Using Queer Feminist Science Studies to Analyze The Dolezal Affair

• In Event: Queer Feminist Science Studies and Intersectionality

Abstract

In 2015, there was intense media coverage of Rachel Dolezal, a civil rights activist accused of lying about her racial identity. In response to the case, the comparison between Dolezal's racial passing and gender passing was made and vehemently rejected by both black and trans commentators. In this paper, I use queer feminist science studies as a tool to trouble the naturalizing discourses around identity, body, and pathology that were employed in anti-racist and trans-affirming responses to Dolezal, arguing that the logic used to critique Dolezal and reject the connection between racial and gender passing ultimately supported racism and transphobia.

Presenter

• Kristina Gupta, Wake Forest University