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Aria Burrell (Twitter and Medium) is the Former Vice-President External of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU) with an interest in the LGBTQ2IA+ community. Burrell did not work on those issues while in the formal position or through it as much. However, with the work through the Canadian Alliance of Students’ Associations and SAMRU, Burrell has extensive experience in listening to the concerns of and know the lives of postsecondary students. Here we talk about the LGBTQ2IA+ community in postsecondary undergraduate environments.
When I asked about the issues affecting the LGBTQ2IA+ students, Burrell talked about the umbrella issue for the sexual orientation and gender identity minority in the postsecondary learning environment regarding undergraduates in particular. The concern of the relatively low levels of inclusion inside of the classroom and in the course content.
Burrell stated, “On its surface this doesn’t often register as a problem from the outside, from administrators and instructors who think in terms of cisgender, heteronormative defaults, but in aggregate it tells LGBTQ2IA+ people we’re not welcome in our schools or chosen fields. For instance, Statistics classrooms that continue to teach students to encode gender as a binary field, Psychology courses which continue to pathologize asexuality, English courses which continue to teach that gender-neutral ‘they’ is agrammatical, etc. don’t reflect the lived experiences of many students.”
She noted the social acceptance of the notion, in an academic setting, of Alice and Bob as the default names for a married couple, but not Claire and Alice. A lesbian couple is seen less in the academic textbooks or course materials provided to students. In that, these texts become out of date with the times, according to Burrell.
She continued, “Some students end up having to work under instructors who are not accepting of their identities and orientations, and this can make for a psychologically taxing classroom experience. Instructors who won’t use a transgender student’s chosen name or pronouns are more common than most institutions would like to admit.”
Burrell talked about the various experiences relayed in conversation after dialogue with those known to her. Where the instructors in the university begin to use the class as a place for ender essentialist and anti-equality talk, even “rants,” in the midst of individuals who are either queer or trans, she describes this as a source of stress for the LGBTQ2IA+ students in the classroom setting.
Furthermore, these students hoping for a civil environment with some moderate accommodations for them in the classroom do not get them. The accommodations are denied to the sexual orientation and gender identity minority students. Burrell notes this as a disheartening phenomenon for many students.
When I reflected on the prior line of questioning, I wanted to extend into the action items for those students who want to make a difference. A change for more inclusion and integration of the LGBTQ2IA+ in the postsecondary learning environment in the undergraduate level of schooling in Canada.
“Availability of gender-neutral restrooms is a must for non-binary students to be included in post-secondary given the stress that population faces around public, gendered spaces,” Burrell recommended, “Administrations should offer and instructors should participate in training for sensitivity to gender and sexual minority concerns and failures to support these students in terms of basic respect and accommodations should be met with appropriate responses from human resources.”
Furthermore, she suggested the departments within the universities should work to alter the curricula for the reduction in bias based on sexuality and gender. The burden, often, is set on the limited working hands and minds of the Women’s Studies and Sociology departments. It becomes an unfair burden for them. It should be broader for the sake of these communities,, especially in solidarity.
Burrell emphasized, “Particular to the two spirit identity, which I am not part of, I understand further efforts to Indigenize the academy are necessary alongside moves to ensure pre-colonial concepts of gender and sexuality are sufficiently represented and accommodated in disciplines beyond Indigenous Studies.”
Then the line of questioning went into the organizations to work with for further acceptance and equality of the community. Burrell spoke on organizations that work in LGBTQ2IA+ equality and acceptance efforts in post-secondary institutions across the country as being regional, especially regarinding the students’ associations.
She concluded, “These student-run bodies often are at the cutting edge of acceptance and support for marginalized populations on campus. LGBTQ2IA+ advocacy organizations often function at a federal or provincial/state level and can be great sources for basic educational materials. Many offer diversity training and can work with post-secondary institutions to develop appropriate training for course instructors.”
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Image Credits: Pixabay