Gender and Sexuality Center Professionals’ Narrative Accounts of Racialized Institutional Resistance to Anti-Racism Work

Abstract

Using data from a narrative study investigating the experiences of 20 gender and sexuality center (GSC) practitioners, this study examined how professionals described the racialized nature of institutions and its influence on their engagement with anti-racist practices. Findings revealed how participants perceived the foundations of GSC work as grounded in whiteness, how resources upheld whiteness, and the impacts of racialized organizations on professionals across racial identity. We provide implications for research and practice, arguing that a major contribution is to consider how the racialized nature of organizations of higher education is intricately connected to other forms of marginalization (e.g., queer and trans oppression).