Gender and Sexuality Studies Spotlight

PhD Candidate in the department of Politics Mishall Lallani discusses her research on the intersections between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Immigration in North America. Listen to learn more about the intersections of governance, data imperialism, and gender and what it means to pursue a career in this field. 

PhD candidate in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies Ify Okadigbo joins Jana Masri in discussing their scholarly and activist work on African feminisms, as well as their personal and professional trajectory to this work. Join Ify and Jana in thinking through the decolonization of gender within the context of African women’s lived realities. Find Ify's LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ify-okadigbo-5851442b/

PhD student in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at York University Laura Morrison in our second episode of season 4 of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Spotlight Podcast with Hanna Jalal discusses their scholarly and activist work on sexual assault, as well as their experiences in graduate school doing advanced degrees in interdisciplinary programs. Join Laura and Hanna in thinking through the complexities associated with conducting research on sexual assault and justice.  Find Laura’s substack here: https://lauramorrison.substack.com Trigger Warning: This episode engages with topics that may be difficult for some, please listen with caution. (with special editing credits to Allegra Morgado, PhD student in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at York University). 

PhD Candidate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at York University Mackenzie Edwards in this inaugural episode to season 4 of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Spotlight Podcast with Allegra Morgado discuss their work in the field of fat studies, as well as the ins and outs of an advanced degree in gender and feminist studies. Join Mackenzie and Allegra in unpacking the ways in which fatness is policed, politicized, and reclaimed within feminist and queer communities. Join us for a powerful conversation that critically examines body politics and graduate studies in the field.  View the Excessive Bodies Journal here: https://www.instagram.com/excessivebodiesjournal/ Learn more about Mackenzie Edwards here: https://mackenzie-edwards.com/

In this bonus episode, York Gender Feminist and Women’s Studies Ph.D. candidates Stephanie Jonsson and Angela Stanley talk about navigating disability during undergraduate and graduate programs. They discuss some of their experiences with accessing accessibility services as both students and workers and the ways that disability intersects with race, gender, and queerness. Angela Stanley’s research is focused on disability, sexuality, queerness, and accessibility, and she mobilizes her research work through her role as an accessibility coordinator for the Ontario Digital Literacy and Access Network (ODLAN). Get in touch with Angela at: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn Find Stephanie's work at: https://odlan.ca/ Sexuality Studies Spotlight is produced by Stephanie Jonsson, Hannah Maitland, Kathleen Cherrington, Keely O'Brien, Helen Martin, and Amanda Selvaggi. This podcast is made possible through support from the York University Sexuality Studies Program, Innovation York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit, The Academic Excellence Fund, and the Media Creation Lab at Scott Library. This podcast was produced on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations, and we invite our audience to visit native-land.ca to learn more about the land where they’re listening.    For a written transcript of this episode, please visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V3BrcFkvrpG7Lr5Mk90JykCCsw1Mc8yD?usp=share_link   Content Note: This podcast features discussions of sex and sexuality that may include references to sexual and gender-based discrimination/violence/assault/abuse or other potentially triggering topics. Listener discretion is advised.   Resources: York Resources: SASSL- https://sassl.info.yorku.ca/ Canada-Wide Resources: DAWN- https://www.dawncanada.net/issues/crisis-hotlines/  Crisis Text Line- https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/sexual-abuse/#understanding-sexual-abuse-1

In today’s episode, Helen sits down to chat with Fatemeh Gharibi about their work on elevating queer voices through performance. They discussed Fati’s experience as an international student coming from Iran and joining York’s MA and now PhD program in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies where they currently research queer international students of colour in Canada. Fatemeh discusses the evolution of women’s rights in Iran and how this influences their academic and activist work here.  They conclude by giving advice to anyone considering pursuing a degree in sexuality studies and offer an encouraging message to their fellow international students. You can find more of Fati’s work at: Their Instagram: @f.ghariba   Some of their performance and research work: Performed in Radical Housewives by the Toronto Workers' Theatre Group in May 2022. https://vimeo.com/761416608 PolyRupture with Alireza Gorgani, a Video Performance production, exhibited in: Eco-Art and Media Festival, Environmental and Urban Change Faculty, York University, Mar 7, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB9lL0Cgels Presented “Queer theorizing through theatre performance within the Iranian closet” at Graduate Conference 2020: Speaking to Power: Feminist Theories and Praxis. Women & Gender Studies Graduate Student Union at University of Toronto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJk_8EqBFC8   Sexuality Studies Spotlight is produced by Stephanie Jonsson, Hannah Maitland, Kathleen Cherrington, Keely O'Brien, Helen Martin, and Amanda Selvaggi. This podcast is made possible through support from the York University Sexuality Studies Program, Innovation York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit, The Academic Excellence Fund, and the Media Creation Lab at Scott Library. This podcast was produced on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations, and we invite our audience to visit native-land.ca to learn more about the land where they’re listening.  For a written transcript of this episode, please visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V3BrcFkvrpG7Lr5Mk90JykCCsw1Mc8yD?usp=share_link   Content Note: This podcast features discussions of sex and sexuality that may include references to sexual and gender-based discrimination/violence/assault/abuse or other potentially triggering topics. Listener discretion is advised.    Resources: York Resources: SASSL- https://sassl.info.yorku.ca/ Canada-Wide Resources: DAWN- https://www.dawncanada.net/issues/crisis-hotlines/  Crisis Text Line- https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/sexual-abuse/#understanding-sexual-abuse-1  

