Queering the Queer/Non-Queer Binary: Problematising the I in LGBTI+

This event has been postponed due to the coronavirus. A new date for the event will be announced soon.

This event is co-hosted by OutLaws and by qUCL

Speakers

Dr Mitchell Travis (University of Leeds) and
Dr Fae Garland (University of Manchester) - tbc

About the event

This empirical study engaged with intersex research participants to ask about their experiences with and perceptions of LGBT and queer identities and activism. The study found that whilst some people saw the value in Queer and LGBT activism many raised objections to being seen as falling under this umbrella. These criticisms took two distinct directions. Firstly, research participants largely identified as male or female – they mostly rejected intersex as a third gender that might queer the gender binary and were critical of academics or activists that ‘used’ intersex people in this way. Secondly, participants were mistrustful of queer and LGBT activism as they felt that intersex concerns around non-therapeutic medical interventions were not prioritised and funding was siphoned away from the intersex community. These findings raise new dilemmas about intersex inclusion in Queer and LGBT spaces and the purposes behind these inclusions. Importantly, intersex peoples rejection of queer places them at the porous intersection of a queer/non-queer binary.

About the speakers

Dr Mitchell Travis is a lecturer in Law at the University of Leeds where he is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Law and Social Justice. He has published widely on issues of gender and sexuality in Law and Society, Legal Studies, Social and Legal Studies, Medical Law Review and the European Law Journal. Mitchell has been a consultant for the Government Equalities Office and the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs. He is currently an academic member of the NHS England’s DSD Policy Working Group.
 
Dr Fae Garland is a lecturer in law based in the Manchester Centre for Regulation and Governance, at the School of Law at the University of Manchester. Her empirical research is grounded in family law and vulnerability.