To kick off Pride Month, a Queer Research Mixer, Rainbow Rendezvous,  was hosted by the International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience (INQYR) on June 8th, 2023. This event aimed to highlight the voices and experiences of queer academics and scholars and was an opportunity to connect with a diverse group of queer researchers across local universities in the Greater Toronto Area. 

The event began with a panel, QTBIPOC in the Academy: Perspectives, Experiences, & Discourse, in which interdisciplinary researchers discussed their intersectional queer research. The event also highlighted the work and lived experience of emerging and established queer researchers through roundtable discussions. 

The event was open to anyone conducting or interested in queer research, including academics and scholars of all levels. 

Agenda:

  • 6:00 – 6:30: Arrival, Food, & Conversation 

  • 6:30 – 6:40: Welcome Address 

  • 6:40 – 7:40: Speaker Panel: QTBIPOC in the Academy, Perspectives, Experiences, & Discourse

  • 7:45 – 8:45: Roundtables, Networking 

Welcome Address:

The event commenced with a welcome address from Dr. Shelley Craig, the INQYR project director.  

Dr. Shelley L. Craig (she/her) is Full Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) at the University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Gender Minority Youth (SGMY). Shelley’s program of research, based on twenty-five years of community and clinical practice, is focused on developing and implementing affirmative programs and clinical interventions to cultivate the resilience of SGMY in schools and communities. 

Panel Discussions: QTBIPOC in the Academy: Perspectives, Experiences, & Discourse:

A panel of interdisciplinary researchers discussed their intersectional queer research in the panel, QTBIPOC in the Academy: Perspectives, Experiences, & Discourse, which aimed to highlight the voices and experiences of QTBIPOC academics and scholars. The panelists discussed their experiences as BIPOC in higher education and how their research and scholarship is influenced by the intersections of race, culture, queerness, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The panel session was moderated by the co-chairs of the Canada Regional Network (Kaitrin Doll, PhD Candidate (they/them); Dane Marco Di Cesare, PhD (he/him).

Panelists:

  • Dr. Lance T. McCready is an Associate Professor in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and Director of the Transitional Year Programme at University of Toronto. His research explores education, health and the welfare of Black families, men, and queer youth in urban communities and schools. He is the author of Making Space for Diverse Masculinities published by Peter Lang and is Co-Principal Investigator of the Exploratory Study of Black Gender-Expansive Youth, and African, Caribbean, Black Family Group Conferencing Project, and Co-Investigator on the Getakit study and International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience, He is the 2018 recipient of the Distinguished Research Scholar Award from the Ontario Education Research Symposium.

  • Tin Vo (he/they) is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority Health in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He holds a PhD in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University and a MPH from the University of Alberta. He has over 10 years of experience leading research and evaluation in the fields of public health, social work, and higher education. His equity-focused research examines social climate as a determinant of health, as well as the evaluation equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-oppression initiatives.

  • Egag is a Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist with a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto. He has a strong grounding in social constructivism and utilizes a wide range of interventions, including Cognitive Behavioural (CBT) and psychodynamic orientations, to support individuals experiencing trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With experience working with individuals from all walks of life and various therapeutic needs, Egag values the importance of exploring clients' understandings of therapy and therapists to ensure their level of comfort with therapy is prioritized. He believes that clients are the experts of their own lives, and he leverages his professional knowledge to support their journey towards recovery. Egag understands that recovery is a complex and non-linear process, and he seeks to normalize the ups and downs of life while encouraging self-compassion and affirming clients' strengths and resilience. He prioritizes the maintenance of a therapeutic alliance that is respectful of clients' intersecting identities, creating a safe space for them to express their thoughts, emotions, and feelings.

  • Jenny Hui (she/her) is pursuing her PhD in Counselling and Clinical Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. Her research focuses on resilience and mental health among BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and how intersecting identities inform health disparities and clinical interventions. Her Master’s thesis explored the lived experiences of bisexual East Asian youth in Canada, and she has published two book chapters championing social justice in psychotherapy. She has co-facilitated AFFIRMative group therapy for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and adults, and she co-authored journal articles on multimodal research with 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. Ultimately, Jenny’s scholarship and practice strive to uplift the stories of people and communities who are under-represented in counselling, psychology, and social work.

  • Upasana is a PhD student at the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. For their PhD, they are working on queer intimacies and spatiality. Upasana was also previously a fellow at the Global Centre of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability at Technische Universität Berlin, Germany and has worked in the civic and open technology ecosystem in India. In their free time, they enjoy taking long walks, often with people.

Roundtables:

In a series of roundtable discussions, emerging and established queer researchers presented and discussed their intersectional queer research. 

