Volume 1, Number 9 (November 19, 2024)

In the spring of 1998, roughly a year after earning my doctorate, I found myself reeling. I learned, to my shock and horror that the relationship that I knew — I didn’t think, I knew — I’d be in for a lifetime, had abruptly ended. My partner had left me for another and was gone. No talking it over, no reconsideration, no going to couples therapy. Gone. The pain was excruciating. I stumbled into the office of Dr. Pat DeLorme, the brilliant and skilled therapist with whom I had terminated therapy several years before, for an emergency session. She took one look at me, emotionally gutted, sleep-deprived, gaunt from not being able to eat, and lovingly and firmly offered: “Crackers, ginger ale, smoothies, Gatorade.”

Crackers. Ginger Ale. Smoothies. Gatorade; the most elemental self-care prescription for someone in desperate need of self-care, but with no capacity to manage the most basic elements of it. Frankly, the miracle was that I had managed to shower, get dressed, and made it to her downtown office.

I thought of Dr. DeLorme the morning after the 2024 presidential election when I, gut-punched but not gutted, found myself shifting automatically into what I call my deep, radical self-care mode. Total media blackout? Check! Early morning sunlight during a slow mindful walk without headphones to focus on breath, listen to the birds chirping, gaze at the crisp blue autumn sky, and feel and hear the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet? Check! I cried with two different sets of neighbors that I passed on my stroll.  Wellness checks to and from friends and community? Check!  Shock, grief, and rage suffused each text and phone conversation.

I was (and remain) grateful for it all. Heading into my sixth decade next year, I’ve found that one blessing of aging is that you learn how to survive the slings and arrows of life. If you’re lucky or have practiced meditation and yoga as I have for almost two decades now, you learn how to meet shock, grief, and rage when, as the Buddhist nun Pema Chödron writes, life flings you out of your comfortable nest.

Lorde, like so many of our ancestors, is that sage who saw the future and sprinkled breadcrumbs on the trail for us to pick up and follow. Lorde was writing about her struggle with cancer with that self-care quote, but I’ve picked up my breadcrumbs. You got yours?

There will be time aplenty to strategize, resist, and (only if/when you’re up to it), rejoin the fight. For now, my focus is on my self-care and what I need to survive and thrive. My current mantra is “joyful and unbothered.” My focus is also very much on how, given the troubled waters to come, The Intersectionality Training Institute can support you, our beloved community.  In the meantime, find your figurative crackers, ginger ale, smoothies, and Gatorade.  We are on the other side.

In solidarity,

Lisa Bowleg, PhD, MA
Founder & President
Intersectionality Training Institute

P.S. I am well aware that I broke my promise made in the first issue of Intersectionalia to deliver Intersectionalia before the next salon. Given the post-election week we endured, our team needed the time, grace, and space that we hope that you extended to yourselves (and will continue to extend; this is going to be long y’all).

White Women, Intersectionality and the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election: The Aftermath

Black women in the U.S. have been the historical focus of intersectionality. But white women, whether explicitly named or not, are an important part of intersectionality’s story too. It’s right there in that lengthy book title that I love, All the Women are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave. And why, you ask, am I thinking about white women this month? Well, I’m sure you’ve seen the exits polls (see the screenshot from the NBC News Decision 2024 below) that tabulated votes by demographics, including sex and race. To the surprise of no one, 60% of white men voted for Trump; but 53% of white women did too.

Racism and misogyny were firmly on the ballot this year (they were in 2016 and 2020 too). Nevertheless, most white women looked at a flagrantly racist and misogynistic candidate (never mind 34-count convicted felon, one found civilly liable for sexual assault, one who proudly owned appointing the Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and who will likely support a national abortion ban proudly) and said, “Yep, he’s got my vote.” Because white women constitute the largest voting bloc in the U.S. (37%), their vote really matters and mattered. But, to invoke the words of Nikole Hannah-Jones, the brilliant mind behind The 1619 Project and author of a recent New York Times article on the subject, the political relationship between white women and Black women has historically been a “tenuous alliance.”

Flip to the table of contents and/or index of almost any Black feminist book about the history of Black women in the U.S. — while writing this piece, I did so with Paula Giddings’ When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America, bell hooks’, Ain’t I A Woman: Black women and Feminism, and Patricia Hill Collins’ Black Feminist Thought, Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider, and Angela Davis’ Women, Race, and Class — and you will find paragraphs or entire chapters devoted to the subject of white women’s racism as a barrier to Black women’s liberation.

