In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks:
How seriously are other LGBT faculty thinking about leaving the US (T faculty especially)? Are you planning on applying out, or is your priority simply getting out, career be damned?
I’m so sorry that the OP and others are facing questions like these. Are any readers willing to share their answers?
As someone nonbinary who has published some trans-affirming stuff, I have been focusing mostly on avoiding public universities in deep red states (with the exception of universities that I suspect are going to have fairly progressive leadership). After seeing someone at Indiana University get fired for mentioning white supremacy, in addition to the Texas A&M case, I’m definitely not going to be taking any chances in states like those.
Given that I don’t require gender affirming medical care, I am much more comfortable with the idea of sticking around in the US (for now) in a blue state, or at a private school in a red state where there are more faculty protections (as long as the school is in a blue bubble!).
But these geographic/political restrictions certainly have eliminated a lot of potential jobs from my list. For example, five years ago I would have considered a job at a public university in Austin, Houston, or Indianapolis, but now would not do so given my identity and research and concerns about being reported by a conservative student.
It would be very interesting to get more data on other people’s outlooks!
I am a transgender philosopher who does require gender-affirming medical care. If that medical care is made unavailable, I would have serious, physical, long-term health consequences. Thus, I’m keeping a close eye on state legislation.
I’m also not excited about the potential to have my gender history outed against my will if my passport’s marker is changed when I renew, but that’s something that moving abroad won’t change unless I were to acquire different citizenship and another passport.
So, I am applying out, but the chances of getting a job outside of the US and in a trans-friendly country are slim. And ust leaving the country for a non-academic job isn’t realistic for me (it’s also, I think, hard in general). Personally, I’m keeping an eye on medical care and whether my life on a daily basis is significantly threatened in virtue of being trans. I’m fortunate that, so far, these are far off where I live.
But I do have some regular sources I check for a “temperature check” (Erin in the Morning’s Substack, for instance), and I have started stockpiling some medicine and ensuring I have all the documents I need were I to need to leave the country urgently. Oh, and I’m not public about my trans status, which probably impacts my perspective. People who are open or “legible” as trans will have different experiences.
Leave a Reply