The Body and the Double Bind: Sex/ual/ized Stigmatization, Oppression, and Resistance
Topic Summary:
In this summer session theme "The Body and the Double Bind", we center the body as both a corporeal and socially constructed site in the experience of gender/sex/uality in/justice. Participants will explore the roles that body size, gender presentation, race/ethnicity, disability, and intersections of these play in sexual life, with particular attention to experiences of sex/ual/ized stigmatization, oppression, and resistance. Through readings, videos, reflection, and discussion, session attendees will critically examine the double-binds produced by both the processes of stigmatization and the experiences of oppression. These double-binds consist of paradoxical social norms, contexts, and structures that seek to limit resistance and maintain oppressive systems and their social hierarchies. These double binds are both documented by and, in many cases, replicated within dominant approaches to sexuality and gender research. Research approaches that uncritically accept the double binds of stigmatization and oppression serve to further marginalize subjugated groups by excluding their full lived experiences and reinforcing narratives that attempt to strip them of agency and power. To challenge these dynamics within our own practices, the summer session will assist participants in recognizing, identifying, and centering strategies of sex/ual/ized resistance, through which subjugated peoples seek to survive, mitigate, end, or transform the harms they have experienced.
See the syllabus here!
Facilitator:
Liam Heerten-Rodriguez is a clinical social worker, educator, and researcher. Liam is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the Grace Abbott School of Social Work, where his teaching and research focus broadly on the intersections of sexuality, stigmatization, and social justice. Liam's research seeks to center the lived experiences of folks who experience stigmatization and oppression and explore the ways in which they relate to their bodies and navigate their sexuality and relationships. Liam also operates a small, mental health practice in Omaha, NE.
Dates, Times & Structure:
Thursdays 1-3pm ET, May 25th-July 20th, 2023 (not meeting 06/29). The summer session is entirely online. There will be weekly meetings with facilitated discussion using Zoom. Before each meeting, there will be materials for you to read/watch, and these are primarily academic. Please ensure you have time and energy to commit to all or most meetings, readings in advance of meetings, and discussion (spoken or messaged) during meetings before you apply :)
Cost: Free!
Funded by Dr. Sari van Anders' Canada 150 Research Chair in Social Neuroendocrinology, Sexuality, & Gender/Sex.