Alumni Engagement Events
[PAST EVENT] Queer Work, Oral History, and Civilian Access: Anne Balay presents the 2019 Boswell Lecture
Access & Features
- Open to the public
Anne Balay is the author of Semi Queer: Stories of Gay, Trans, and Black Truckers and Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers, both published by UNC Press.
She writes: "Queer workers cluster in blue-collar, criminalized, geographically isolated, stigmatized jobs both because we like them and because that's where we can get hired. These jobs exist in plain sight, saturating our everyday worlds, yet they are somehow overlooked -- invisible. What does it mean to see these workers?
"But seeing is only the first step: Hearing is often harder. I tell stories about my work with queer steelworkers, truckers, and whores that unpack what queerness means in these places and times."
Reception to follow.
Contact
scotto@wm.edu