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Dr Jessica Rodgers, Queensland University of Technology. Queer, Student, Activism. Introduction. Queer (GLBTIQ) students important to tertiary communities. National and university-specific queer officers, queer spaces, queer publications, annual queer conference.
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Dr Jessica Rodgers, Queensland University of Technology Queer, Student, Activism
Introduction • Queer (GLBTIQ) students important to tertiary communities. • National and university-specific queer officers, queer spaces, queer publications, annual queer conference. • Considerable US research. Some Australian research (Willett, Marshall, Cover, Pendleton, Reynolds). • Intersections of queer, student, activism create a particular type of activism.
Context and Method • Australian queer student activism - early 1970s. • Educated, largely white middle-class university environment. • Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 8 students. • Examining understandings of queer student activism, and the impact of editorial processes and the university setting on the representation of queer in publications.
Visibility • Creates awareness and debunks stereotypes. • Helps queers feel less alone. • Seeing one’s self is an important part of identity and self esteem development (Cover 2002). • Foundation for socialising and receiving support. • CAMP Brisbane, 1971, CBD public visibility action with signs: “Gay is Good,” “Lesbians are Lovely,” “I like Men” (Reynolds 2002: 43).
Access and Participation – University Contexts • University setting limits access and participation - who can attend university, and thus become involved in tertiary queer student activism. • Key factors in the organisation of community media (Rennie, 2006). • It takes resources to participate in activism. • University context aids the production of queer student media, but it is not immune from issues that affect community media.
Intersections • Must recognise factors that influence which queer youth get to speak about queer. • Socio-cultural contexts influence what is said. • Moment of queer activist reflection about intersections. • Interviewees recognise a context-specific position. • Queer student activism.