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Gendered knowledges in schools – trans* young people’s experiences and schools’ strategies

Schmitt, Irina LU orcid (2019) g19. Swedish Conference for gender research
Abstract
What knowledges and understandings of gender are done and produced
in schools in Sweden today? Through interviews with trans* young people
and young adults, this study analyzes schools and adults’ abilities and knowledges to understand and meet the needs of trans* students and to address cisnormative structures in school. The participants’ narratives give a rich
and complex image of what it can mean to be trans* and go to school in
Sweden and show that many students take it upon themselves to educate
the adults in their schools about trans*-inclusion.
Many participants discuss administrative violence (Spade) and cultural
cis-genderism (Kennedy) that affect the mundane aspects of being in
school and the... (More)
What knowledges and understandings of gender are done and produced
in schools in Sweden today? Through interviews with trans* young people
and young adults, this study analyzes schools and adults’ abilities and knowledges to understand and meet the needs of trans* students and to address cisnormative structures in school. The participants’ narratives give a rich
and complex image of what it can mean to be trans* and go to school in
Sweden and show that many students take it upon themselves to educate
the adults in their schools about trans*-inclusion.
Many participants discuss administrative violence (Spade) and cultural
cis-genderism (Kennedy) that affect the mundane aspects of being in
school and the knowledges that are given space and produced. Young
trans* people can become the bearers and sharers of knowledge about
what it means to be trans* and about embodying abject(ed) identity formations, and about the necessity to manage interlocking oppressions. They
learn about the workings of un/justice in spaces of knowledge production
and about creating support for themselves and others. On the other hand,
there are experiences of embeddedness of trans* as unequivocal part of
social and academic knowledge production in schools.
Which this presentation, I am interested in following Engel’s suggestion
to analyze political struggle and changes as paradoxical, rather than linear,
by exploring the paradox that such different experiences can be located
in one person’s experiences of school, if not in the same school. I want
to argue that we need to strengthen both a rights-based approach and a
subject knowledge-based approach to make schools better places beyond
cis-normativity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
keywords
trans, transgender, nonbinary, school, Sweden, transfeminist, interview, gender, trans, ickebinär, skola, Sverige, transfeminism, intervju, genus
conference name
g19. Swedish Conference for gender research
conference location
Göteborg, Sweden
conference dates
2019-10-07 - 2019-10-09
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5a958737-cdf1-46ca-a3ab-b1fae598130a
date added to LUP
2020-04-03 09:34:50
date last changed
2023-09-27 14:02:57
@misc{5a958737-cdf1-46ca-a3ab-b1fae598130a,
  abstract     = {{What knowledges and understandings of gender are done and produced<br/>in schools in Sweden today? Through interviews with trans* young people<br/>and young adults, this study analyzes schools and adults’ abilities and knowledges to understand and meet the needs of trans* students and to address cisnormative structures in school. The participants’ narratives give a rich<br/>and complex image of what it can mean to be trans* and go to school in<br/>Sweden and show that many students take it upon themselves to educate<br/>the adults in their schools about trans*-inclusion.<br/>Many participants discuss administrative violence (Spade) and cultural<br/>cis-genderism (Kennedy) that affect the mundane aspects of being in<br/>school and the knowledges that are given space and produced. Young<br/>trans* people can become the bearers and sharers of knowledge about<br/>what it means to be trans* and about embodying abject(ed) identity formations, and about the necessity to manage interlocking oppressions. They<br/>learn about the workings of un/justice in spaces of knowledge production<br/>and about creating support for themselves and others. On the other hand,<br/>there are experiences of embeddedness of trans* as unequivocal part of<br/>social and academic knowledge production in schools.<br/>Which this presentation, I am interested in following Engel’s suggestion<br/>to analyze political struggle and changes as paradoxical, rather than linear,<br/>by exploring the paradox that such different experiences can be located<br/>in one person’s experiences of school, if not in the same school. I want<br/>to argue that we need to strengthen both a rights-based approach and a<br/>subject knowledge-based approach to make schools better places beyond<br/>cis-normativity.}},
  author       = {{Schmitt, Irina}},
  keywords     = {{trans; transgender; nonbinary; school; Sweden; transfeminist; interview; gender; trans; ickebinär; skola; Sverige; transfeminism; intervju; genus}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  title        = {{Gendered knowledges in schools – trans* young people’s experiences and schools’ strategies}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}