Page 8 | Autumn 2022 Talking about gender and sexual diversity in education continued
embedded 2SLGBTQA + content across our curriculum , but we can , and we need to ."
What experiences brought you to the work and research of gender and sexual diversity ? What was the need you were seeing or experiencing ?
Fritz : I identify as trans woman of colour , born and raised in the Philippines . My work is connected and informed by my embodied social location and subject position . There is still a great need to increase trans literacy , and to develop scholarly , pedagogic , and policy interventions that address queer and trans issues of marginalization , invisibility / hypervisibility , oppression , and discrimination .
Christie : When I was an undergraduate student , seeing and learning from queer professors who I could admire made a big difference in my young adult life . Because of these professors , I could begin to imagine myself as both queer and professional — and professional in queer ways . ( I know this wouldn ’ t have been important for everyone , but it was important to me in my young adult life .) In very subtle ways , they taught me I could be hopeful and I could be myself .
Kyla : As a rural school educator and administrator , I witnessed the impact of heternormativity , homophobia , and transphobia on individual students and my school community as a whole . Early in my career , I met people in both personal and professional capacities whose lived experiences were quite different from my own , and I realized just how extremely privileged I was because of " who I was and who I loved ." It became obvious to me that the moral and ethical imperative was to create spaces where my students ( and staff ) felt protected , respected , and included . In my educational career , I also worked for the provincial government . During that time , it became more about the " politicizing " of identities and determined to become more involved in advocacy work . When I engaged in graduate work at the U of R , my commitment and passion for this work deepened , and I have been doing what I call " behind the scenes " advocacy work since — to create safer spaces where students and families voices can be heard .
James : As a man who came out later in life with the realization of my own sexual orientation and attraction to men , my journey out of the closet was an intense and sometimes painful process and it made me appreciate larger issues of diversity , equity , and inclusion . I was working with SUNTEP and the Gabriel Dumont Institute at the time and the struggles of the Métis , their www2 . uregina . ca / education / news