“It Helps if I Don’t Come Across as the Intersex Person but as the Regular Guy”. LGBTIQ* Movements, Credibility, and Mis-Fitting in Knowledge Spaces in Austria

Knowledge spaces as diverse as universities, parliaments, and activist organisations are fraught with difficulty for those who do not easily “fit” into them. They are governed by discursive, behavioural, somatic, and material norms concerning who does or does not belong in them as well as which/who...

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Main Author: Boka En
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Fachgesellschaft Geschlechterstudien 2025-02-01
Series:Open Gender Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://opengenderjournal.de/article/view/328
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author Boka En
author_facet Boka En
author_sort Boka En
collection DOAJ
description Knowledge spaces as diverse as universities, parliaments, and activist organisations are fraught with difficulty for those who do not easily “fit” into them. They are governed by discursive, behavioural, somatic, and material norms concerning who does or does not belong in them as well as which/whose knowledges are or are not to be considered credible. Thus, members of minoritised groups often have to negotiate their presence in hostile knowledge spaces in ways that go beyond abstract epistemological  considerations. In this paper, I discuss how LGBTIQ* activists and academics in Austria navigate knowledge spaces that may treat them as “space invaders”. Based on semi-structured interviews, I explore how participants may seek to de-emphasise or emphasise their mis-fit regarding the spaces they traverse. I examine examples of how such attempts may either not work in the first place or backfire in unintended ways, and their connections to wider societal norms and intersectional exclusions.
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institution Kabale University
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publisher Fachgesellschaft Geschlechterstudien
record_format Article
series Open Gender Journal
spelling doaj-art-eedd4a6b24114d2cba45ad6f694e5ac42025-02-11T12:57:06ZdeuFachgesellschaft GeschlechterstudienOpen Gender Journal2512-51922025-02-01910.17169/ogj.2025.328“It Helps if I Don’t Come Across as the Intersex Person but as the Regular Guy”. LGBTIQ* Movements, Credibility, and Mis-Fitting in Knowledge Spaces in AustriaBoka En0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5225-5529University of Vienna Knowledge spaces as diverse as universities, parliaments, and activist organisations are fraught with difficulty for those who do not easily “fit” into them. They are governed by discursive, behavioural, somatic, and material norms concerning who does or does not belong in them as well as which/whose knowledges are or are not to be considered credible. Thus, members of minoritised groups often have to negotiate their presence in hostile knowledge spaces in ways that go beyond abstract epistemological  considerations. In this paper, I discuss how LGBTIQ* activists and academics in Austria navigate knowledge spaces that may treat them as “space invaders”. Based on semi-structured interviews, I explore how participants may seek to de-emphasise or emphasise their mis-fit regarding the spaces they traverse. I examine examples of how such attempts may either not work in the first place or backfire in unintended ways, and their connections to wider societal norms and intersectional exclusions. https://opengenderjournal.de/article/view/328AgencyKnowledgeLGBTIQPerformativitySocial Movements
spellingShingle Boka En
“It Helps if I Don’t Come Across as the Intersex Person but as the Regular Guy”. LGBTIQ* Movements, Credibility, and Mis-Fitting in Knowledge Spaces in Austria
Open Gender Journal
Agency
Knowledge
LGBTIQ
Performativity
Social Movements
title “It Helps if I Don’t Come Across as the Intersex Person but as the Regular Guy”. LGBTIQ* Movements, Credibility, and Mis-Fitting in Knowledge Spaces in Austria
title_full “It Helps if I Don’t Come Across as the Intersex Person but as the Regular Guy”. LGBTIQ* Movements, Credibility, and Mis-Fitting in Knowledge Spaces in Austria
title_fullStr “It Helps if I Don’t Come Across as the Intersex Person but as the Regular Guy”. LGBTIQ* Movements, Credibility, and Mis-Fitting in Knowledge Spaces in Austria
title_full_unstemmed “It Helps if I Don’t Come Across as the Intersex Person but as the Regular Guy”. LGBTIQ* Movements, Credibility, and Mis-Fitting in Knowledge Spaces in Austria
title_short “It Helps if I Don’t Come Across as the Intersex Person but as the Regular Guy”. LGBTIQ* Movements, Credibility, and Mis-Fitting in Knowledge Spaces in Austria
title_sort it helps if i don t come across as the intersex person but as the regular guy lgbtiq movements credibility and mis fitting in knowledge spaces in austria
topic Agency
Knowledge
LGBTIQ
Performativity
Social Movements
url https://opengenderjournal.de/article/view/328
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