Kimberly D. Hudson

Dangerous Waters and Brave Space: A Critical Feminist Inquiry of Campus LGBTQ Centers

Grounded in critical feminisms, this study examines lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) centers at public universities in the context of the regulating discourse of homonormative whiteness. Homonormative whiteness refers to dominant norms that constitute the queer body as White and male, positioning static ideas of whiteness and masculinity as normative. Interviews, including the use of mental maps, were conducted with 12 primary leaders at six campus LGBTQ centers. Findings signal three primary functions of LGBTQ centers: safety, legitimacy, and advocacy. Each function is situated in relation to the degree to which these centers spatially or discursively reproduce, resist, and/or transform homonormative whiteness. Taken together, these findings suggest a dynamic and context-specific understanding of the ways and reasons LGBTQ center leaders will act or otherwise shape the space and discourse of the center in ways that collude with or transform systems of power and dominance. Implications for research and practice, as well as specific recommendations for critically conscious organizational practice, are offered.

What Are We Teaching in Diversity and Social Justice Courses? A Qualitative Content Analysis of MSW Syllabi

ABSTRACT Diversity and social justice are central to social work and related curricular content is mandated by accreditation standards. However, research regarding diversity and social justice courses remains limited. This study aimed to better understand how these courses are conceptualized through a qualitative content analysis of course descriptions and objectives from 27 MSW course syllabi. Findings were organized into themes related to knowledge, skills, and values-based content areas. Emergent themes highlighted that these courses center knowledge acquisition, are linked to professional socialization, and have self-awareness as a primary goal. Implications for social work education are discussed.

Institutional Expectations, Opportunities, and Interest in the Professoriate: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Satisfaction Among Doctoral Students in Social Work

ABSTRACT This article explores doctoral student satisfaction as related to interest in the professoriate and as influenced by issues of social justice, according to a national student survey. Results indicate that 85% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their doctoral education. Most satisfying aspects were individualization or independence, collegiality or collaboration, praxis or translation, and reaching or achieving milestones. Least satisfying aspects were educational environments or climates, course quality, mentorship quality, and finances. Eighty percent reported that satisfaction was “explained by social justice training opportunities and a sense of a socially just institution.” At research-intensive universities, satisfaction predicted interest in the professoriate. Understanding student satisfaction may improve doctoral education and the faculty pipeline.

Individual and systemic barriers to health care: Perspectives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults.

Access to effective services is imperative to address the many health and mental health disparities that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people face. This population, however, remains underserved and often ill-served in health care environments. Furthermore, interactions between system- and individual-level dimensions of access create barriers to service engagement. Within much of the extant literature surrounding health care barriers among LGBT people, the rich narratives and varied experiences of LGBT community members from diverse backgrounds have often been excluded. The current interview-based study was conducted with a sample of 40 self-identified LGBT adults living in New York City. Participants were recruited through flyers distributed to LGBT-specific social and health service organizations. Twenty-nine participants who discussed health care access as a major health concern were included in the current study. Framework analysis revealed barriers stemming from characteristics of services and providers (system-level) and characteristics of care-seekers (individual-level) as major health concerns. The root causes of system-level barriers were all attributed to social-structural factors that worked to exclude and erase LGBT people from the institutions that shape the health and mental health systems. Individual-level barriers were attributed to both individual and social-structural factors, such as health literacy and stigma. Participants linked access barriers to forgone care and to other health and mental health concerns within their communities. We argue that addressing barriers at the individual and sociostructural levels will better serve LGBT communities.

Centering power, positionality, and emotional labor in a Master of Social Work research course: Perspectives from a student and instructor:

This paper presents a case study of a student and instructor’s experience in a foundational research course in a Master of Social Work (MSW) program at a major university. As part of this course, students are asked to design and implement an original, practice-informed research project. One student had a particularly complex, affective response to her research project. In response to the student’s experience in the course, the instructor reconceptualized the major course assignment, drawing from the feminist concept of emotional labor, so that it would be responsive and relevant to the student’s learning. This instance of educational individualization allowed the student to take inventory of and critically reflect on her enhanced awareness of self, positionality, and power structures personally, professionally, and as a researcher, through an autoethnographic narrative and critical analysis. A central finding of this case study is that attention to the emotional labor of research opens up space for ways of knowing and learning beyond positivist, inflexible, and narrowly imagined competency-based paradigms. Moreover, this case study demonstrates the possibilities of qualitative research in accessing and exploring the affective research experience. Finally, this paper argues that emotional labor is a critical aspect of learning, teaching, and practicing research that ought to be fully considered and addressed across all approaches to inquiry, particularly those concerned with social justice. Recommendations for conceptualizing and teaching social work research courses are offered, including those related to course structure, curricular sequencing and the integration of content on epistemology and emotional labor.

