From “The Rage” to “The Dream”: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Gender-Minoritized Queer Solo Parenting Academics

• In Event: Gender, Sexuality and Policy Dynamics in and Beyond the Workplace

Abstract

While the intersecting oppressions faced by “single mothers” in the U.S. are well understood, the experiences of a subset of this population–gender-minoritized and queer solo parents–is undertheorized. This study uses collaborative autoethnographic methods and abolitionist feminist theory to examine the authors’ experiences of solo parenthood in the academy. Our stories reveal four themes: institutional constraints (e.g., lack of affordable childcare and healthcare); lack of support in patriarchal, capitalist, and ableist cultural climates; negative effects of stress on health; and the necessity of sacrifice in the effort to find balance and thriving. We conclude with institutional recommendations that we believe will move us from collective experiences of rage toward the equitable workplaces of which we dream.

Authors

• Rhiannon M. Maton, SUNY - College at Cortland

• Marguerite A. Wilson, Binghamton University - SUNY

• Seneca Beth Miller, University of Arizona

• Brenna Swift, University of Pennsylvania