I'm a bisexual cis white man applying for faculty jobs in some social science/humanities fields. There are two reasons why I'm considering mentioning my sexuality: first, that many jobs want me to talk about how and why I'm qualified to teach to diverse student populations, and second that I would be interested in teaching gender and sexuality courses. I would probably follow this advice on how to go about mentioning it, slipping in some "As a queer scholar, I ..." language along the way.
I'm ordinarily fairly private about my sexuality, whether it's about my romantic and sexual interest in men or women. And although I'm out to plenty of friends and family, I don't have a long experience as an out bi man--I've never dated a man, for instance, and until recently was partnered to a woman for several years--so I feel conflicted about this. Is it unethical? Am I claiming a minority identity I don't deserve? It certainly feels wrong to think of myself as a potential "diversity hire." Or is it a bad idea for other, practical reasons?
Part of my concern is fueled by the awkward place that bisexuality occupies in the LGBTQ+ world. And practically, I wonder whether people would feel cheated, somehow. After all, it's entirely possible they could hire me and I would only ever be seem dating or partnered to women while I'm there, and I don't present in ways that read as queer.
Also, my research is adjacent to, but not in, gender and sexuality studies--I talk about race a lot and the theoretical frames are similar--so I would never apply for a position primarily looking for that expertise. But I'm interested in the field and could credibly claim to be qualified to teach basic courses in that area as a secondary or tertiary duty.
Thoughts? |
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