Here for example, is bell hooks’ (1981) take on the issue:

To black women the issue is not whether white women are more or less racist than white men, than that they are racist. If women committed to feminist revolution, be they black or white, are to achieve any understanding of the “charged connections” between white women and black women, we must first be willing to examine woman’s relationship to society, to race, and to American culture as it is and not as we would ideally have it be. That means confronting the reality of white female racism. Sexist discrimination has prevented white women from assuming the dominant role in the perpetuation of white racial imperialism, but it has not prevented white women from absorbing, supporting, and advocating racist ideology or acting individually as racist oppressors in various spheres of American life (p. 124).

Written almost 50 years ago, it could have been written in November 2024. Thus, viewed through the prism of intersectionality, what does all this white women Trump voting business signify? Six thoughts come to mind:

1. The notion that the category of woman is a common and unifying experience around which women will organize for “women’s issues” such as reproductive rights and justice is (and has always been) mythical. The way that most  white women voted this year also renders nonsensical [white] feminist criticisms of intersectionality as being too fragmenting (for a summary of some of these arguments, see Martín, 2024). It also shows why all those Gender-based Analysis Plus designations that pop up mostly in Canadian and European intersectionality circles, make zero sense from an intersectionality perspective.
2. Whiteness is an important (and often overlooked) site of power within the intersectional “matrix of domination” (Collins, 1991) that can always be leveraged even when costly or against the best interests of white people in general, and in the case of the 2024 elections, white women who will also need access to abortion and other reproductive care. For more on the history of white people choosing racism over their own interests, see for example: Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing American’s Heartland, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, and White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide.
3. Relatedly, it is vital to reinforce that the intersection of whiteness is integral to intersectional analysis (Bilge, 2014; Carbado, 2013). As Crenshaw (2011) has noted, “intersectionality applies to everyone — no one exists outside of the matrix of power, but the implications of this matrix — when certain features are activated and relevant and when they are not — are contextual” (p. 230). The 2024 U.S. presidential election documents that whiteness was activated and highly relevant for most white women.
4. It is critical that intersectionality scholars, researchers, and practitioners center structural racism and racialization (especially when whiteness is positioned as an unmarked, invisible, or normative phenomenon) in their intersectional work. For the epilogue of Patrick Grzanka’s book, Intersectionality: Foundations and Frontiers, I wrote about (mostly) white intersectionality scholars who seeking to sidestep the discomfort of confronting structural racism and/or their own racism, appeared content to focus on oppressive systems such as heterosexism or sexism absent their intersections with racism (Bowleg, 2019). “Whitening intersectionality” refers to “the ways of doing intersectionality that rearticulate it around Eurocentric epistemologies [such as feminist and gender studies], and in so doing eviscerate racialization, racism, and the intellectual contributions of Black women” (Bilge, 2014, p. 16). Notably, Bilge reinforces that “one does not need to be white to whiten intersectionality” (p. 16). Thus, this caution is directed to everyone in the ITI community, not just white intersectionality scholars: racialization and racism are central to intersectionality.
5. It’s tempting, particularly in the midst of anger, disappointment, and anxiety about the future of this political calamity we’re in, to slip into essentialist traps, but intersectionality shows us that white women are not a monolithic group. Not surprisingly voting data is not presented intersectionally beyond sex and racial group, but an intersectional analysis of the 45% of white women who voted for Harris would likely yield other key intersections (e.g., lesbian and bisexual women, Jewish women) with whom to find intersectional solidarity.
6. After the shock, horror, and rage from the 2024 elections have subsided, those of us passionate about intersectionality and committed to health equity and social justice are going to have to find ways to coalesce across our shared interests, rather than our shared identities (Cole, 2008). Although Black people held it down for Harris (91% of Black women and 77% of Black men voted for Harris), Black people represent just 12% of the electorate.  Demographically, the math just doesn’t work.

The election results also throw a wrench in how we should think about the contemporary political intersectional binary. Crenshaw’s notion of political intersectionality describes how two political constituencies — Black men and white women — have historically excluded the political realities, needs, and concerns of Black women. In the case of the 2024 elections however, it was a majority of white women who clarified that freedom and democracy were not on their political agenda (not even for themselves). Writing about the difficulties of coalitions, the recently departed sage, freedom singer, and civil rights activist Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon (1977) reminds us that any future attempts to build coalition with Trump voting white women is by nature, fraught: “You don’t go into coalition because you just like The only reason you would consider trying to team up with somebody who could possibly kill you, is because that’s the only way you can figure you can stay alive” (pp. 356-357).

