Queer Professionals and Settler Colonialism works to dismantle the perception of an inclusive queer community by considering the ways white lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) people participate in larger processes of white settler colonialism in Canada.
Cameron Greensmith analyses Toronto-based queer service organizations, including health care, social service, and educational initiatives, whose missions and mandates attempt to serve and support all LGBTQ+ people. Considering the ways queer service organizations and their politics are tied to the nation state, Greensmith explores how, and under what conditions, non-Indigenous LGBTQ+ people participate in the sustainment of white settler colonial conditions that displace, erase, and inflict violence upon Indigenous people and people of colour.
Critical of the ways queer organizations deal with race and Indigeneity, Queer Professionals and Settler Colonialism highlights the stories of non-Indigenous LGBTQ+ service providers, including volunteers, outreach workers, health care professionals, social workers, and administrators who are doing important work to help, care, and heal. Their stories offer a glimpse into how service providers imagine their work, their roles, and their responsibilities. In doing so, this book considers how queer organizations may better support Indigenous people and people of colour while also working to eliminate the legacy of racism and settler colonialism in Canada.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Moving beyond Acknowledging Privilege or Complicity in White Settler Colonialism
1. Understanding the Historical and Contemporary Realities of (White) Queer Organizations in Toronto
2. "We Had the Rainbow": Queer Organizations and the Desire for White Settler Multiculturalism
3. "People Like Me?": Non-Indigenous LGBTQ2S+ Professionals’ Helping Motivations
4. Necropolitical Care: The Practice of Indigenous Exclusion
5. A Call to Action: Queerness, Complicity, and Deflecting Responsibility
Conclusion: Building Decolonial Alliances and Working towards Queer Coalitions across Difference
Notes
References
Index
About the Author :
Cameron Greensmith is an associate professor in the Department of Social Work and Human Services at Kennesaw State University.
Review :
Queer Professionals and Settler Colonialism makes a significant contribution to our understanding of decolonization in the LGBTQ+ community. It is unique in its exploration, through a decolonizing lens, of the work of agencies addressing sexual and gender diversity. The scholarship is solid and the information contained therein is interesting and thought-provoking.
- Sheri M. McConnell, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work, Memorial University of Newfoundland
An interesting and enjoyable read, Queer Professionals and Settler Colonialism is well-written, clear, and a necessary contribution to current scholarship. This book will be of interest to faculty and students in social work, health studies, gender studies, sociology, and Indigenous studies. Health and social service practitioners may also find it informative and useful for strategizing on how to best serve Indigenous communities.
- Lina Sunseri, Associate Professor of Sociology, Brescia University College
