DIY/DEI: LGBTQ+
October 11, 2023
Advocates and allies are essential to promoting a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in higher education and beyond. For many, there is a new awareness of issues associated with DEI and a growing desire to learn and engage. To support your efforts, the NC State University Libraries and the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity have created a curated list of resources to inform your inquiry, introspection and engagement with this topic. Engaging with these resources will provide you with an opportunity to explore DEI and develop your narrative and understanding.
This month's featured topic: LGBTQ+
October 11 is National Coming Out Day. LGBTQ+ History Month is celebrated in October to coincide with both National Coming Out Day and the commemoration of LGBT rights marches in Washington in 1979 and 1987. The inclusive LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and “many more”) coalition of sexualities and gender identities is a patchwork of distinct and interwoven communities that have banded together throughout history for mutual support—often out of necessity.
This month’s DIY/DEI guide offers books, articles, videos and other resources that center queer joy. The prevalent narratives in mainstream media focus on the violence that the LGBTQ+ community has faced and their continued struggle for rights, safety, and respect. In contrast, queer joy is the revolutionary act of celebrating the things that make LGBTQ+ stronger: chosen family, reclaiming identity, showing up for each other across differences, and creating our own sources of self-determined resilience. These resources are not just for learning how others can be better allies but also for exploring how LGBTQ+ can be better allies for each other.
This list has been curated by Jae Edwards and Troy Hurteau.
Past DIY/DEI resource lists can be found here. To suggest a future topic for DIY/DEI, please send your topic idea to oied-communications@ncsu.edu.
Books
A Dirty South Manifesto: sexual resistance and imagination in the New South.
L.H. Stallings, 2020. Ebook.
For those marginalized by colonial regimes of sex and gender and the racially oppressed within these economically disenfranchised segments of society, the South has been a sexual dystopia. For individuals who have ever imagined their freedom as different from an afterlife contingent upon the whims of moral turpitude within white supremacist patriarchy’s greed, readers may find their praise song or calling in any part of A Dirty South Manifesto.
All Boys Aren't Blue: a memoir-manifesto.
George M. Johnson, 2020. Book.
Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren't Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson's emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.
Living Queer History : remembrance and belonging in a southern city.
Gregory Samantha Rosenthal, 2021. Ebook.
Living Queer History tells the story of an LGBTQ community in Roanoke, Virginia, a small city on the edge of Appalachia. Interweaving historical analysis, theory and memoir, Gregory Samantha Rosenthal tells the story of their own journey—coming out and transitioning as a transgender woman—in the midst of working on a community-based history project that documents a multigenerational southern LGBTQ community.
The Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook: Skills for Navigating Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression.
Anneliese A. Singh, 2018. Ebook.
This workbook explores the toolbox of resilience techniques and practices with a focus on the extra layer of life stresses that many queer and gender non-conforming people face. Tapping into personal resilience is a journey of self-reflection and community building that fosters hope and personal growth and builds strength to help others.
The Book of Non-Binary Joy.
Ben Pechy, 2022. Ebook.
Whether readers are at the start of their journey or have been on the wild ride of gender introspection for a long time, this guide is here to help them thrive as their authentic—and most fabulous—non-binary selves. With personal stories, valuable insights, and interactive sections, this inspiring book covers a wide range of topics, including mental health, pleasure, fashion, understanding the past, allyship privilege, and self-expression.
All the Things They Said We Couldn't Have : stories of trans joy.
Oakes-Monger, T. C., 2023. Ebook.
Trans people deserve to hear stories of joy and hope, where being trans doesn't have to be defined by fear and dysphoria but can be experienced through courage, freedom, and the love and acceptance of their chosen families. Through a series of uplifting, generous, and beautifully crafted vignettes, T. C. Oakes-Monger gently leads readers through the cycle of the seasons and invites them to find similar moments of joy in their lives.
Articles
“The Phrase ‘Coming Out’ Harms Us More Than It Helps Us”
Sadhbh O’Sullivan
Refinary29, May 2021
The act of “coming out” creates a daunting pressure for folks in the LGBTQIA+ Community. “Inviting in” presents an alternative way of sharing identity.
“On Black Queer Joy and the Digital”
Christopher J. Persaud and Ashon Crawley
Social Media + Society, volume 8, issue 2, 2022
The digital is another world through which we can practice thought with one another. Learning happens in digital space; argumentation happens in digital space; and pushback happens in digital space. Lots and lots of joking happens in digital space and a lot of people get angry about the joking that happens in digital space. Digital space is a place where thought happens.