And to be clear, I am not advocating coalition building with white women who voted for Trump. At this moment, it seems an exercise in futility. Moreover, this is not a problem that Black and other racialized and ethnic minority groups (by the way, 55% of Latino men and 38% of Latinas voted for Trump) can or should be expected to address. And trust me when I tell you based on the conversations I’m hearing and having with my fellow Black women friends, the sisters are exhausted and pissed off about yet again trying to save a foolish nation from itself. Many of us are gonna need a minute! Even so, it is likely that the only people with a chance of resolving the conundrum of the Trump voting white women are, yep, you guessed it, Harris-voting white women.

References

• Bilge, S. (2014). Whitening intersectionality: Evanescence or race in intersectionality scholarship. Racism and Sociology. Racism Analysis Yearkbook, 5, 175-205. Link
• Bowleg, L. (2019). Epilogue: Intersectionality matters. In P. R. Grzanka (Ed.), Intersectionality: Foundations and Frontiers (2nd ed., pp. 413-420). Routledge.
• Carbado, D. W. (2013). Colorblind intersectionality. Signs, 38(4), 811-845. Link.
• Cole, E. R. (2008). Coalitions as a model for intersectionality: From practice to theory. Sex Roles, 59, 443-453.
• Collins, P. H. (1991). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.
• Crenshaw, K. (2011). Postscript. In H. Lutz, M. T. H. Vivar, & L. Supik (Eds.), Framing Intersectionality: Debates on a multi-faceted concept in gender studies (pp. 221-233).
• hooks, b. (1981). Ain’t I a woman: Black women and feminism. South End Press.
• Martín, A. (2024). Intersectionality without fragmentation. Ethics, 134(2), 214-245. Link.
• Reagon, B. J. (1977). Coalition politics”: Turning the century. In B. Smith (Ed.), Home girls: A Black feminist anthology (pp. 356-368). Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.

“Without community engagement you’ll get a scientific answer. I just think it’ll likely be the wrong one.”

An Interview with Sarah MacCarthy*

Okay, I confess that when I think of progressive intersectional LGBTQ-oriented public health programs and initiatives, Alabama is not the first place that comes to mind. I’m sure you get some version of this often when you interact with people from other parts of the country. How do you typically respond?

I respond with a lot of pride. I stand on the shoulders of legends here whose stories have largely been overlooked. Birmingham AIDS Outreach, AIDS Alabama, HICA, Selma Air, Five Horizons – these are just a few community partners across the state who have done incredibly complex work for decades. They have continued to evolve (through the HIV epidemic, COVID and other challenges) while simultaneously navigating a very complex environment. When I’m able to share more about who they are, what they do, and how they do it, I think it helps shift the narrative for people to understand the level of expertise, alongside the extraordinary commitment and creativity, that we have here in Birmingham and across the state.

In July 2024, several University of Alabama campuses, included yours at UAB ordered Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) offices shut in compliance with a new state law banning DEI offices on public college campuses. This of course is not unique to Alabama, many GOP-led states have done the same thing. What are the implications of this for the work that you’re doing at the Magic City LGBTQ Health Studies program?

We’re still mapping it out. I spent a lot of time this summer speaking with different people at multiple levels to understand what it would look like in practice. During that process I learned that much of what is included in these laws is interpreted as being compliant with the 2023 Supreme Court decision. I remember only reading the headlines (shame on me) and thinking the ruling largely was limited to affirmative action of college admissions. Instead, I now understand that decision has wide-spread implications. I think we all need to do more work to map out what it means to do work that is capable of addressing structural racism, homophobia, transphobia and ensure we can focus our efforts on people living at the intersection of those experiences.

Talk about how intersectionality features into the work at the Magic City LGBTQ Health Studies at the UAB School of Public Health, particularly in light of the DEI ban?

In the past few years, we’ve had unparalleled attention to DEI. Corporations, institutions, and organizations sprinted to put systems in place that were meant to more meaningfully integrate diversity into our workforce and practice. I think many of those efforts were largely superficial, rather than woven into the structural fabric of our organizations. Consequently, they could be easily cut. So, what next? A student gave me the most articulate analogy of her vision and suggested it was like gardening. That flowers are pruned and in so doing the root system grows deeper. That’s the version of life that I’m working towards right now. How can I more meaningfully integrate, across my research, training, and community, a more authentic exchange of power and privilege. Only in so doing will we even get close to creating anything capable of addressing health equity in general, and especially in the Deep South.

