Reconceptualizing Gender Equity in the Academy: Trans* Academics' Narratives

• In Event: 60.084 - Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: 60.084-3 - Crossing Boundaries: Diverse Perspectives in the Professoriate

Abstract

Despite debate about the status of women faculty within U.S universities, the discourse of gender equity often follows the genderist and heterosexist logics. By using phenomenology and narrative inquiry, this research analyzes the experiences of twelve transgender faculty using interview data and responses to a narrative prompt. Preliminary themes from the narratives indicate that resistance and compliance with gender and academic norms is a complex process and that there are few spaces for resistance. Further, competence in one’s academic profession can buffer potentially negative consequences of gender non-conformity. This study seeks to make an intervention in re-conceptualizing gender equity in higher education.

Author

• Erich N. Pitcher, Michigan State University