The Politics of Panic: Backlash, Dog Whistles, and the Erosion of LGBTQ Victories

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

Anti-LGBTQ policies are on the rise across the United States. Lawmakers have moved to prohibit discussion of LGBTQ people in classrooms, to ban trans athletes (especially trans women and girls) from competition, and to criminalize those who provide medically appropriate healthcare to trans youth. Recent laws enacted prohibiting sexual orientation and gender identity “conversion therapy” are now being reconsidered. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case questioning the extent to which non-discrimination law can protect LGBTQ people. Even victories that seemed secure, like the right to marriage in Obergefell, are being questioned. Throughout all these efforts, conservative activists are resurfacing anti-LGBTQ tropes that seek to link LGBTQ people with child abuse and endangerment.

This roundtable brings together scholars and activists to discuss this alarming trend and how it relates to both historical efforts to target LGBTQ people and these more recent attacks.

Sponsored by the Committee on the Status of LGBT Individuals in the Profession.

Sub Unit

• Panels

Chair

• Edward F. Kammerer Idaho State University

Presenters

• Zein Murib Fordham University-Lincoln Center

• Paisley Currah CUNY, Brooklyn College; CUNY, Graduate Center

• Joanna W. Wuest Mount Holyoke College

• Andrew R. Flores American University