Queer Pedagogy: Praxis Makes Im/Perfect

This article examines tensions between post-structuralist theories of subjectivity and essentialist constructions of identity in the context of a lesbian studies course co-taught by the authors. We describe the goals, organizing principles, content, and outcomes of this engagement in the production of “queer pedagogy” — a radical form of educative praxis implemented deliberately to interfere with, to intervene in, the production of “normalcy” in schooled subjects. We argue for an explicit “ethics of consumption” in relation to curricular inclusions of marginalized subjects and subjugated knowledges. We conclude with a critical analysis of the way that, despite our explicit interventions, all of our discourses, all of our actions in this course were permeated with the continuous and inescapable backdrop of white heterosexual dominance, such that: (a) any subordinated identity always remained marginal and (b) “lesbian identity” in this institutions context was always fixed and stable, even in a course that explicitly critiqued, challenged, and deconstructed a monolithic “lesbian identity.” Cet article porte sur la tension qui existe entre les théories de la subjectivité et les constructions essentialistes de l’identité dans le contexte d’un cours sur le lesbianisme donné par les auteures. Ces dernières décrivent les buts, les principes organisateurs, le contenu et les résultats de leur démarche en vue de créer ce qu’elles désignent sous le nom de “queer pedagogy”-une forme radicale de la praxis éducative implantée délibéré- ment pour contrecarrer le concept de “normalité” dans les matières enseignées. Les auteu- res prônent une “éthique de la consommation” explicite pour ce qui a trait à l’inclusion des matières marginalisées et des connaissances subordonnées. Elles concluent avec une analyse critique de la façon dont tous leurs discours et toutes leurs actions au sein du cours, en dépit de leurs interventions explicites, avaient pour toile de fond inévitable la prééminence de l’hétérosexualité des Blancs si bien que : a) toute identité subordonnée est toujours demeurée marginale, et b) l’“identité lesbienne” dans ce contexte était tou- jours fixe et stable, et ce, même dans un cours qui critiquait et mettait explicitement en question une “identité lesbienne” monolithique.

Opportunities and Tensions in New Zealand Organisations: The Individual and the Organisation in Development

This paper is the first step in a much larger project investigating the development of human capability for New Zealand workplaces. The paper reports the findings of a pilot case study conducted in a local manufacturing organisation that had a good reputation for initiatives in human capability development. The study explored the factors that helped and hindered individuals in developing skills and capabilities in the workplace. The findings showed that three key features of organisational infrastructure drove and shaped capability within this manufacturing organisation: self directed teams, a company skills matrix linked to pay, and a production and quality management system. The study is discussed in light of a selection of the literature on workplaces and capability development. The paper explores the interaction of individual and organisational factors in the development of human capability, particularly self-esteem and workplaces as learning environments

Family physician perceptions of working with LGBTQ patients: physician training needs

Background: Medical students and physicians report feeling under-prepared for working with patients who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ). Understanding physician perceptions of this area of practice may aid in developing improved education.Method: In-depth interviews with 24 general practice physicians in Halifax and Vancouver, Canada, were used to explore whether, when and how the gender identity and sexual orientation of LGBTQ women were relevant to good care. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using ATLAS.ti data analysis software.Results: Three major themes emerged: 1) Some physicians perceived that sexual/gender identity makes little or no difference; treating every patient as an individual while avoiding labels optimises care for everyone. 2) Some physicians perceived sexual/gender identity matters primarily for the provision of holistic care, and in order to address the effects of discrimination. 3) Some physicians perceived that sexual/gender identity both matters and does not matter, as they strove to balance the implications of social group membership with recognition of individual differences. Conclusions: Physicians may be ignoring important aspects of social group memberships that affect health and health care. The authors hold that individual and socio-cultural differences are both important to the provision of quality health care. Distinct from stereotypes, generalisations about social group differences can provide valuable starting points, raising useful lines of inquiry. Emphasizing this distinction in medical education may help change physician approaches to the care of LGBTQ women

Public Library Services to the Romance Reader: An Online Survey of Romance Readers

This study describes the results of an online questionnaire survey of romance genre fiction readers. The survey was conducted to determine the behaviors and needs of romance genre fiction readers and how well public libraries are meeting those needs. Research shows that popular public library services to romance genre readers, has not kept pace with trends in the fiction reading patron base. Services to romance readers are, or should be, essentially the same that exist for any fiction genre: pertinent readers' advisory, conscious collection development, and access to collections through cataloging records. North American public libraries are failing to support the reading interests of 51.1 million readers (Romance Writers of America, Inc 2003, 3-6)

Opportunities and Tensions in New Zealand Organisations: The Individual and the Organisation in Development

This paper is the first step in a much larger project investigating the development of human capability for New Zealand workplaces. The paper reports the findings of a pilot case study conducted in a local manufacturing organisation that had a good reputation for initiatives in human capability development. The study explored the factors that helped and hindered individuals in developing skills and capabilities in the workplace. The findings showed that three key features of organisational infrastructure drove and shaped capability within this manufacturing organisation: self directed teams, a company skills matrix linked to pay, and a production and quality management system. The study is discussed in light of a selection of the literature on workplaces and capability development. The paper explores the interaction of individual and organisational factors in the development of human capability, particularly self-esteem and workplaces as learning environments

The cancer's Margins project: access to knowledge and Its mobilization by LGBQ/T cancer patients

Sexual and/or gender minority populations (LGBQ/T) have particular cancer risks, lower involvement in cancer screening, and experience barriers in communication with healthcare providers. All of these factors increase the probability of health decisions linked with poor outcomes that include higher levels of cancer mortality. Persistent discrimination against, and stigmatization of, LGBQ/T people is reflected in sparse medical curriculum addressing LGBQ/T communities. Marginalization makes LGBQ/T persons particularly reliant on knowledge derived from online networks and mainstream media sources. In what is likely the first nationally-funded and nation-wide study of LGBQ/T experiences of cancer, the Cancer's Margins project (www.lgbtcancer.ca) conducted face-to-face interviews with 81 sexual and/or gender minority patients diagnosed and treated for breast and/or gynecological cancer in five Canadian provinces and the San Francisco Bay area (US). With specific attention to knowledge access, sharing, and mobilization, our objective was to document and analyze complex intersectional relationships between marginalization, gender and sexuality, and cancer health decision-making and care experiences. Findings indicate that cancer care knowledge in online environments is shaped by cisnormative and heteronormative narratives. Cancer knowledge and support environments need, by contrast, to be designed by taking into account intersectionally diverse models of minority identities and communities

The tyranny of the male preserve

Within this paper I draw on short vignettes and quotes taken from a two-year ethnographic study of boxing to think through the continuing academic merit of the notion of the male preserve. This is an important task due to evidence of shifts in social patterns of gender that have developed since the idea was first proposed in the 1970s. In aligning theoretical contributions from Lefebvre and Butler to discussions of the male preserve, we are able to add nuance to our understanding of how such social spaces are engrained with and produced by the lingering grasp of patriarchal narratives. In particular, by situating the male preserve within shifting social processes, whereby certain men’s power is increasingly undermined, I highlight the production of space within which narratives connecting men to violence, aggression and physical power can be consumed, performed and reified in a relatively unrestricted form. This specific case study contributes to gender theory as an illustration of a way in which we might explore and understand social enclaves where certain people are able to lay claim to space and power. As such, I argue that the notion of the male preserve is still a useful conceptual, theoretical and political device especially when considered as produced by the tyranny of gender power through the dramatic representation and reification of behaviours symbolically linked to patriarchal narrations of manhood