Andrea Waling

Knowing, performing and holding queerness: LGBTIQ+ student experiences in Australian tertiary education

Abstract This paper explores LGBTIQ+ students’ experiences of knowing, performing and holding queerness in a tertiary educational environment. Through interviews conducted with LGBTIQ+ students at a large Australian metropolitan university, we examine the students’ engagement with other LGBTIQ+ students in the tertiary educational space. Although originally intending to explore LGBTIQ+ students’ experience of violence, harassment and abuse on campus, the study identified a number of themes concerning the normalisation of a set of beliefs, practices, presentations and performances. Drawing on frameworks of hetero/homo and trans-normativity, we explore how LGBTIQ+ students articulated concerns in knowing, performing and holding ‘authentic’ queerness. We find LGBTIQ students experienced barred access to knowledge, hostility and dismissal by other LGBTIQ+ students when they were either perceived as too queer, or not queer enough. Behind these interactions and at the heart of these tensions is the notion of an authentic queer identity in a post-gay era and the continuous challenges all LGBTIQ+ students face within a heteronormative society. New insights into how LGBTIQ+ students negotiate, manage and shape their interactions in a higher educational settings are provided, and the implications for tertiary educational institutions, in particular the need to support a diverse LGBTIQ+ community, are discussed.

Resolving ethical challenges when researching with minority and vulnerable populations: LGBTIQ victims of violence, harassment and bullying

This article provides an analysis of the issues and ethical challenges faced in a study with LGBTIQ student participants concerning their experiences of violence, harassment and bullying in tertiary settings. The authors detail the ethical challenges behind the development of the project, and around conducting research with a minority and vulnerable population. The article illustrates how the utilization of feminist and queer theory has impacted the process of conducting ethical research, including approaches to recruitment and participant autonomy. The dilemmas of confidentiality within a self-labelled and easily identifiable population are resolved. Further, unexpected challenges and risks to participant safety created through adherence to institutional ethical research frameworks are rectified. Importantly, the authors seek to avoid revictimization of participants and to instead empower students in their responses to violence, harassment and bullying that they may have experienced. The authors point to utilization of theoretical foundations and continual reflexive improvement as elements of best practice for those seeking to research minority populations, and in projects marked by the participation of those deemed vulnerable and high-risk.

‘Don't fix what ain't broke’: evaluating the effectiveness of a Men's Shed in inner‐regional Australia

Mens Sheds and similar community programmes are known to encourage help-seeking behaviour and thus improve the health and well-being outcomes for the men who attend. This paper investigates this issue through a community needs assessment of a Mens Shed programme in inner-regional Australia. The immediate purpose of this research was to help direct future funding initiatives, and provide recommendations for potential changes and improvements to the programme. A community-level needs assessment is a systematic process used to determine and address gaps or needs between current and desired conditions within a particular community. We sought to explore how particular formats and structures of Mens Sheds programmes contribute to improve social and medical well-being, and whether there are key programme characteristics that could be emulated. In total, 22 surveys and 20 interviews were conducted with the men who participated in the programme. The report finds 95% of men are satisfied with the current running of the programme. While there were areas that have been identified for improvement, most men reported that they are content with the current format and would not like to see major changes to its implementation. The results of this research confirm the known benefits of these types of programmes. This paper provides other community programmes with some insight into the key success factors for running a Mens Shed.

Rethinking microaggressions and anti-social behaviour against LGBTIQ+ Youth

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of experiences of anti-social behaviour in LGBTIQ+ youth in university settings. Design/methodology/approach The discussion reflects on qualitative interviews with LGBTIQ+ young people studying at university (n=16) exploring their experiences of anti-social behaviour including harassment, bullying and victimisation in tertiary settings. Findings The findings demonstrate that attention should be paid to the complex nature of anti-social behaviour. In particular, LGBTIQ+ youth documented experiences of microaggressions perpetrated by other members of the LGBTIQ+ community. Using the taxonomy of anti-social behaviour against LGBTIQ+ people developed by Nadal et al. (2010, 2011), the authors build on literature that understands microaggressions against LGBTIQ+ people as a result of heterosexism, to address previously unexplored microaggressions perpetrated by other LGBTIQ+ people. Research limitations/implications Future research could seek a larger sample of participants from a range of universities, as campus climate may influence the experiences and microaggressions perpetrated. Practical implications Individuals within the LGBTIQ+ community also perpetrate microaggressions against LGBTIQ+ people, including individuals with the same sexual orientation and gender identity as the victim. Those seeking to respond to microaggressions need to attune their attention to this source of anti-social behaviour. Originality/value Previous research has focused on microaggressions and hate crimes perpetrated by non-LGBTIQ+ individuals. This research indicates the existence of microaggressions perpetrated by LGBTIQ+ community members against other LGBTIQ+ persons. The theoretical taxonomy of sexual orientation and transgender microaggressions is expanded to address LGBTIQ+ perpetrated anti-social behaviour.

Supporting LGBTIQ+ students in higher education in Australia: Diversity, inclusion and visibility:

Objective: Using student narratives of experiences of exclusion and non-inclusion at university, this paper builds an evidence base for, and explores ways in which universities can respond to, the contemporary concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning (LGBTIQ+) undergraduate students. Design: Qualitative exploratory study of undergraduate students who identify as LGBTIQ+ regarding their experiences of exclusion and non-inclusion at university. Setting: Large metropolitan university in Australia. Methods: Sixteen semi-formal interviews with undergraduate students who identify as LGBTIQ+ attending a large Australian university. Data were analysed using phenomenological analysis. Results: Students indicated university-level gaps in service provision and failures to support them in their attempts to access, or create opportunities to access, information regarding sexual and mental health and improve inclusion. They also indicated the importance of queer visibility and its impact in creating a positive experience for LGBTIQ+ members of a campus community. Conclusions: Universities should be aware of the need for formalised diversity and inclusion programmes to tackle contemporary experiences of exclusion. Universities can harness and support student initiatives to better serve the LGBTIQ+ campus community, responding to gaps in knowledge, resources and service needs. These gaps include resources and information regarding sexual health, the provision of gender-neutral toilets and other facilities, and support for peer-led programmes to enhance inclusion. Universities should help increase the visibility of a diverse queer presence on campus to help prevent experiences of exclusion.

