title: An ACT UP case study: How the mainstream consumption of queer culture and contemporary masculinities obscures a continuity of queer oppression

authors: Williams, Mitchell

subjects: ACT UP

abstract: Throughout the AIDS crisis, mainstream media depicted queer populations, specifically queer men, through a lens of deviance. These depictions, in concert with political homophobia, slowed AIDS research, limited media coverage of the crisis, and created barriers for marginalised people to access healthcare. To oppose this queer disenfranchisement from dominating medical, scientific, and political establishments, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) emerged—promoting a more forceful, equitable, and humane response to a disease killing the most vulnerable members of society. By advocating for queer rights and facing challenges brought on by the AIDS crisis, ACT UP ruptured the invisibility of queer oppression and brought queerness from the fringes of society into mainstream cultural awareness. Since ACT UP, there has been some progression in queer rights and many of the challenges faced in the early days of the AIDS crisis have come to be (perceived as) resolved. However, queer people continue to face discrimination via increasing amounts of anti-queer policy and extreme-Right hostilities. Yet, the radical voices that once brought such issues to the forefront have since dispersed. Therefore, this study argues that queer oppression made visible during the AIDS crisis has continued to the present day but it is no longer as salient nor as apparent to mainstream society as it was during the time of ACT UP. A key reason for this argument is that queer visibility in mainstream media gives the illusion that traditional forms of queer discrimination have been resolved when in actuality, the consumption of queer culture by non-queer audiences obscures a continuity of queer oppression. These processes of obscuration may, in part, be driven by the lack of attention historical forms of queer resistance have received. 

To provide theoretical insights into ways the mainstream consumption of queer culture has perpetuated and obscured a continuity of queer oppression, this study employed an exploratory case study evaluation of ACT UP. This case study was guided by the sociological and Black feminist frameworks of intersectionality and the matrix of domination, with a particular focus on controlling images. Special interest was also devoted to exploring the ways contemporary masculinities can be used to understand configurations of power in the queer community. This study found that mainstream media perpetuated and obscured queer oppression throughout the AIDS crisis by spreading misinformation surrounding AIDS and the AIDS crisis, misrepresenting people with AIDS, and mis-historicising ACT UP. Additionally, this study found that masculinities influenced how men in ACT UP navigated and accessed power, most notably by leveraging their maleness and whiteness. This study concludes by framing this contemporary phenomenon as a form of epistemic violence. This study also expands upon the concept of queer blindfolding as an investigative tool for understanding how queer voices are silenced. This research is important because it draws on historical accounts to expand present-day understandings of an under-researched, contemporary queer issue, as well as honours the people who put their bodies on the line for queer rights.

text: An ACT UP case study: How the mainstream consumption of queer culture and contemporary masculinities obscures a continuity of queer oppression Throughout the AIDS crisis, mainstream media depicted queer populations, specifically queer men, through a lens of deviance. These depictions, in concert with political homophobia, slowed AIDS research, limited media coverage of the crisis, and created barriers for marginalised people to access healthcare. To oppose this queer disenfranchisement from dominating medical, scientific, and political establishments, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) emerged—promoting a more forceful, equitable, and humane response to a disease killing the most vulnerable members of society. By advocating for queer rights and facing challenges brought on by the AIDS crisis, ACT UP ruptured the invisibility of queer oppression and brought queerness from the fringes of society into mainstream cultural awareness. Since ACT UP, there has been some progression in queer rights and many of the challenges faced in the early days of the AIDS crisis have come to be (perceived as) resolved. However, queer people continue to face discrimination via increasing amounts of anti-queer policy and extreme-Right hostilities. Yet, the radical voices that once brought such issues to the forefront have since dispersed. Therefore, this study argues that queer oppression made visible during the AIDS crisis has continued to the present day but it is no longer as salient nor as apparent to mainstream society as it was during the time of ACT UP. A key reason for this argument is that queer visibility in mainstream media gives the illusion that traditional forms of queer discrimination have been resolved when in actuality, the consumption of queer culture by non-queer audiences obscures a continuity of queer oppression. These processes of obscuration may, in part, be driven by the lack of attention historical forms of queer resistance have received. 