Bushra Ahmed (they/them) | Exploring the Mental Health Experiences of LGBTQ+ Muslim Students in Ontario’s Postsecondary Institutions

In this roundtable, Bushra hopes to share the findings from their thesis research on LGBTQ+ Muslim students’ mental health experiences as they navigate their postsecondary journeys. They will discuss how the participants’ sense of belonging and wellness were impacted by their postsecondary experience, and recommendations from participants regarding how these institutions can create more inclusive spaces. The session will consist of a presentation of the overview and major findings of the research project, followed by a Q&A period from attendees. 

  • Bushra (they/them) is a neuroqueer researcher currently pursuing their Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at Wilfrid Laurier University. They are an experienced facilitator and an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) educator. They are also training to be a therapist, working specifically within the intersections of identity, neurodiversity and LGBTQIA+ issues.

Keith Cheng (he/him) | Activist-Academics: Resistance in/of the University

Following the 2020 global protests for racial justice, universities have increasingly co-opted the language of social justice for their own gain. These commitments, however, are often nothing more than what Sara Ahmed calls “a politics of feeling good, which allows people [in power] to relax and feel less threatened, as if [they] have already ‘solved it’ and there is nothing else to do.” This shift has made navigating and resisting the university particularly difficult. This roundtable will invite folks to explore our contemporary university climate by sharing their experiences and imagining new potential strategies of resistance that we, as activists in the academy, can engage with. 

  • Keith (he/him) is an archivist, designer, and researcher interested in liberatory uses of technology within educational spaces to support and empower QTBIPOC students. After doing advocacy work both in and outside the space of the university, his work explores what it means to be an activist-academic and what resistance both within - and of - the university looks like.

Jenny Hui (she/her) | “We Rise Together”: Exploring the Lived Experiences of East Asian Bisexual Youth in Canada

Over the last several decades, research by and about 2SLGBTQIA+ people and racialized people has flourished. Yet East Asian bisexual youth exist at an intersection of invisibility in literature. My study qualitatively explored the lived experiences of East Asian bisexual youth in Canada, through interviews with 10 youth (aged 23–29). Four core themes emerged from the data to capture how these youths developed their identities, encountered minority stressors, coped with stressors, and celebrated uniquely positive aspects of their lived experiences. The findings of this research underscore the vibrancy and complexity of East Asian bisexual youths’ lives. My roundtable discussion will also present clinical implications and future directions for this research.

  • Jenny Hui (she/her) is pursuing her PhD in Counselling and Clinical Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. Her research focuses on resilience and mental health among BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and how intersecting identities inform health disparities and clinical interventions. Her Master’s thesis explored the lived experiences of bisexual East Asian youth in Canada, and she has published two book chapters championing social justice in psychotherapy. She has co-facilitated AFFIRMative group therapy for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and adults, and she co-authored journal articles on multimodal research with 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. Ultimately, Jenny’s scholarship and practice strive to uplift the stories of people and communities who are under-represented in counselling, psychology, and social work.

Michael Woodford, Professor and Associate Dean: PhD Program, Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University (he/him) | Thriving on Campus: Promoting the Inclusion and Wellbeing of Diverse 2SLGBTQ+ University Students

Thriving On Campus is 2SLGBTQ+ campus climate study that surveyed nearly 3900 2SLGBTQ+ identified students from throughout Ontario and interviewed 50 of the survey respondents. Intersectionality was central to the study, thus participants were diverse in many ways including race, gender, disability, and class, and their positionalities shaped their experiences and wellbeing. This roundtable will provide an overview study findings and discuss how the research team engaged in intersectional queer research and offer reflections to promote intersectionality in future research.

  • Michael’s (he/him) research addresses the exclusion, wellbeing, and resilience of 2SLGBTQ+ people, aims to promote social justice and inclusion, and provides evidence to inform responsiveness policies and practices. Much of his research focuses on the nature and consequences of campus climate for diverse 2SLGBTQ+ post-secondary students and identifying resilience-promoting factors at the personal, interpersonal, and institutional levels. Examining everyday 2SLGBTQ+ microaggressions is a central part of his campus climate research. Michael’s research is interdisciplinary and is guided by an array of theories and frameworks, such as minority stress theory, socio-ecological framework, intersectionality, positive psychology, and community-based research. He is the Principal Investigator for the Ontario-wide Thriving On Campus study and the national study, Querying Higher Education in Canada, and is currently leading a learning-action project to mobilize findings from these studies with universities from throughout Ontario. These projects are the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Ali Pearson (they/them) | Neuro Queer-iosity: Mapping the Intersection of Neurodiversity and Gender/Sexual Diversity in Social Work Research

This session will explore the use of a Neurodiversity Paradigm with participants at the intersection of Neurodiversity and Gender Diversity in Social Work Research. Emerging researcher and member of the 3rd cohort of INQYR’s International Student Network (ISTN), Ali Pearson will discuss taking a queer approach to disability research.  Significant numbers of youth identify at the nexus of Gender and Neurodiversity. Current research and calls from the community have made clear the need for strength-based approaches and depathologization. This presentation will provide a foundation for reflections of the possibilities for the application of a Neurodiversity paradigm in resilience-based research with Gender and Neurodiverse participants. 

