Queer and Trans Leadership: Advancing Equity and Dismantling Cisheteronormativity in Higher Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 1:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Being Queer and Trans on Campus: Leadership, Campus Policies, and Cross-Cultural Mobilization

Abstract

This paper explores Queer and Trans leadership in higher education, contextualized within a U.S. history of systemic oppression and ongoing violence against marginalized communities. Through theoretical frameworks such as queer theory, homonormativity, and intersectionality, the paper examines how Queer and Trans leaders navigate visibility, cisheteronormative structures, and institutional resistance. It introduces the concept of “queertorship”—a grassroots, relational form of mentorship—as a strategy for leadership development and survival. Drawing on both literature and lived experience, the authors challenge dominant leadership models and emphasize the transformative potential of queer visibility and coalition-building. The paper concludes with reflections and questions aimed at reimagining leadership as a space of possibility, resistance, and collective liberation.

Authors

• Gabriel Pulido, University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse

• Sergio A. Gonzalez, University of Pittsburgh