To provide theoretical insights into ways the mainstream consumption of queer culture has perpetuated and obscured a continuity of queer oppression, this study employed an exploratory case study evaluation of ACT UP. This case study was guided by the sociological and Black feminist frameworks of intersectionality and the matrix of domination, with a particular focus on controlling images. Special interest was also devoted to exploring the ways contemporary masculinities can be used to understand configurations of power in the queer community. This study found that mainstream media perpetuated and obscured queer oppression throughout the AIDS crisis by spreading misinformation surrounding AIDS and the AIDS crisis, misrepresenting people with AIDS, and mis-historicising ACT UP. Additionally, this study found that masculinities influenced how men in ACT UP navigated and accessed power, most notably by leveraging their maleness and whiteness. This study concludes by framing this contemporary phenomenon as a form of epistemic violence. This study also expands upon the concept of queer blindfolding as an investigative tool for understanding how queer voices are silenced. This research is important because it draws on historical accounts to expand present-day understandings of an under-researched, contemporary queer issue, as well as honours the people who put their bodies on the line for queer rights.

year: 2024

title: Trauma-informed approaches for research in higher education: a guiding framework

authors: McChesney, Katrina

subjects: higher education

abstract: Trauma-informed practice is gaining increasing prominence across a range of sectors, including education. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, trauma has been increasingly considered in higher education settings, yet this has rarely extended beyond consideration of teaching practice. Trauma also needs to be considered when planning and conducting research in the field of higher education. This conceptual paper therefore explores what trauma-informed research in higher education might look like and why this is important as part of ensuring that all higher education research is safe and inclusive. The paper reviews existing literature connecting trauma with higher education, then draws on published guidelines for trauma-informed research in other settings to propose a framework for trauma-informed research in higher education. The framework comprises seven guiding principles: (1) anticipate the likely presence of trauma-affected people without requiring disclosure; (2) ensure researchers have a foundational understanding of trauma; (3) imbue a trauma-informed perspective across existing methodologies and methods; (4) reconceptualise the researcher – participant relationship; (5) design research to maximize participant agency, safety, and wellbeing; (6) support researcher safety and wellbeing; and (7) attend to intersectionality. It is hoped that the framework presented in this paper will support increased use of trauma-informed approaches within higher education research.

text: Trauma-informed approaches for research in higher education: a guiding framework Trauma-informed practice is gaining increasing prominence across a range of sectors, including education. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, trauma has been increasingly considered in higher education settings, yet this has rarely extended beyond consideration of teaching practice. Trauma also needs to be considered when planning and conducting research in the field of higher education. This conceptual paper therefore explores what trauma-informed research in higher education might look like and why this is important as part of ensuring that all higher education research is safe and inclusive. The paper reviews existing literature connecting trauma with higher education, then draws on published guidelines for trauma-informed research in other settings to propose a framework for trauma-informed research in higher education. The framework comprises seven guiding principles: (1) anticipate the likely presence of trauma-affected people without requiring disclosure; (2) ensure researchers have a foundational understanding of trauma; (3) imbue a trauma-informed perspective across existing methodologies and methods; (4) reconceptualise the researcher – participant relationship; (5) design research to maximize participant agency, safety, and wellbeing; (6) support researcher safety and wellbeing; and (7) attend to intersectionality. It is hoped that the framework presented in this paper will support increased use of trauma-informed approaches within higher education research.

year: 2025

title: He Taonga te Ta Moko ki Tauranga Moana: A survey of attitudes, opinions, whakāro noa iho, towards ta moko during the Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tangata Festival (Labour Weekend 2002)

authors: Cairns, Puawai

subjects: Maori

abstract: During Labour Weekend (26 – 28 October 2002) in Tauranga, a celebration called
the Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tangata Festival was held. The festival
represented the artists, kapa haka, lectures, sports, and personalities of Tauranga
Moana. It was during this festival that a ta moko survey was conducted, with the
support of the lead ta moko artist there, with the aim to canvass opinions and
attitudes towards ta moko. The basis of the survey was to broadly examine the
extent to which ta moko has become a form of inscribed identity for Māori. This is
a first stage in a wider research project to examine Māori attitudes towards ta
moko, but it happens that this initial step was taken in the author’s own rohe.

text: He Taonga te Ta Moko ki Tauranga Moana: A survey of attitudes, opinions, whakāro noa iho, towards ta moko during the Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tangata Festival (Labour Weekend 2002) During Labour Weekend (26 – 28 October 2002) in Tauranga, a celebration called
the Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tangata Festival was held. The festival
represented the artists, kapa haka, lectures, sports, and personalities of Tauranga
Moana. It was during this festival that a ta moko survey was conducted, with the
support of the lead ta moko artist there, with the aim to canvass opinions and
attitudes towards ta moko. The basis of the survey was to broadly examine the
extent to which ta moko has become a form of inscribed identity for Māori. This is
a first stage in a wider research project to examine Māori attitudes towards ta
moko, but it happens that this initial step was taken in the author’s own rohe.

year: 2003