Search Results (84)

This autoethnographic study examines my transformation as an educator teaching gender and sexuality to future helping professionals in South African higher education. Through systematic analysis of personal journals, teaching reflections, and pedagogical materials collected over 180 contact hours, I explore how innovative approaches can create collaborative learning environments in traditionally sensitive subject areas. Drawing on critical pedagogy, queer theory, and decolonizing methodologies, the research reveals three interconnected pedagogical innovations: structured vulnerability protocols that transcend traditional “safe space” models, progressive exposure pedagogy that challenges heteronormative assumptions by introducing diverse content early, and indigenous knowledge integration that positions students as knowledge co-creators. The findings demonstrate how my professional evolution from knowledge authority to learning facilitator enabled authentic engagement with diverse epistemologies while maintaining academic rigor. Students consistently contributed concepts absent from academic literature—from social media discourse about sexual identity hierarchies to traditional cultural practices—enriching collective understanding. This study addresses significant gaps in South African literature on tertiary-level sexuality education pedagogy, offering concrete strategies for implementing transformative approaches. The research contributes to autoethnographic scholarship by demonstrating how systematic reflection can generate theoretical insights about collaborative knowledge construction while acknowledging the ongoing challenges of teaching sensitive subjects within complex cultural contexts. Full article

Set against the current societal and religious contexts that Church of England schools find themselves positioned in, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Plus (LGBTQ+) teachers must navigate the contested space between their embodied identity and expectations of others. Whilst this research focuses specifically on Church of England schools in England, broader questions of belonging, purpose, and pedagogy are argued to transcend geographical and denominational boundaries. In this series of six interviews with teachers at different career stages who work, or have worked, in Church of England secondary and primary schools, we explore their lived experience of balancing their queer identity against the professional standards of teaching and the views of the school community. Five LGBTQ+ teachers and one ally were interviewed—all but one of whom hold or held senior leadership positions. Key foci for the researchers were discussions around the often-unacknowledged pressure and responsibility that teachers might feel for being a role model for the LGBTQ+ community, with particular nuances due to the Church school context, and, in particular, if the teachers felt that the school environment enabled them to be their authentic selves. An overarching concern was the extent to which LGBTQ+ teachers felt that they were able to thrive in these communities. One consideration for the authors was a hope that key messages could be shared with Diocesan Education Leaders that might enable future generations of LGBTQ+ teachers to feel that they were being appropriately supported and enabled. Full article

This article explores Truman Capote’s parodic/reconstructive exploitation of decadent aesthetics in his “Southern Gothic” novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948), as dissident self-distancing from postwar conservatism. Modernist Southern Gothic writers owe European decadent culture for their thematization of the sociocultural decay of the antebellum South and characterization of dandiacal dissidents, while often reiterating the claustrophobic mood of the patriarchal and racist society and excluding/villainizing those dandies. Critically analogizing the nationalist heteronormativity of the early-Cold War American society with the oppressive patriarchy of the South, OVOR playfully deconstructs the tragic narrative of Modernist Southern Gothic by foregrounding the reparative aspect of decadent aesthetics mainly through the pedagogic relationship between a Wildean dilettante, Randolph, and a young protagonist, Joel. Simultaneously, with the ironical self-satire against the potential authoritarianism of white bourgeois decadence, Capote democratizes decadent aesthetics as a non-normative survival method through the exposure of Randolph’s vulnerability and the parodic adaptation of his dilettantism by the non-white characters. I argue that OVOR marks the vacillating but inevitable transition from decadence to camp as a seemingly non-political but necessary survivalist strategy in the Cold War/Pre-Stonewall American society that conducts surveillance of, persecutes, and stigmatizes as “decadence” non-normative genders and sexualities. Full article

Persons with disabilities face barriers to accessing sexuality education. For those who identify as queer, these challenges are compounded by stigma, ableism, and heteronormativity, resulting in distinct and overlooked experiences. This study explored the sexuality education needs of persons with disabilities who identify as queer in Kenya—a neglected demographic—using a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through a focus group discussion with six participants and analyzed thematically. Three themes emerged: invisibility and erasure; unprepared institutions and constrained support networks; and agency and everyday resistance. Educational institutions often overlook the intersectional needs of persons with disabilities who identify as queer, leaving them without adequate tools to navigate relationships, sexuality, and rights. Support systems are often unprepared or unwilling to address these needs. Societal attitudes that desexualize disability and marginalize queerness intersect to produce compounded exclusion. Despite these challenges, participants demonstrated agency by using digital spaces and informal networks to resist exclusion. This calls for policy reforms that move beyond tokenism to address the lived realities of multiply marginalized groups. Policy reform means not only a legal or governmental shift but also a broader cultural and institutional process that creates space for recognition, protection, and participation. Full article