“We Are So Pumped Full of Shit by the Media”: Masculinity, Magazines, and the Lack of Self-identification

Men’s lifestyle magazines have long since been the focus of theorists in their examination of masculinity. However, research concerning men’s responses to such content, and whether these representations speak to their perceptions on embodying particular forms of masculinity in an Australian context, is largely absent. To understand how Australian men conceptualize their own ideas about masculinity and identity, interviews were conducted with twenty Australian men who were asked to peruse copies of men’s lifestyle magazines while pondering what it means to be masculine. Engaging with the theoretical frameworks of representational masculinity and masculine reformulation patterns, the results of this study found that the men interviewed identified four themes of social pressure perpetuated by these magazines regarding their own formation of a masculine identity. These include media representation and cultural consumption pressures, body image and muscularity pressures, performative sex and desirability expectations, and the fear of social judgment from both those who expect, and those who reject, particular performances of masculinity. Despite these articulations, however, the men maintained that these expectations affect other men and not themselves. While these men did not identify with these pressures, a textual analysis of their responses suggest otherwise, indicating a paradox in which they both accept and reject the mythscapes of aspirational masculinity presented before them.

‘C’mon, No One Wants a Dick Pic’: exploring the cultural framings of the ‘Dick Pic’ in contemporary online publics

Abstract The ‘dick pic’ (DP) has become a growing cultural phenomenon in the digital realm, attracting increasing commentary regarding why men send them, with women’s responses constituting online social movements. Emerging research concerning the practice of DPs has been incredibly limited, with discussion focused on youth sexting practices and online harassment more broadly. However, research focusing specifically on the gendered dynamics of heterosexual boys’ and men’s engagement with DPs is significantly absent, and there has been no attempt to explore how the DP is framed in public commentary. We draw from a qualitative content analysis of social media and digital news articles, comics and blogs discussing the ‘dick pic’, highlighting four major ways in which the ‘dick pic’ is framed. These include: assumptions regarding men’s motivations, women’s production of ‘counterpublics’ and feminist resistance to the DP, satirical and humourous responses to DPs, and positive and transformative responses involving the active solicitation of men’s DPs. We argue that such responses work to interpret and address men’s behaviours, but lack critical consideration regarding their underlying motives and the roles DPs might have in relation to their sexual subjectivities. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of such responses and calls for future research.

Moving on: mental health, resilience and sexual recovery among gay men living with prostate cancer

The Moving On Study report presents the findings of research concerning the experiences of Australian gay men following diagnosis and treatment for prostate cancer. The results of this study suggest a number of key considerations. The experience of gay men diagnosed with, and treated for, prostate cancer is different from that of heterosexual men, whose experiences currently dominate what is known about men’s experiences of prostate cancer in the academic literature and among many health professionals. Sexuality and sexual identity play an important part for gay men at diagnosis and during the treatment of prostate cancer. Gay men experience forms of exclusion from the moment of diagnosis through successive practices of treatment, care and management. At times, gay men are compelled to conceal or manage information about their sexualities in clinical settings in ways that perpetuate a discursive silence regarding their experience. This discursive silence is further sustained in gay community health settings where prostate cancer does not feature as an important health issue in the way HIV/AIDS and sexual health do. This discursive silence also contributed to a problem in recruiting gay men, and especially gay male partners of gay men, for research on these issues. This potentially inhibits the research still needing to be done on the impact on prostate cancer in gay men.

Rethinking Masculinity Studies: Feminism, Masculinity, and Poststructural Accounts of Agency and Emotional Reflexivity:

The past decades have seen a broadening of critical masculinity studies, where terms like the metrosexual, and frameworks like hegemonic masculinity have become staples in the study of men. Although helpful, such terms denote a categorical experience that is either taken up or rejected by men. If rejected, new identities and forms of masculinity emerge to explain away what men are doing and feeling regarding their masculine identity, with little reflection on the question of men’s agency. Drawing from feminist accounts of agency and emotional reflexivity, this article provides an overview of how categorical analyses have become embedded within the study of masculinity, and how they continue to paint masculinity as a static and fixed entity despite their attempts to theorize its fluid multiplicity. In this work, I challenge men and masculinity scholars to return our analytical gazes to our descriptions of masculinity, and encourage the return to feminist theorizing.

I Can’t/Can I Touch Him? Erotic Subjectivity, Sexual Attraction, and Research in the Field:

Sexual attraction and desire in the field have long been taboo subjects, where the researcher is expected to remain an objective observer, devoid of sexuality. Recently, scholars have advocated for the acknowledgment of sexual attraction and desire in the field as a way to think reflexively about the research process and subsequent impacts, known in anthropology as “erotic subjectivity.” This article reflects on the ethical dilemma of the female feminist researcher doing ethnographic fieldwork in such a space where sexual performativity and active desiring is demanded of them by the research subjects themselves. Based on an ethnographic account of professional men’s strip-tease show, this article details the dilemmas concerning the need to remain objective and distanced from such acts as a researcher, the feminist discomfiture in the blatant objectification and sexualization, both physically and visually of men, and the expectation to publicly perform sexuality by peers and research subjects alike.