Activism Through Queer Joy: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Queer & Nonbinary Music Teacher Educators

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Troubling Histories and Complicating Identities

Abstract

The purpose of this collaborative autoethnography was to explore how nonbinary conceptions of queer joy can resist music education structures that reinscribe binary conceptions of gender identity. We collected data through self-observation, reflective journaling, refreshing our memories by speaking with others involved in our past experiences, and by interviewing one another regarding our experience (Chang, p. 57–58). We used emotion coding (Saldaña, 2021) to identify various epiphanies (Adams, Holman Jones, & Ellis, 2015) across the timeline of data collected. Results included layered negotiations of coming out as nonbinary and the extra emotional labor required to navigate various settings in the music education academy. Implications are presented as epistemic resources (Porkkala, 2024) that can support positive change in music teacher education.

Authors

• Justin M. Caithaml, University of Bridgeport

• Austin Norrid, Ohio University