This Palgrave Pivot examines how LGBTQIA+ students navigate, resist, and transform the heteronormative structures of Philippine society. Drawing on interviews with sixteen LGBTQIA+ students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and sociological framework centered on gender fluidity, resistance, resilience, and solidarity, it shows how students confront homophobic bullying while building supportive networks. The book also examines how institutional ethos and student advocacy foster an inclusive, gender-affirming university environment. Offering an empirically grounded account of LGBTQIA+ exclusion and collective agency in the Global South, it contributes to debates in gender studies, sociology of education, queer studies, and Philippine studies. It will interest scholars, students, university administrators, and policymakers seeking to understand the dynamics of heteronormativity, LGBTQIA+ resistance, and the social conditions that enable inclusive educational spaces.

Vivencio O. Ballano is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila.

Nicolas T. Mallari is Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Development and Professor of the Department of Psychology at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

Alexander Prudente Jr. is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

Crisiel Mendina Lagura is a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.