Queering the Academy

There have been important advances in sexual citizenship in some parts of the globe in recent years. Some countries, particularly in the West, have same sex marriage and an established lesbian and gay baby boom. Celebrities such as Elton John and Jodie Foster have children in the context of an openly gay lifestyle. Ireland has had a gay prime minister. In the face of such changes, a new narrative of equality has emerged. According to this new narrative, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people no longer experience oppression, or only at minimal levels. Yet this obscures the lived realities of many queer people who continue to experience hate crimes, bullying, harassment, and material inequalities. This chapter explores the experiences of being LGBTQ in Higher Education through the lens of an incident of homophobic harassment. It considers the implications of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives for queer staff in HE environments. The chapter examines queer life within the academy.