Certain bodily functions are generally associated with distinct sexes and genders. When it comes to intersex individuals, the gendering of certain bodily functions as male or female plays a key role in determining their sexed corporeality and self-determination of gender. The article elucidates how the protagonist Ash in Just Ash (2021) by Sol Santana is oppressed under notions of menstrunormativity due to his menstruating body. It explains how the gendering of a bodily function like menstruation as feminine plays a significant role in the medical interventions on intersex individuals and how the same norms affect intersex individuals’ own perceptions of themselves. Ash, who identifies himself as a boy, is bullied by his peers at school, and his parents impose the female sex and feminine gender identity on him because of his menstruating corporeality, all leading to Ash’s own negative perception of his body. The article also highlights the importance of degendering menstruation to include sex- and gender-diverse individuals. Full article

Background: Loneliness is both a social and a health-related problem, and among LGBT people, feelings of loneliness are often exacerbated. According to the minority stress theory, stress and loneliness can be directly related to the discrimination and stigma that are experienced over time in a heteronormative society. Exposure to social stigma causes mental health problems, stress, and loneliness, coupled with increased social and economic vulnerability. Method: The aim of this study was to conduct an exploratory analysis of homosexual men’s feelings of loneliness and their relationship with experiences of discrimination throughout their life. A qualitative methodology involving focus groups and individual interviews was utilized. Results: The results show the double or overlapping discriminations that gay men experience as a result of their age and sexual orientation and, in some cases, their HIV status, and the relationship between said discrimination and the feeling of unwanted loneliness. Exposure to such intolerance is more common among those with a reduced social network, which limits their social participation and has a negative impact on their well-being. Conclusion. The aging process of LGBT people implies a new context of intervention and research that must be addressed to prevent episodes of unwanted loneliness that negatively affect the quality of life among this demographic. Full article

Background/Objectives: Sex and gender minorities (SGMs) include individuals who do not comply with sexual binarism and heteronormative standards. They represent a high-risk population for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and potential target of an HPV vaccine offer. This study investigates SGMs’ knowledge, awareness and vaccination attitude regarding HPV. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. The target population was represented by SGMs living in Italy and using social media platforms of SGM rights associations. The study questionnaire was based on the literature and disseminated via said associations’ social media. It included items regarding knowledge and awareness, expressed as seven-point Likert scales, and questions about personal information, sexual anamnesis and vaccination attitude. Data collection started on 1 November 2023 and ended on 8 December 2023. Results: The questionnaire was answered by 177 people. Knowledge and awareness scores were generally high (45.98 ± 6.14 and 34.21 ± 4.62, respectively). Regarding attitude, 31.64% of participants reported being hesitant or refusing HPV vaccination, mainly due to prohibitive costs or low perception of the vaccine’s utility. Higher education was associated with a higher knowledge score (coeff.: 2.25; 95%CI: 0.69–3.82); likewise, a history of HPV-related lesions positively influenced the score (coeff.: 2.47; 95%CI: 0.20–4.75). The awareness score was only increased by a greater number of sexual partners (coeff.: 0.06; 95%CI: 0.01–0.11). Older age was proven to significantly increase the odd of vaccine hesitancy (OR: 1.07; 95%CI: 1.02–1.12). Conclusions: Despite a good level of knowledge and awareness, the study population manifested significant barriers to vaccination. The main ones were related to the vaccine’s cost and lack of medical information. Future efforts should focus on reinforcing vaccine offers to SGMs. Full article

This scoping review explores the patterns of heteronormativity in healthcare sectors across Africa and its impact on the health and well-being of LGBTIQ+ individuals. By analyzing publications from major academic databases, this study identifies key themes and research gaps in the discourse on LGBTIQ+ health and heteronormativity in Africa. The findings underscore the urgent need to address these heteronormative barriers in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities). Addressing heteronormativity in healthcare is essential for promoting equitable, inclusive healthcare systems and improving health outcomes for LGBTIQ+ populations across the continent. Full article

