{"title":"Nowhere to bi: Barriers to belonging in the broader LGBTQ+ community for Aboriginal bi+ people in Australia.","authors":"Mandy Henningham","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2233339","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2233339","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Having a multiplicity of identities not only makes it difficult to find inclusive spaces for Aboriginal bisexual+ (bi) people but may often be a barrier to building connections and relationships with people who have other queer identities. Bi + identities alone are often rendered invisible, unintelligible or erased when it comes to inclusion and solidarity among their peers. An intersectional lens is used to reflexively investigate existing literature to explore how a lack of solidarity among lateral communities may impact Aboriginal bi + people in Australia who face an array of racism and queerphobia from both LGBTQ + and Aboriginal communities. These unique and multifaceted layers of discrimination greatly impact mental health and wellbeing. These experiences stem from the heterosexist and monosexist status quo from heteropatriarchal settler colonialism that is seen in both Aboriginal and LGBTQ + communities respectively. As a result, Aboriginal queer people are constantly surveying risks, policing their own identities and identity expression, often hiding parts of their identity as a survival strategy to avoid rejection and adhere to dominant cultural norms. When specifically considering Aboriginal bi + identities, there are added unique stressors of lateral violence with other LGBTQ + groups, antibisexual prejudice, and assumed monosexuality, adding additional layers of minority stress. The author explores these experiences by extending upon borderland theory and minority stress models. Whilst there is solace in the holistic celebration of intersecting identities in emerging intersectional Aboriginal queer spaces, there is still a great need for solidarity and celebration of Aboriginal bi + people within the broader LGBTQ + community.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"63-83"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10128558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Palimpsests of trans rights: trans-positive stickers and the contestations of transphobia in public space.","authors":"Hannah Awcock, Rae Rosenberg","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2229216","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2229216","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent years, the rights of trans people in the United Kingdom and elsewhere have been increasingly under scrutiny. This paper considers forms of resistance to Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism (TERF) and neo-fascist gender conservative movements in Edinburgh, Scotland through an analysis of trans-positive stickers in public space. Using an archive of 461 images of trans-rights-related stickers photographed in Edinburgh between August 2018 and May 2022, we explore how trans-positive activism is publicly (en)countering transphobic politics and discourses. Our analysis begins by examining palimpsests of conflict, or the layerings of trans-positive and transphobic stickers - removed, written on, or covered up - in the materiality of public space. We then turn to the transformative potential of stickers as materials of resistance, arguing that trans-positive stickers can undermine transnormative, TERF and neo-fascist gender conservative ideologies and political tactics. Stickers offer public expressions of allyship, communicate political solidarity across social justice movements and marginalised communities, and also provide representations of non-normative trans identities and embodiments. Through this analysis, we present the political potential of stickers as important materials of public resistance that intervene in transphobic political and cultural discourses to produce trans-affirming encounters in public space.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"486-503"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9828264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sisters, it's been a while! The emotional pull of the lesbian 'gender critical' movement and a failure of solidarity.","authors":"Claire Thurlow","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2229144","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2229144","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For five years the UK lesbian community has witnessed growing animosity over the acceptance or otherwise of trans people. This division has been increasingly recognised and commented upon outside of the lesbian community as part of the mainstreaming of so-called 'gender critical' (trans-exclusionary) views. Focussing on the lesbian gender critical position, this article tackles its persistence despite the oft-presented counter that empirical research shows its concerns to be unfounded. This article aims to ask questions of this persistence, and to this end ponders the primacy of emotion in the development and sustaining of the lesbian gender critical movement. By tying its rise not only to concerns about trans rights, but instead to an opportunity to recreate lost lesbian community, purpose and solidarity, it is hoped new avenues of understanding can be explored. A centring of the emotional needs met through gender critical activism might explain why it persists even as it has become a movement that vociferously defends the strict gender categories that lesbianism itself rallies against. This centring also poses uncomfortable questions about when anti-establishment itself becomes (some form of) establishment and how that relative power is wielded. While many lesbians view the current dire situation as demanding solidarity with trans people, and make excellent arguments to promote this, this article suggests that the emotional pull of 'gender critical' will not be easily overcome and greater attention should be paid to it.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"161-174"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9737636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"TERFs aren't feminists: lesbians stand against trans exclusion.","authors":"Baker A Rogers","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2252286","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2252286","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this article, I examine lesbians' solidarity with trans people in the United States. Trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) are feminists who believe that there is a stark difference between the biological reality of sex and the socially constructed nature of gender. They argue that sex is essential and innate. This leads some feminists to the argument that trans people are trying to infiltrate sex exclusive spaces. While TERFs are not always lesbians, lesbians are assumed to make up a large proportion of TERFs. As Thomsen and Essig argue that current ideologies within the media are allowing for the slippage between the terms \"lesbian,\" \"feminist,\" and \"TERFs.\" Some scholars are suggesting that equating lesbian identities with transphobia and trans exclusion is but a new form of lesbian marginalization. I utilize 49 in-depth, qualitative interviews with lesbians across the United States to interrogate the stereotype that lesbians are largely TERFs. Through the voices of lesbians across the United States, I illustrate how many lesbians despise TERF ideology and argue that lesbians must stand in solidarity with trans people in the fight for social justice.