Preparing tomorrow’s professoriate: an examination of social justice language in social work PhD program manuals

Abstract Social work claims social justice as a central value of the profession with the aim of challenging and changing oppressive structures. Despite this purported emphasis, there appears to be limited knowledge of how social justice is expressed and embedded in doctoral programs of social work. Social work PhD programs are of particular interest because of the unique position of program graduates to impact social work research and practice. This article examined how social work PhD programs in the US represent social justice discourses in program manuals and mission statements. Through a qualitative content analysis of selected social work PhD program documents, a continuum of social justice engagement emerged. Four categories were identified across this continuum: mentioning, theorizing, acting, and integrating. Social work PhD programs that reflect on how social justice is expressed within and beyond their programs may provide a more equitable and inclusive learning environment in social work PhD programs, impart to students a more in-depth understanding of social justice theory and praxis, and ultimately prepare emerging scholars to be critically aware researchers and educators.

(Un)doing Transmisogynist Stigma in Health Care Settings: Experiences of Ten Transgender Women of Color

ABSTRACT Transgender women of color face numerous barriers to accessing quality health and human services due to intersecting systems of oppression. Using transmisogyny as a conceptual tool, the current study drew upon individual, in-depth interviews with ten transgender women of color living in New York City. Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to explore the experiences of participants in care settings and compare their experiences in LGBT-specific settings to non-specific settings. Results from this study suggest specific health and human services practices and policies can improve the healthcare experiences of transgender women of color and advance health equity for all.

A critical examination of key assumptions underlying diversity and social justice courses in social work

ABSTRACT This article examines underlying assumptions of Master of Social Work diversity and social justice courses as sites that embody social work’s dual projects of social justice and professionalization. Through a latent content analysis of course syllabi from 27 US-based social work programs, three key assumptions emerged: (1) social workers are members of dominant social groups; (2) cultural competency and anti-oppression are compatible frameworks; (3) self-awareness mitigates oppression. Findings reflect the reification of dominant culture groups in social work and promotion of individual-level skill development over structural change. Implications and recommendations for social work education and future research are discussed.

Identity-conscious services for diverse patients: A descriptive analysis of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-focused federally qualified community health centers

Abstract Significant health disparities affect the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population. There has been growing attention to these disparities, with research focused on issues such as barriers to care, provider education, and disparate outcomes across the life course. However, there has been little research on the role of LGBT-focused health care settings. The objective of this study was to describe the patient populations and services among LGBT-focused federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). Eight LGBT FQHCs were identified. Health center histories, patient demographics, and services provided were identified through Health Resources and Services Administration health center program data and individual health center annual reports. Quantitative and qualitative descriptive analyses were conducted. Findings indicated that LGBT FQHCs were majority people-of-color-serving organizations. Compared to the national average of FQHCs, LGBT FQHCs served a higher proportion of people living with HIV and people experiencing homelessness. LGBT FQHCs also provided more mental health and enabling services than the national average. Findings suggested that LGBT FQHCs approached prevention and intervention services using a patient-centered, identity-conscious model of care. Health equity research should continue to focus on diverse health care contexts, including their respective community constituents, neighborhood settings, and identity-conscious services, programming, and resources.

Teaching Note—Third Space Caucusing: Borderland Praxis in the Social Work Classroom

ABSTRACT This teaching note examines the use of intentional, identity-centered spaces in the social work classroom. We discuss the use of identity-based caucusing as a means of centering the embodied and lived experiences of students in the social work classroom, drawing from previous classroom experiences in an MSW foundation course on social justice at a large public university. Specifically, we consider borderland perspectives and postcolonial constructions of third spaces and their usefulness in social work pedagogy. In particular, we pose questions regarding the use of third space caucusing as a means of embracing and affirming both/and, neither/nor identity positionalities. We also consider possibilities of student-centered, critical pedagogical approaches while paying attention to the unique challenges and contexts of social work education.