Tell us about some of the initiatives that you’re currently working on? Which are you most excited about?

I see training and education as my lever for structural level change. We just received a T32 award to train predoctoral students on sexual and gender minority (SGM) health in the Deep South. This builds on our undergraduate and graduate certificate on LGBTQ health and wellbeing, as well as our postbaccalaureate R25 training focused on people who want more training on SGM health research. The challenges here are too big, too complex, and require more hands on deck (as providers, as researchers, as community members) to concretely address SGM health across our region.

One of the things that delighted me when Greta Bauer and I visited UAB at your invitation to provide intersectionality trainings in 2023 was the opportunity to meet your diverse and engaged group of community collaborators, many of whom, if memory serves me correctly, were Black LGBT folk. Tell us about the process of establishing these relationships when you first arrived at UAB?

I think at the core of it we value experience as expertise. One tangible way we show how deeply valued they were, what they brought to the table, and the power dynamic in our relationship was through (drum roll please!) budgets. Truly. Say all the things, but really put your money where your mouth is and be transparent. How you break down your budget is not the only statement regarding how you value someone, but it is indeed a powerful one.

You obviously deeply value engagement with the local community partners. Talk about the importance of university researchers and faculty having close relationships with community activists and community-based organizations such as the ones you appear to have.

Without community engagement you’ll get a scientific answer. I just think it’ll likely be the wrong one. Or at least one that isn’t capable of generating genuine and sustained change. So it often comes down to what are your metrics of success. Publications and grants? You can probably do that without community. Addressing health equity? No way can you do it without community. In every profession there are those who do it for the visible success. I think more fun is to surround yourself with the people who actually get sh*t done.

What do people tend to misunderstand when they think about the art of what’s possible in terms of doing intersectional work and advancing LGBTQ equality and health in states such as Alabama?

My colleague said it best. We are this rag tag team of people building something from the ground up. Our success by every metric has been outrageous. But the best part is we’re just getting started.

What is your strategy for maintaining hope and strength in what has got to be a super challenging political climate in which to live and work?

We laugh constantly and balance deeply intense work with ridiculous conversations about all the things. I still don’t know what a Brat Summer is, but they’ll try repeatedly to explain, and our misses make us all the merrier.

In a world that’s ever grim and challenging what things are bringing you joy (could be personal and/or professional) these days? 

I’ve fallen in love with the front porch culture of the Deep South and the conversations you drop into when you can finally let go of time are like none other.

What was the last book, piece of music, or art you enjoyed that made you think, “This is so good, I gotta tell everybody about this!”? 

I really, really want to say something smart and intellectual and witty but honestly blasting Billie Eilish’s song “Lunch” makes me feel fun and flirty so I’m going with it.

Would you like to be featured in The C³?  We’d love to hear from you.  Please email us at info@intersectionalitytraining.com, subject line: C3 and let us know what you’ve been up to intersectionality-wise, and we’ll be in touch. 
We thank you in advance for your support.

• Phew! We at the ITI are in radical and deep self-care mode as we recover from the blow of the 2024 elections, accept that which we cannot change, and ready ourselves for what comes next. Daniel Hunter’s, 10 Ways to Be Prepared and Grounded Now that Trump Has Won is excellent, and hands down the best thing we’re read to facilitate grounding in this new, uncertain, and turbulent normal.

 

Position Announcements

It’s raining job opportunities! Here’s a list of several that have been shared with us:

• Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto through the soon-to-be launched Centre for Anti-Racism and Health Equity is seeking applications for the BMO Chair in Anti-Racism and Health Equity to lead a world-class program of impactful research and innovation focused on addressing anti-Black racism/racism and the social determinants of health. Apply via the Unity Health Careers site: https://unityhealth.to/get-involved/work-at-unity-health/employmentopportunities/. Applications must be sent via email by December 31, 2024 to: Dr. Ori D. Rotstein, MD Vice President, Research & Innovation,  Unity Health Toronto Ori.Rotstein@unityhealth.to and copied to: Elizabeth Huggins, Faculty Office Specialist Elizabeth.Huggins@unityhealth.to
• The Department of Health Systems and Population Health (HSPop)seeks a creative, collaborative, and forward-thinking individual to join the faculty as a tenure track Assistant Professor. The chosen individual will work to advance the department’s teaching mission as well as the scholarship of the Center for Anti-Racism and Community Health (ARCH) at the University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health (SPH).  The ARCH Center aims to advance anti-racism, decolonizing, strengths-based, and community-engaged scholarship to support the collaborative design, implementation, and evaluation of community-driven solutions to address structural racism in health. Apply at:  https://apply.interfolio.com/156753  Got questions about the position? Email Leah Marcotte (ISI 2023) at eahmar@uw.edu
• Kappa Kappa Gamma: UNC-Chapel Hill Employment Opportunities | Kappa Kappa Gamma Distinguished Professor (peopleadmin.com)
• Distinguished Professor of Feminist Studies: UNC-Chapel Hill Employment Opportunities | Distinguished Professor (peopleadmin.com)
• The Dyson College of Arts and Sciences at Pace University invites applications for faculty positions at the rank of Assistant Professor (tenure-track) to begin September 1, 2025 in their growing Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (Health Care Emphasis) Program. The positions are located in the University’s New York City campus in lower Manhattan.  Applications will be reviewed immediately and continue until the positions are filled; applications received by November 30, 2024, are guaranteed full consideration. To see full job description and apply, please visit: https://secure6.saashr.com/ta/6000630.careers?ShowJob=587642452. Applicants may contact the Search Committee Co-Chair, Dr. Guler Boyraz (gboyraz@pace.edu), with questions regarding the position. Applicants may contact TalentAC@pace.edu with questions regarding the application system. Please include the position title
• Michigan State University’s Department of Psychology is seeking applications for a tenure track Assistant Professor position in the Ecological/Community Psychology Program. Candidates for this position should use community engaged, participatory methods to address health disparities, with a focus on translational research with marginalized communities. Review of applications begins on 11/15/24 and will continue until the position is filled. Applications can be submitted here: https://careers.msu.edu/en-us/job/521014/1855-assistant-professortenure-system

Got something that you’d like to see featured in This, That & The Other? We’d like to know about it.  Please email us at info@intersectionalitytraining.com, subject line: TTTO.  Please let us know what you’ve heard about, read, or seen intersectionality-wise, attach a copy or link, and we may feature it in This, That & The Other.  And of course, we will give you credit for the find.  Thank you in advance.

We were pleased to welcome back to the ITI, ISI 2022 cohort members, Dr. Jae Sevelius, and Dr. Orlando Harris, co-authors of the 2024 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health article, “Intersectional Mentorship in Academic Medicine: A Conceptual Review.”  Here are some of the key takeaways from the conversation:

• Mentorship can be bidirectional in the sense that as the mentoring relationship grows, mentees and mentors learn from each other.
• Sevelius shared how negative mentoring experiences had informed their ideas of mentorship, and described learning from a “grand mentor” that being emotionally connected can be an important factor in the mentor-mentee relationship.
• Referring to their article, Intersectional Mentorship in Academic Medicine: A Conceptual Review, Sevelius discussed how imbalanced power dynamics in mentorship can harm mentees, and why it was so important for mentors to acknowledge differences in power not only in terms of professional rank, but also power and privilege based on intersectional positions such as whiteness.
• Harris described how his own experiences with intersectional stigma as a Black man in nursing, informed insights that many of his white mentors lacked (e.g., the discomfort that some white patients showed when he entered their rooms). He described the harm of having mentors dismiss these experiences.
• Harris recommended that people shop around for mentors to fill different needs (e.g., one who provides good emotional support, another to connect you to professional opportunities) because it is typically not possible or realistic that one mentor will meet every need.
• Sevelius shared the concept of “mentor mapping,” a practice that the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity Mentor mapping is the process of identifying what the mentee’s specific needs are to attempt to match those needs with that of a prospective  mentor (e.g., methodological match, intersectional demographic match, etc.).  Sevelius recommended that mentees cultivate self-awareness in their search for the right mentor.
• Proactive self-advocacy is an important skillset to cultivate in the mentorship relationship. Harris recounted a time when he realized that his mentor was helping to advance the professional development of other mentees (e.g., including them on publications) but not him and pointed this out to the mentor.  It resulted in his mentor including him in more professional opportunities, but the point is he had to initiate the conversation, which he noted he is quite comfortable and adept doing.  This may be a harder sell for others, but it is important to learn how to do.
• Harris recommended that people seek out mentors who are not afraid to “disrupt” and speak out against injustice or inequity.
• As for how to “break-up” with a mentor when the relationship has met its end, Harris recommended that the mentee lead the conversation by expressing the needs that are not being met.
• In response to a question about whether it was possible to do transformative work within conventional academic settings, Sevelius reminded salonistes that “academia was not built to disrupt the status quo,” and for this reason those of us who choose to stay in academic institutions must decide whether we wish to be “infiltrators” and insurgents.
• Asked about how they mentored researchers to do research that could be risky in terms of going against the mainstream grain, or that could be risky to the researcher’s mental health when focused on painful or traumatic subjects, Harris said that he recommended that his mentees develop a self-care plan for themselves and their research teams to avoid re-traumatization.
• In response to a question about how mentors can take care of themselves when they by virtue of being members of historically marginalized groups or having histories of violence or trauma that affect their own mental health, Harris emphasized the importance of mentors communicating their boundaries to mentees. This was important to protect the mentor’s mental health, and also model for mentees the importance of boundaries.
• A final question focused on how to mentor when the mentor was not the funded principal investigator and thus lacked the ability to provide mentorship about funding or link mentees to funding opportunities. Harris and Sevelius stressed that good mentorship was not contingent on funding.  Rather, the job of a good mentor is to share, support and encourage mentees meet their professional goals.

