Politics of Disclosure: A Duoethnography of Men of Color Living With Bipolar Disorder in Academia

• In Event: Narratives of Disruptions: Counter-Stories for Resistance and Possibilities in Graduate Education

Abstract

In this duoethnography, we, a Latinx man and a Black man who both have bipolar disorder, reflect on our experiences navigating U.S. higher education with a highly stigmatized mental illness. Our higher education trajectories were both disrupted by mental health struggles, and we both have firsthand experience with how universities criminalize people of color with mental illnesses. Yet, we also had divergent paths in terms of navigating policies and practices related to disability as well as embracing disability identity and public disclosure. Through this duoethnography, we envision possibilities for the academy to cultivate liberatory spaces in which people of color with mental illnesses feel safe and empowered, and where we are valued for our perspectives, experience, and humanity.

Authors

• Gabriel Rodríguez Lemus, University of Texas at Austin

• Daniel Blake, Georgia State University