In today’s episode, Amanda is joined by Ph.D. Candidate Evan Vipond. While completing their B.A.H in Theatre Studies at York, Evan took several courses in the Sexuality Studies program and is now a Ph.D. Candidate in the Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies Department. Evan’s research is interdisciplinary, drawing from women and gender studies, transgender studies, and sexuality studies. Their areas of expertise include trans rights and critical politics, neoliberalism, and trans cultural representation. In this episode, they discuss academic publishing, transitioning from undergrad to graduate school and Degrassi.  Find more of Evan’s work here:  Researchgate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Evan-Vipond  JusticeTrans: https://justicetrans.org/en/  Evan’s publications:  Vipond, E. (2023). “Expanding the Repertoire of Trans Masculinities: The Cultural Legacy of Original Plumbing.” Transgender Studies Quarterly 10.2: 175-188. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-10440833.  Vipond, E. (2021). “‘One hundred percent dude’: Straightening Degrassi’s Adam Torres.” TransNarratives. Eds. Carter, Kristi, and James Brunton, 145-164. Toronto: Canadian Scholars and Women’s Press.   Vipond, E. (2019). “Becoming Culturally (Un)Intelligible: Exploring the Terrain of Trans Life Writing.” a/b: Auto/Biography Studies, 34.1: 19-43. doi: 10.1080/08989575.2019.1542813. [Special Issue: Trans Narratives: trans, transmedia, transnational. Reprinted as an edited collection by Routledge in 2022.]    Vipond, E. (2019). “From Surviving to Thriving”: A Needs Assessment of Trans and Nonbinary People in Toronto Based on the Social Determinants of Health (Rep.). Toronto, ON: Toronto Trans Coalition Project.  Vipond, E. (2017). “Producing Trans Economicus: Deploying Market Logic in the Fight for Trans Rights.” Canadian Review of Social Policy/Revue Canadienne de Politique Sociale 77 (Summer/Fall): 17-43.   Vipond, E. (2015). “Trans Rights Will Not Protect Us: The Limits of Equal Rights Discourse, Anti-Discrimination Laws, and Hate Crime Legislation.” Western Journal of Legal Studies 6.1 (September), online: <http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/uwojls/>.   Vipond, E. (2015). “Resisting Transnormativity: Challenging the Medicalization and Regulation of Trans Bodies.” Theory in Action 8.2 (April):21-44.   Smith, J., P. Cannoot, P. Cloutier de Repentigny, L. Holzer, S. Leung, T. Mhuirthile, E. Vipond, and N. Varman. (2023). “Roundtable on Deregistration and Gender Law Reform Internationally.” Feminist Legal Studies (online). doi:10.1007/s10691-022-09512-7.   Davies, A., E. Vipond, and A. King. (2017). “Gender Binary Washrooms as a Means of Gender Policing in Schools: A Canadian Perspective.” Gender and Education 31.7: 866-85. doi: 10.1080/09540253.2017.1354124.     Sexuality Studies Spotlight is produced by Stephanie Jonsson, Hannah Maitland, Kathleen Cherrington, Keely O'Brien, Helen Martin, and Amanda Selvaggi. This podcast is made possible through support from the York University Sexuality Studies Program, Innovation York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit, The Academic Excellence Fund, and the Media Creation Lab at Scott Library. This podcast was produced on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations, and we invite our audience to visit native-land.ca to learn more about the land where they’re listening.  For a written transcript of this episode, please visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V3BrcFkvrpG7Lr5Mk90JykCCsw1Mc8yD?usp=share_link Content Note: This podcast features discussions of sex and sexuality that may include references to sexual and gender-based discrimination/violence/assault/abuse or other potentially triggering topics. Listener discretion is advised.  Resources: York Resources: SASSL- https://sassl.info.yorku.ca/ Canada-Wide Resources: DAWN- https://www.dawncanada.net/issues/crisis-hotlines/  Crisis Text Line- https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/sexual-abuse/#understanding-sexual-abuse-1