Although same-sex couples have had access to legal marriage since 2015, the current literature does not ask young adults who identify as part of the LGBTQ community about their desire to be married. Using interviews with 36 women who self-identified as queer, I find that they are more likely to desire marriage. However, an important segment is also ambivalent about legal marriage. I also find that women who want to be married are more likely to highlight the benefits of marriage, including the opportunity to resist heteronormative beliefs and practices in their marital relationships. Women who reject or are ambivalent about marriage are more likely to highlight the drawbacks of the institution. I argue that both groups of women use their emphasis on the benefits or drawbacks of marriage to resist heteroarchy and other intersecting oppressions they still face despite the legalization of same-sex marriage, without compromising their identity as queer. Full article

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) communities experience an increased risk for sexual victimization. Because these rates are reported in aggregate, little is known about the unique experiences of sexual violence among individuals with differences of sex development/intersex variations (DSD/I). The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences of sexual victimization in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with DSD/I as part of a larger qualitative study exploring experiences of minority stress, stigma, and resilience. Participants were recruited through multidisciplinary care clinics and DSD/I support groups in the United States and the Netherlands. Data on sexual experiences and sexual health were analyzed thematically, with a specific focus on reports of sexual victimization. Of the 20 participants, 25% reported experiences of sexual violence. Experiences were reported across gender identities and DSD/I diagnoses. Participants described experiences as (a) resulting from DSD/I, (b) exacerbated by DSD/I, or (c) healthcare practices experienced as sexual violence. Medicalization, early loss of (bodily) autonomy, and cisgender heteronormative reproductive societal norms were reported as possible factors associated with sexual victimization experiences. The sexual victimization of individuals with DSD/I appears prevalent and associated with specific risk factors and, therefore, deserves clinical and scientific attention. Full article

Beyond Inclusion aims to explore and revise embedded societal norms which are reproduced throughout practice. In this paper, Queer will be utilised not only to disrupt, but to divest from the cis-normative and hetero-normative standards which are often cemented by the fields within which we work. Informed by collected narratives, ethnohistory and theoretical developments in pedagogy, Beyond Inclusion will explore the multifaceted and multidisciplinary application of Queer pedagogy in order to celebrate Queer, and use Queer to celebrate all which deviates from normalcy. With the intention of empowering youth, community and educational pedagogues to feel confident in Queering their pedagogy, this paper aims to agitate systems of oppression by unusualising the usual, and usualising the unusual, by illuminating what is considered to be normal and why, and how normalcy impacts those who reside on the outskirts of hegemonic culture. Readers will be invited to mobilise Queer, in order to re-examine, reimagine and reconstruct new and Queered ways of upholding anti-oppressive practice. This research will present pragmatic actions which have been informed by questionnaires and interviews with Queer participants, and aim to improve lived experiences for young Queer people and Othered communities. This body of work emphasises negotiated practice, in that the reader will not be provided with definitive solutions, but instead be autonomised in deducing and producing their own knowledge and actions from the information presented. Full article

Research on polarization is a contested issue in itself. One key question in this context is how strongly attitude patterns must be linked to socio-structural characteristics in order to justify speaking of polarized attitudes. Moreover, evidence of an association between attitudes may reveal ways of triggering clusters of attitudes, which can then easily be turned into affective polarization by political leaders. We investigate the prevalence of different, potentially polarizing attitude patterns among social groups in four European countries (Sweden, Austria, Italy, and Poland) using data from the European Social Survey 10. We link two sets of attitudes, namely attitudes towards climate change and attitudes towards non-heteronormative ways of life, to build four ideational types of attitude patterns. Our findings point to some associations between the two scales, which leads us to examine influence factors by Multinomial regression in the next step. High education of respondents and being female raise awareness for climate change and increase tolerance for non-heteronormative ways of life. Moreover, we find some evidence of a rural-urban divide in that residents of urban areas seem to be more open towards non-heteronormative ways of life. We argue that the analysis of mixed attitude types can be especially instructive since country effects and personal experience prove to be influential in these cases. It is precisely these cases that can tell us much about means of tackling polarization. Full article

