“Mélange of Pronouns": A Trans Embodied Experience in Teacher Education

• In Event: Unforgetting to Imagine Otherwise: Methodological Multiplicity in Teaching and Teacher Education

Abstract

This critical autoethnography examines a gender-diverse educator’s experience within a teacher education program, highlighting the structural and interpersonal challenges facing trans and non-binary faculty in higher education. Through reflexive journaling and an email exchange titled “Mélange of Pronouns,” the author analyzes microaggressions, institutional erasure, and well-intentioned but insufficient acts of allyship. Framed by queer theory, critical trans studies, and intersectionality, the paper explores how trans embodiment disrupts binarized norms and how teacher education must evolve structurally—not just individually—to foster true inclusion. Findings point to the need for collective, systemic change in language practices, policy, and professional development to ensure trans and non-binary educators are affirmed, not explained. Trans visibility must move from tolerated to structurally supported.

Author

• Nora Aboali, Hunter College - CUNY