ERIC Number: EJ1417538
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1938-8926
EISSN: EISSN-1938-8934
"It's Survival Mode": Exploring How an Indigenous Trans* Student of Color (Per)Forms Identity While Transgressing Space
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, v17 n2 p243-255 2024
Literature exploring postsecondary undergraduate student experiences at the nexus of queerness, trans*ness, and Indigeneity remains relatively scant, as does scholarship taking a geospatial lens to understand the experiences of trans* collegians. Given the settler colonial history of higher education as a field and the colonial nature of the relationships between universities and the land they occupy, it is important to center Indigenous students and their relationship with land to understand the ways institutions perpetuate oppression against Indigenous students, particularly those holding multiple systemically minoritized identities. This qualitative, theoretically driven piece explores the narrative of Alonso (pseudonym), a nonbinary, genderfluid, Indigenous, biracial undergraduate Student of Color, to interrogate how they perform and understand their gender identity across a multitude of spaces. Drawing from geography, anthropology, queer theory, and Indigenous studies, I build a critical, queer understanding of space and mobility as a theoretical lens through which I analyze Alonso's experiences both on and off of their college campus. By ascertaining the conceived, perceived, and lived spatial meaning Alonso derives from these spaces, it becomes possible to explore how they make sense of their various social identities, how these identities are performed in collegiate academic spaces, and how their identities shape their collegiate academic journey as an Indigenous, trans* Student of Color. Findings underscore the potential of geospatial frameworks in scholarship with trans* collegians and speak to the importance of decentering white, Eurocentric ways of knowing both in the classroom and in research.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Sexuality, LGBTQ People, Indigenous Populations, American Indian Students, Minority Group Students, United States History, Social Bias, Racism, Student Experience
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A