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December 29, 2021

Steel Closets: Setting The Scene

The following is an excerpt from Anne Balay’s Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers. Even as substantial legal and social victories are being celebrated within the gay rights movement, much of working-class America still exists outside the current narratives of gay liberation. In Steel Closets, Anne Balay draws on oral history interviews with forty gay, lesbian, and transgender… Continue Reading Steel Closets: Setting The Scene

Categories American Studies/Excerpts/Gender Studies/Labor Studies/LGBT Studies
December 15, 2021

Universal Human Rights Month: A Recommended Reading List

Nobody’s free until everybody’s free. Fannie Lou Hamer December marks the annual celebration of Universal Human Rights Month. The observance of this month began in 1948 when the U.N. wrote a document called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document was created after World War II and was used to “properly define what human rights would be protected universally”.… Continue Reading Universal Human Rights Month: A Recommended Reading List

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/African American Studies/American Studies/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/Gender Studies/History/Labor Studies/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Latino Studies/Law / Legal History/LGBT Studies/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/North Carolina/Political Science/Reading Lists/Sociology/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
September 7, 2021

Workers’ Rights: A Reading List

Yesterday was Labor Day, “a federal holiday that recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.” The very first Labor Day was celebrated in 1882, but, as many of you may know, we’re still fighting for a living wage for all, better working conditions and effective, well-protected workers’ rights. Below are some recommended… Continue Reading Workers’ Rights: A Reading List

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Business/Gender Studies/Labor Studies/Latino Studies/LGBT Studies/North Carolina/Political Science/Sociology/Women's Studies
May 17, 2021

Celebrating International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (#IDAHOBIT)

If you don’t already know, May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia, commonly referred to as IDAHOBIT. This day is used to celebrate LGBTQIA+ people all over the world and raise awareness to fight the discrimination they deal with on a regular basis. We’ve created this recommended reading list to highlight the usually unheard voices… Continue Reading Celebrating International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (#IDAHOBIT)

Categories African American Studies/Gender Studies/LGBT Studies/North Carolina/Political Science/Sociology/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
January 16, 2020

Anne Balay: Trucking Gets Queerer

Today we welcome a guest post from Anne Balay, author of Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers, originally published in 2018 by UNC Press. Long-haul trucking is linked to almost every industry in America, yet somehow the working-class drivers behind big rigs remain largely hidden from public view. Gritty, inspiring, and often devastating oral histories of… Continue Reading Anne Balay: Trucking Gets Queerer

Categories American Studies/Gay / Lesbian Studies/Labor Studies/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
October 25, 2018

Anne Balay: A Trucker’s “Me Too”

Today we welcome a guest post from Anne Balay, author of Semi Queer:  Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers, just published by UNC Press. Long-haul trucking is linked to almost every industry in America, yet somehow the working-class drivers behind big rigs remain largely hidden from public view. Gritty, inspiring, and often devastating oral histories of… Continue Reading Anne Balay: A Trucker’s “Me Too”

Categories African American Studies/Author blog entry/Current Events/Gay / Lesbian Studies/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
August 28, 2018

Anne Balay: If your feminism isn’t intersectional, it isn’t feminism

Today we welcome a guest post from Anne Balay, author of Semi Queer:  Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers, just published this month by UNC Press. Long-haul trucking is linked to almost every industry in America, yet somehow the working-class drivers behind big rigs remain largely hidden from public view. Gritty, inspiring, and often devastating oral… Continue Reading Anne Balay: If your feminism isn’t intersectional, it isn’t feminism

Categories American History/Author blog entry/Gay / Lesbian Studies/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
May 20, 2014

Anne Balay: For Transgender Steelworkers, Invisibility Isn’t an Option

Transgender steelworkers are the most vulnerable people I interviewed. The option of invisibility isn’t available to those who transition at work. And every change that shows, every single solitary detail, becomes a focus of teasing, harassment, violence, and abuse. Continue Reading Anne Balay: For Transgender Steelworkers, Invisibility Isn’t an Option

Categories Author blog entry/Civil Rights/Gay / Lesbian Studies/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Labor Studies/Women's Studies
April 7, 2014

Anne Balay: Queer Steelworkers and Labor Unions

I asked him to recall all the people he has worked with—all his union brothers and sisters, down through the years—and count the gay ones. Almost surprised, he said there were none. Of course, he knew as well as I do that there have been many, but that they did not identify themselves as such. My task is then to convince him that their silence was not simply a choice, but rather that it was made in fear, and comes with crippling consequences. Continue Reading Anne Balay: Queer Steelworkers and Labor Unions

Categories American Studies/Author blog entry/Civil Rights/Gay / Lesbian Studies/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Labor Studies/Women's Studies
March 12, 2014

Anne Balay: The Consequences of Marriage Inequality

For my narrators—the forty transgender, lesbian, and gay steelworkers I interviewed—marriage is complicated. Insurance and survival benefits are not just theoretical issues for them. Continue Reading Anne Balay: The Consequences of Marriage Inequality

Categories Author blog entry/Civil Rights/Gay / Lesbian Studies/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Women's Studies
February 6, 2014

Anne Balay: As GLBT freedoms expand, who benefits–and who doesn’t

Queer rights becomes the paradigmatic symbol of the west – in Russia, gay liberation had gained some momentum until Putin linked gay rights with Western values, which then led to the systematic, legal oppression of gays in Russia today. The government is literally going into homes of gay people and taking their children away. And these Russian gays can’t hide, because during the period of comparative freedom, they had come out, and now have public personas. There’s no such thing as going back into the closet – once you’re out, that’s that. Their little window of freedom now targets them for state-sponsored abuse as the freedom and progress queers experience in the USA is used to punish queers globally. Continue Reading Anne Balay: As GLBT freedoms expand, who benefits–and who doesn’t

Categories Author blog entry/Civil Rights/Gay / Lesbian Studies/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Labor Studies/Women's Studies