Speaking back to gender-based violence in New Brunswick schools through queer maker literacies with 2SLGBTQ+ youth

Abstract

ABSTRACT Schools are a site of gender-based violence for queer, trans, and non-binary youth. Drawing on a participatory visual research project with three queer, trans, and non-binary youth, we argue that selfie and cellphilm production offer a glimpse into queer maker literacies. We suggest that the practice of making do-it-yourself (DIY) media productions with queer youth and older community collaborators in out-of-school settings provides opportunities for new intergenerational friendships and networks to be built. Through a discussion of the processes of critical making within the workshop, and the themes that arise in the cellphilm, including gender-based violence, queer experiences of school structures – and the way that friendship is positioned in relation to solidarity, collaboration, and speaking back – we argue that through facilitation and co-production of media, workshop spaces can be engineered with participants as spaces of solidarity, action, and safety even amidst institutional settings.