables that impact everyone, is worth their investment. And while some are quick to judge the younger generations as being coddled and sensitive, these same people want to censor conversations about gender and sexuality.
Testimonial data supports that gender and sexuality studies courses are impactful. On an anonymous evaluation for my Introduction to LGBT Studies class an enrollee shared, “Students felt safe sharing their identities, experiences, and perspectives. The course offered a strong foundation in LGBTQ history, theory, and contemporary issues. … Overall, the class created a space that was intellectually engaging, socially aware, and personally meaningful.”
Gracie Rivera, who is now a UH alumni in graduate school studying library science, wrote to me sharing: “As a Latina woman, Introduction to Women’s Studies, Introduction to LGBT Studies, and Intersectionalities and Disability Studies gave me the confidence to advocate for myself—including successfully negotiating a $4 per hour raise at work and helping close my gender pay gap.”
After teaching 73 class sections of Introduction to Women’s Studies and Introduction to LGBT Studies, I can attest that they are life changing for students and professors alike. Until recently when some politicians started targeting transgender people and ignoring the complexities of biology, these classroom spaces weren’t controversial. These classes encourage students to be who they want to be, whether that’s having children, modifying their body with tattoos, or striving to be the first woman president.
Andrew Joseph Pegoda, Ph.D. teaches at the University of Houston and is a member of the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. This op-ed reflects Pegoda’s ideas as a private individual.
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