  • Ali Pearson (they/them) is a PhD student at is a PhD student at the Factor - Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto and a member of the 3rd cohort of INQYR’s International Student Network (ISTN). Ali’s doctoral research will focus on the experience of accessing provision of service at the intersection of neurodiversity and sexual and gender diversity. Ali co-founded The PRIDE Project a grass roots organization that supports the Queer and Trans community. Ali approaches research from a grounding in social justice and diversity, utilizing queer, crip, anti - oppressive and intersectional frameworks of practice.

Dr. Dane Marco Di Cesare (he/him) & Kaitrin Doll, MSW, PhD (Cand.) (they/them) | The Transformative Power of Smash & Crash: Conducting Intersectional Research Within Queer Gaming and Roller Derby Subcultures

This session focuses on conducting intersectional research within the queer subcultures of roller derby and video gaming. Discussion will center on the transformative potential of these subcultures and their intersection with 2SLGBTQ+ identities. Kaitrin and Dane will discuss their emergent research findings and engage in a dialogue with attendees on the opportunities and challenges of conducting research within these communities. The presentation is expected to provide insights into how queer subcultures create spaces for inclusion and empowerment, as well as insights into the lived experiences of queer individuals.

  • Dr. Dane Marco Di Cesare (he/him) is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University and Chair of the Canada Regional Network of INQYR. As a multidisciplinary academic, he specializes in the areas of exceptional education, multimodality, digital technologies, & literacy and multiliteracies. Di Cesare’s research interests are intersectional and involve how youth with intersectional identities (particularly 2SLGBTQ+) engage with digital technology and their use of media literacies, supporting 2SLGBTQ+ mental health and wellbeing, gender equity with young children, and supporting early years families through the school system (2SLGBTQ+, families with children with special needs).

  • Kaitrin (they/them) is a doctoral candidate in the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at The University of Toronto. Their research interest includes sexual and gender minority populations (SGM) and the interplay between community membership, social support, connectedness, and mental wellness. Specifically, their research will focus on how sport participation in affirming environments -using roller derby as the site of study- contribute to stress-coping, affirmation of identity, community building, resilience, and improved mental health for SGM. Of particular interest are the experiences of trans and gender diverse people (TGD) and how we can learn from trans affirming sports environments to inform policy and practice that supports the affirmation and inclusion of TGD people in both sport and beyond.Item description

Networking session:

Some attendees created networking cards to share more information about themselves and their interests. You can view submitted networking cards here!

  • 1. Choose a design platform: Canva is a great option for designing a conference networking card, but any presentation software will work. Make sure to select the option to create a square design (suggested dimensions 1080x1080px).

    2. Customize your card: Add your name, pronouns, university affiliation, current research, and how you're looking to connect with others. It's also important to include your email address so that people can contact you later. Be sure to use a legible font and clear design so that your information is easy to read.

    3. Add visual elements: Incorporate graphics or images that reflect your research or interests. This can help make your card more memorable and engaging.

    4. Finalize your design: Review your card to ensure that all of the necessary information is included and that the design looks polished. Once you're satisfied with your card, save it as a high-resolution image (e.g., .jpeg, .png, etc.).

    5. Upload your networking card to this Google form.

    Some additional tips:

    - Don't be afraid to get creative! Your networking card is a reflection of your personality and interests, so feel free to incorporate unique elements that make you stand out.

    - Keep it simple. While it's important to make your card visually appealing, avoid overloading it with too many design elements or information.

Attendee Feedback

“An opportunity connect with others in a safe space and to learn about fantastic academic research in this area”

Rainbow Rendezvous provided me with…

“An opportunity to meet, network, and talk with fellow 2SLGBTQ+ academics”
“An opportunity to learn about the experiences of younger scholars and foster intergenerational dialogue”
“So many opportunities to connect with folks doing similar research. The panel presentation made me think critically about the nuance of our experiences and our identity within “context” as Egag shared. This was an important event - hopefully there’s more!”