Amanda returns with an interview with Dr. Christopher Dietzel (he/him), the 2022–2023 Visiting Scholar in Sexuality Studies. Chris is a research associate on the iMPACTS Project at McGill University, which investigates sexual violence, and he works in the Sexual Health and Gender (SHaG) Lab, which explores gender- and sexuality-related health issues. In this episode, they discuss Chris’ research on older LGBTQ+ adult’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and queer community experiences with online dating apps.   Find more of Chris’ work here: Chris’ website: https://www.mcgill.ca/definetheline/christopher-dietzel The iMPACTS Project: https://www.mcgill.ca/definetheline/impacts The SHaG Lab: https://shaglab.ca/   Sexuality Studies Spotlight is produced by Stephanie Jonsson, Hannah Maitland, Kathleen Cherrington, Keely O'Brien, Helen Martin, and Amanda Selvaggi. This podcast is made possible through support from the York University Sexuality Studies Program, Innovation York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit, The Academic Excellence Fund, and the Media Creation Lab at Scott Library. This podcast was produced on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations, and we invite our audience to visit native-land.ca to learn more about the land where they’re listening.    For a written transcript of this episode, please visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V3BrcFkvrpG7Lr5Mk90JykCCsw1Mc8yD?usp=share_link   Content Note: This podcast features discussions of sex and sexuality that may include references to sexual and gender-based discrimination/violence/assault/abuse or other potentially triggering topics. Listener discretion is advised.    Resources: York Resources: SASSL- https://sassl.info.yorku.ca/ Canada-Wide Resources: DAWN- https://www.dawncanada.net/issues/crisis-hotlines/  Crisis Text Line- https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/sexual-abuse/#understanding-sexual-abuse-1

In this episode, returning host Helen Martin sat down with Ph.D. candidate Kathleen Cherrington to discuss her scholarly activist work on sexuality studies. For fifteen years, Kathleen worked as an outreach worker to marginalized populations, specifically chronically homeless individuals, prisoners, and street-based sex workers. Her research specializations include critical sex work and erotic labour studies; transnational sexualities; scholar activism; gendered labour; women in poverty; sexual rights; creative research methods and methodologies; feminist art activism; and urban sexualities. In this episode, they chat about being a mature student, mental health during the pandemic, and Kathleen’s journey to her Ph.D. in the Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies Department at York. Kathleen talks about some of her major takeaways from her sexuality studies degree and gives some advice for students who are considering a sexuality studies degree or want to get more involved in sex worker advocacy. You can find Kathleen’s blog at https://cherrykat75.com/   Sexuality Studies Spotlight is produced by Stephanie Jonsson, Hannah Maitland, Kathleen Cherrington, Keely O'Brien, Helen Martin, and Amanda Selvaggi. This podcast is made possible through support from the York University Sexuality Studies Program, Innovation York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit, The Academic Excellence Fund, and the Media Creation Lab at Scott Library. This podcast was produced on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations, and we invite our audience to visit native-land.ca to learn more about the land where they’re listening.  For a written transcript of this episode, please visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V3BrcFkvrpG7Lr5Mk90JykCCsw1Mc8yD?usp=share_link   Content Note: This podcast features discussions of sex and sexuality that may include references to sexual and gender-based discrimination/violence/assault/abuse or other potentially triggering topics. Listener discretion is advised.    Resources: York Resources: SASSL- https://sassl.info.yorku.ca/ Canada-Wide Resources: DAWN- https://www.dawncanada.net/issues/crisis-hotlines/  Crisis Text Line- https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/sexual-abuse/#understanding-sexual-abuse-1

Welcome back to Sexuality Studies Spotlight! This episode introduces Amanda Selvaggi as our new undergraduate host. Amanda is joined by Jade Crimson Rose Da Costa, a gender nonbinary queer woman of colour and Ph.D. Sociology candidate at York University, community organizer and educator, creative writer and poet. Their research, teaching, organizing, and art converge on topics of race and racism, queer and trans belonging, feminism, the sociology of health, and social justice. In this episode, they discuss Jade’s community and scholarly work as well as their time at York.  Find more of Jade’s work at: Jade’s website: https://www.jadecrimson.com/ Erotic Pedagogy: IG: https://www.instagram.com/eroticpedagogy/ YouTube With Erotic Pedagogy Videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/JadeRoseSociology The People's Pantry (Cofounder): http://thepeoplespantryto.com/ Jade’s ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jade-Da-Costa New Sociology: Journal of Critical Praxis (Founder and EIC): https://nsjcp.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/default Sexuality Studies Spotlight is produced by Stephanie Jonsson, Hannah Maitland, Kathleen Cherrington, Keely O'Brien, Helen Martin, and Amanda Selvaggi. This podcast is made possible through support from the York University Sexuality Studies Program, Innovation York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit, The Academic Excellence Fund, and the Media Creation Lab at Scott Library. This podcast was produced on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations, and we invite our audience to visit native-land.ca to learn more about the land where they’re listening.   For a written transcript of this episode, please visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V3BrcFkvrpG7Lr5Mk90JykCCsw1Mc8yD?usp=share_link   Content Note: This podcast features discussions of sex and sexuality that may include references to sexual and gender-based discrimination/violence/assault/abuse or other potentially triggering topics. Listener discretion is advised.    Resources: York Resources: SASSL- https://sassl.info.yorku.ca/ Canada-Wide Resources: DAWN- https://www.dawncanada.net/issues/crisis-hotlines/  Crisis Text Line- https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/sexual-abuse/#understanding-sexual-abuse-1