Speaking Engagements

The Importance of Writing Queer Joy

I was invited to chair a panel for WORD Christchurch on the importance of writing queer joy, especially in our current context, with authors Shaneel Lal, AJ Fitzwater, and Karen Healey.

Jennifer K Shields

Aug 26, 2023

I had the utter honour of sharing a stage with three Aotearoa queer authors at WORD Christchurch today - Shaneel Lal, AJ Fitzwater, and Karen Healey - chairing a panel on the importance of queer joy.

It feels especially critical at this point in time to be talking about joy - joy as a boundless form of resistance, joy as an opportunity to create possibility models, joy as a means of envisioning queer futures, for ourselves, our rangatahi, and anyone else in the closet.

On Heartstopper, queer joy, and the problem of context.

We watched the latest season of Heartstopper this week, at first an episode or two at a time, and then the back half of the season all in one night.

A group of people posing for a photo. They're standing outdoors at night, on a tile floor. There are about 20 of them.

From Lisboa to Paris: A WPATH travel diary

I've been in Lisboa, Portugal for the past week, attending my first WPATH symposium. It's my first time here and I'm glad I came, but it's also been a strong reminder of how far we still have to go.

Why do we ignore the evidence?

So, where is the problem? If the authors cannot identify a case where Sport NZ's guidelines might cause an issue - why, then, does Chris Bishop reckon "they make some fair points"?

Gender Diversity in Physiotherapy

I was invited to present at the Physiotherapy New Zealand conference in Ōtautahi in September, 2024.

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On Heartstopper, queer joy, and the problem of context.

From Lisboa to Paris: A WPATH travel diary

Why do we ignore the evidence?

Gender Diversity in Physiotherapy