Gay straight alliance logo
Home / gay topics / Gay straight alliance logo
Across the country, legislation and school policies are increasingly banning discussions of LGBTQ+ identities or limiting student clubs, making GSAs one of the few safe spaces where youth can find community and resources.
Beyond schools, GSAs influence broader culture—shaping how peers, teachers, and communities understand gender and sexuality.
Originating as Gay-Straight Alliances in the late 1980s, GSAs now serve as safe spaces in schools and community settings—including alternative schools, home school collectives, LGBTQ+ centers, and youth organizations—and as platforms for racial, gender, and educational justice.
From Gay-Straight Alliance to Genders & Sexualities Alliance, check out our press release on why we changed our name.
Why GSAs Matter
A growing body of research confirms that the presence of a GSA has a positive and lasting effect on student health, wellness, and academic performance.
They help students navigate challenges, build leadership skills, and organize for safer, more inclusive learning environments.
GSAs are especially critical as attacks on LGBTQ+ youth intensify.
TQ2S+ youth uniting for racial and gender justice
It’s Giving Tuesday!
This #GivingTuesday, We’re Calling on You TQ2S+ youth are extraordinary.
Start your own GSA today and register to join our network!
.
Young people can start or join a GSA and access resources, trainings, and community support—no school affiliation required.Feeling inspired?
GSAs can be virtual or in-person. It can also protect students from harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and improve school climates for all students in the long-term.
Schools remain one of the most important sites of cultural and social change for young people, and GSAs create spaces where TQ2S+ youth can be seen, supported, and heard.
GSA youth-rooted organizing is transforming communities, and building power for the next generation of TQ2S+ youth.
Transforming Learning Spaces
We support LGBTQ+ youth organizers across the country to take action and create change at all levels, from school-based campaigns that impact individual school districts to national days of action that unite GSAs for racial, gender, and educational justice.
Shifting Narratives
Our work elevates trans, queer, and Two-Spirit youth voices by sharing stories, challenging stereotypes, and amplifying the intergenerational lived wisdom of our people.
Resourcing Clubs
Youth Freedom Fund is one of the ways GSA youth leaders can lead their own experiments with building community-centered models. This campaign directly funds GSA clubs across the country to support student organizing, event planning, mutual aid, and community building.
Reimagining Learning
Through STAR Freedom School, we are sustaining the intergenerational learning safety net that has always existed and persists.