 

Resources from the Chat:

Intersectionality and Syndemics

• Sangaramoorthy, T., & Benton, A. (2021). Intersectionality and syndemics: A commentary. Social Science & Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113783
• Quinn, K. G. (2022). Applying an intersectional framework to understand syndemic conditions among young Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. Social Science & Medicine, 295, 112779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112779

“Insurgent Knowledge” and the Challenge of Traditional Academia

• Bowleg, L. (2021). “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house”: Ten critical lessons for Black and other health equity researchers of color. Health Education and Behavior, 48(3), 237-249 https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981211007402
• Cho, S., Crenshaw, K. W., & McCall, L. (2013). Toward a field of intersectionality studies: Theory, applications, and praxis. Signs, 38(4), 785-810. https://doi.org/10.1086/669608
• Cole, E. R. (2020). Opening the doors for the insurgent. In S. Fenstermaker & A. J. Stewart (Eds.), Gender, Considered: Feminist Reflections Across the U.S. Social Sciences (1st ed., pp. 9-28). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Collins, P. H. (1991). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. New York: Routledge.
• Everhart, A. R., Boska, H., Sinai-Glazer, H., Wilson-Yang, J. Q., Burke, N. B., LeBlanc, G., Persad, Y., Ortigoza, E., Scheim, A. I., & Marshall, Z. (2022). ‘I’m not interested in research; I’m interested in services’: How to better health and social services for transgender women living with and affected by HIV. Social Science & Medicine, 292, 114610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114610
• Lorde, A. (1984). The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. In Sister outsider (pp. 110-113). Freedom, CA: Sister Visions Press.

Developing a Self-Care Plan for Research and Clinical work on Trauma (Thank you to Dr. Jennifer Gómez for this link to her work):

• Gómez, J. M. (2019). Self-care and longevity in research and clinical work regarding trauma and inequality. Gómez HOPE Lab Professional Development Series. Open Science Framework. https://osf.io/qjphy

November 13, 2024 Salon:
Crafting a Radical Self-Care and Survival Strategy Plan Post 2024 Presidential Election

Salon Guest:

Jameta Barlow, PhD, MPH

 

By very special request, as in a text sent at 5:45 a.m. the morning after the election, Dr. Barlow, a meditation and yoga teacher, and co-facilitator of the Joy Embodied mindfulness and wellness retreats, (in addition to the many other professional hats she wears) and our April 2024 salon guest, joined us to discuss self-care strategies in this time of emotional turbulence.  She led us off with a 10-minute meditation on joy to ground us, and then shared some of her self-care practices.  We chose not to record this discussion (and thus have no takeaways to report) and asked people to list their favorite or go-to self care resources.  Here are some:

Books

• Chödron, P. (1997). When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
• Hersey, T. (2022). Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto
• Menakem, R. (2017). My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
• Parker, (2020).  Restorative Yoga for Ethnic and Race-Based Stress and Trauma

Music

• Lokua Kanza – Le Bonheur
• Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones – Easy
• Hiro- Introspection ft. Sotigui Kouyaté

Podcasts

• Tricia Hersey: On Rest and Resistance
• PemaChödron:  Welcoming the Unwelcome
• Pema Chödron: Dealing with Difficult Times

ITI is hiring!

 

We’re seeking a Community Manager to run the show for our new online community that we plan to launch on the Circle platform next year. Here’s the job description for to share with people in your networks or apply if you think you’d be a good fit.  We’d love to have a member of the ITI Community join our team.