“Who's the 'Q' in LGBTQ? Study shines light on 'queer' identities”
Tim Fitzsimons
NBC News, January 2020
“Queer” has been used as a slur, and it is also a “reclaimed term” for the LGBTQ+ community that encompasses complex amalgamations of identity for some and provides a catchall that dodges the pressure to fit neatly into a restricting box for others.
“Drag, Dance And Sapphic Love: LGBTQ+ Angelenos Share Their Stories Of Joy”
Caitlin Hernández
LAist, June 2023
What makes one joyful? Is it spending time with loved ones? Or experiencing something new? The idea of joy is one that’s prevalent in LGBTQ+ communities. For many, it’s a form of resistance to be happy in the face of civil rights assaults.
“Disability, Debility, and Caring Queerly”
Christina Crosby and Janet R. Jakobsen
Social Text, volume 38, issue 4, 2022
“Participating in this research has been the most liberating and validating experience. Reading these stories… almost four years later has reaffirmed the challenges that I had as a young student and prompted me to reexamine my current self through their framework. Which spaces am I still performing to get into? What privilege enables that choice? And how am I practicing self-love for my most authentic self? Through their research, I am gifted language to construct, try to make sense of, and even play with all that continues to stay in flux. For the first time in an academic setting, I feel seen.”
“How Managers Can Support a Team Member Who’s Transitioning”
Nate Shalev
Harvard Business Review, November 2022
Managers have a unique responsibility to support their team members and create an inclusive work environment. This article shares what “transitioning” means, how language impacts work culture, and offers better ways to be an ally.
Podcasts
Below the Radar: “Celebrating Queer Joy—with Brandon Yan” (59:47)
Brandon speaks to supporting queer and trans youth in schools by bringing queer joy into classrooms, working collaboratively to push forward policy change and reimagining the future of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Brandon also shares his path of embracing his identity as a queer, mixed-race person and his experience running for city council in Vancouver.
Town Hall: A Black Queer Podcast: “Joy” (92:00)
Bob the Drag Queen and Miss Peppermint talk black queer joy with Ezra Ongongo, a Gender, Race, and Indigenous Studies Student; writer and actor DK Uzoukwu; and novelist Danielle Parker. Together they explore the joys of discovering identity, learning to embrace it, and deepening it through life’s journey.
Locatora Radio: A Radiophonic Novella “Self-Lovery” (35:00)
Chicana podcast producer, voice actress, comedian and writer, Mala Muñoz, joins with Diosa Femme, a Peruana-Mexicana podcast producer, comedian and writer, to explore the change in their perception of self-care and self-love as they grow older.
All My Relations: “Indigiqueer” (56:04)
Hosts Matika Wilbur, Desi Small-Rodriguez and Adrienne Keene explore being queer and indigenous with guests Joshua Whitehead and Billy Ray Belcourt about writing and experiences in academia. These artists “weave words and worlds to help us see and understand queer indigenous identities and bodies, the ways that settler colonialism has disrupted and distorted our relationships and the power of asserting voice in spaces not meant for us.”
Black House Black Joy: “This is OUR HOUSE!” (12:56)
Dr. Jasmine Henry, DJ Omar Abdallah, Charles Mitchell, DJ Jihad Muhammad, Jamara Wakefield and DJ Mix Mash come together to discuss the resilient roots of House Music in New Jersey. These storytellers explore the future of House Music through personal experiences and narratives.
Videos
Why trans and non-binary joy is not radical (14:09)
Advocate and author Ben Pechey argues that being non-binary is not the revolutionary act the media portrays it to be, and instead, celebrates the mundane.
What the gay rights movement learned from the civil rights movement (18:00)
Filmmaker Yoruba Richen shares her personal story of the fallout from Proposition 8 and a timeline of the intertwined civil rights and gay rights movements to dispel the notion that they somehow work in opposition to each other.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race" Cast Explains The History of Drag Culture (05:32)
Contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race Allstars recount the history of drag and the iconic figures that paved the way for the queens of today.
Between the Shades (1:24:14)
This collection of interviews with 34 people across very different intersections within the LGBTQ+ community explores labeling, identities, coming out, sexuality, relationships, love and advocacy.
LinkedIn Learning
Through free access to the NC State community, LinkedIn Learning offers the following modules on this topic: