What about us?: The Omission Of Queer Experiences In Criminology & Criminal Justice Curricula

• In Event: Teaching Queer Victimology

Abstract

Ensnared in a matrix of linguistic, physical, political, and societal disenfranchisement, queer communities remain forced to navigate increasingly visible and heightened levels of violence. Bills and laws that restrict or limit discussions of queer identities in the classroom, for example, have cultivated climates of fear, instability, and have lasting ramifications for queer and cisgender heterosexual communities. Drawing from a chapter that highlights how the subversive erasure of queerness within classrooms is both a form of symbolic victimization for queer students and disservice to cisgender heterosexual students, this presentation will discuss the imperativeness of teaching queerness in the classroom. Specifically, this conversation will integrate personal and professional stories to interrogate contemporary attacks on queer-related education and communities.

Author

• Alessandra Early, John Jay College of Criminal Justice