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"24-43"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10553338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reflections on being a Thai transman through the lens of the reproductive justice framework.","authors":"Thannapat Jarernpanit","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2024.2393564","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2024.2393564","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transmen are a crucial gender group within the umbrella of transgender identities, yet there remains a lack of understanding regarding their gender identities and sexualities. Transmen often face challenges related to gender discrimination and inequalities, particularly in accessing government services such as healthcare and social welfare, and in securing legal recognition of their gender identity and rights. This article explores the challenges faced by transmen in Thailand. It through a discussion of the lived experiences and gender identities of Thai transmen by examining the societal context through existing literature and qualitative interviews of transmen on their own. The aim is to examine the specific local context of Thai transmen using a reproductive justice approach to examine how transmen experience gender discrimination when challenging the dominant cis-normative gender norms in Thai society. Understanding these challenges can contribute to creating fundamental knowledge for a better understanding of transmen's identities and inform recommendations for public policies that support greater gender diversity and a more inclusive environment. Importantly, supporting legal gender recognition based on self-identified gender can promote reproductive justice for transgender people.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"686-700"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142401591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transformative reproductive futures in Northern Ireland.","authors":"Jamie J Hagen, Emma Campbell, Danielle Roberts","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2024.2366130","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2024.2366130","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A foundation of rights-based solidarity has fostered an environment of cooperation between LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) rights and reproductive justice in Northern Ireland (NI) following the introduction of equal marriage and the decriminalization of abortion in 2019. This article provides a grounded look at this reproductive justice organizing in NI as an example of transformative organizing for reproductive futures. The case study considers a conversation with two activists who have been central to this work. Emma Campbell coconvenor of Alliance for Choice and Danielle Roberts the coconvenor of Reclaim the Agenda and former Senior Policy and Development Officer of HERe NI. Reclaim the Agenda is a coalition of feminist, youth, LGBTQ+ and community organizations that connects and mobilizes women to promote feminist activism through education, campaigning and celebration. HERe NI is a community organization and registered charity based in Belfast that supports lesbian and bisexual women and their families across NI. Alliance for Choice campaigns for free, safe legal and local abortion access for everyone who needs it in NI. Together these groups approach reproductive justice using a framework informed by lesbian feminist organizing and an intersectional approach that views access to abortion as part of a broader understanding of gender justice inspired by Black-women led SisterSong through (1) cross-movement organizing (2) centering bodily autonomy and (3) trans affirming feminist approaches to navigating shifting language about gender. The case study will be of interest to those working provide abortion services in a queer-informed way, as well as those navigating the challenges of reforming abortion policy.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"719-737"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142113268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Abortion rights in the crosshairs: a transnational perspective on resistance strategies.","authors":"Barbara Sutton","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2174682","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2174682","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Soon after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision asserting a constitutional right to abortion, activists in Argentina organized a protest in front of the U.S. embassy. The demonstration conveyed the need for a transnational defense of reproductive rights, particularly in light of the outsized role of the U.S. in global politics. The June 24, 2022 decision that voided Roe v. Wade (Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization) raises grave concerns about resurgent forms of authoritarianism even in democracies. Activists in Argentina have paid attention to these developments and have been ready to defend the relatively recent legalization of abortion in the country. In fact, Argentina presents an interesting example of a country that has been moving in a different direction than the United States. This experience can provide important insights about resistance strategies in contexts of abortion rights restriction.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"525-532"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10607619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Now is no longer the time for poets.","authors":"Shane Carreon","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2214411","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2214411","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A reflection piece-on rethinking the return of a Martial Law dictator in the form of his namesake, the newly elected president of the Philippines; the gamut of conversations on (un)covered facts, post-truth, appearances, interpolations, populism, revisionism and transformations, as well as the power of (trans)national media and images entangled with participatory publics; and how might a younger generation and/or transgender poet, such as myself, who did not experience first-hand the atrocities of military rule and learned them only through dominant narratives, might create and/or open capacious spaces for empathic opacity, new understandings, and possible coalitions and resistances within a historical moment concurrent with a present and/or imagined dystopia-expressed as a suit of three poems: To write another eye; Now is no longer the time for poets; Requisite condemnation.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"547-550"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9933969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Queer and/or Lesbian?: Amazons in Christa Wolf's <i>Cassandra</i>.","authors":"Nancy S Rabinowitz","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2024.2309056","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2024.2309056","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In <i>Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays</i> (1984), Wolf retells the Trojan War story from the perspective of the seer Cassandra, taking the Trojan War as a parallel to issues of her day. She uses the Amazons as important secondary characters, representing them as both woman-loving women and warriors. Wolf believes their valor in battle is only a version of men's militarism and thus provides no solution to the problem of war, her primary concern.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"278-297"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140132843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wen Liu, Laurie Essig, Ella Ben Hagai, Munia Bhaumik
{"title":"Forward: \"Feminist and Queer resistance to Neo-Fascism's anti-'Gender Ideology' movements\".","authors":"Wen Liu, Laurie Essig, Ella Ben Hagai, Munia Bhaumik","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2024.2359281","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2024.2359281","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"373-381"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141440964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}