This article, Queering Militarism in Israeli Photography, examines Adi Nes’s Soldiers series, a body of work that interrogates the intersections of queerness, militarism, and nationalism within Israeli society. By employing a distinctive “military circus” aesthetic, Nes challenges the rigid heteronormative and hyper-masculine archetypes embedded in Israeli military identity. His staged photographs depict soldiers in circus-inspired performative poses, blending military discipline with elements of the carnivalesque to subvert conventional representations of military masculinity. This approach creates spaces where queerness, vulnerability, and fluid identity defy the rigid confines of nationalist narratives. Using queer studies frameworks, performance theory, and postcolonial critique, this article analyzes Nes’s depiction of soldiers as both military subjects and circus performers, examining how these representations disrupt the “naturalness” of gender, power, and identity within the Israeli national ethos. Through a close reading of key images—such as the fire-breathing soldier, the acrobat on a tightrope, and the strongman figure—this article argues that Nes critiques homonationalism and exposes the co-optation of LGBTQ+ identities into militaristic frameworks. His images juxtapose exaggerated masculinity with homoerotic and introspective vulnerability, positioning the queer body as both a participant in and a subverter of the national narrative. Drawing on contemporary queer theory—including José Esteban Muñoz’s concept of “disidentification”, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s theories of queer shame and performativity, and perspectives on temporality, failure, and counterpublics following Elizabeth Freeman, Jack Halberstam, Michael Warner, and Sara Ahmed—this article frames queerness as an active site of resistance and creative transformation within the Israeli military complex. The analysis reveals how Nes’s work disrupts Zionist masculinities and traditional militaristic structures through a hybrid aesthetic of military and circus life. By reimagining Israeli identity as an inclusive, multi-dimensional construct, Nes expands queer possibilities beyond heteronormative confines and homonationalist alignments. This merging of critical queer perspectives—from the destabilizing of discipline and shame to the public visibility of non-normative bodies—posits that queer identities can permeate and reshape state power itself, challenging not only the norms of militaristic nationalism but also the boundaries of Israeli selfhood. Full article

Background/Objectives: In our society, as well as in many other parts of the world, sexuality is shaped through gender-differentiated socialization. This process compels individuals to align their desires, behaviors, emotions, and thoughts with the expectations of normative sexuality, especially hegemonic heterosexuality. The primary objective of this current research was to examine the influence of hegemonic masculinity on the sexuality of men struggling with addiction. Method: This study employed a qualitative approach, specifically using conventional content analysis. To ensure research quality and transparency, the study adhered to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) and the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies (COREQ). Fourteen participants from a therapeutic community for addiction treatment in Spain were selected through purposive sampling. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, supplemented by participant observation. The sample size was determined based on the principle of data saturation. Results: The findings reveal that factors such as gender-differentiated socialization, particularly the values associated with hegemonic masculinity (e.g., the pressure to maintain constant sexual availability and sexual initiative), alongside excessive engagement with prostitution and pornography, are closely linked to substance abuse, the development of addictions, and the emergence of sexual dysfunctions in men. The study also highlights the role of challenges related to oppression rooted in heteronormativity—understood as the imposition of rigid norms governing sexual orientation and behavior—in shaping sexual problems and in the origin and maintenance of addictions in men. Conclusions: It is essential to implement an intervention strategy that promotes egalitarian masculinities within the treatment of men with addiction issues, emphasizing a biopsychosocial approach to sexuality that integrates a gender perspective. Additionally, it is crucial to incorporate gender-sensitive interventions into rehabilitation programs for both men and women, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of each group’s specific needs and fostering the development of healthy, equitable relationships in the context of addiction treatment. Full article

Danielle Abrams’s performance art critically engages with late twentieth-century debates on race, queerness, and identity, positioning her as a vital figure in challenging monolithic and heteronormative structures of identity. Her early work Quadroon (1998), a live performance and four-channel video installation blending music, costume, gesture, and speech, compounds impassioned debates within the art world and beyond around the impact of multiculturalism on identity-based art, the invisibility of Jews of color and other marginalized members of the Jewish community, and the state of Black/Jewish relations in the United States following the Crown Heights riots of 1991. Abrams’s pieces frequently negotiate the tensions and intersections between her Black and Jewish familial heritage and her lesbian identity through the embodiment of semi-fictional personae grounded in family lore, self-perceptions, and cultural stereotypes. This paper explores how Abrams destabilizes the readability of “authentic” identities on the surface of the body in Quadroon via her adoption of personifications of her Black grandmother, her Jewish great grandmother, her identification as a butch lesbian, and her (unsuccessful) teenage attempt at passing for Greek. Pairing video recordings of each character with interludes from an unpublished performance script, I consider the anxieties of passing expressed in the personas of Dew Drop and Janie Bell, and through the lens of Abrams’s diaries, pose Butch in the Kitchen’s potential as an indefinite body to queer socially imposed constructions of monolithic and essentialist identity. Full article