Enby in the Academy: Authenticity and Alignment with Dr. Christy Randazzo

Key points discussed:

• Dr. Christy shares their background and journey into academia
• Dr. Christy explains what nonbinary means to them
• Dr. Christy explains how gender fluidity is received in academic circles and the settings where they do their scholarship.
• Dr. Christy shares how their nonbinary identity specifically relates to their writing.
• Dr. Christy shares how to navigate that tension between hierarchical power structures.
• Dr. Christy shares ways that colleagues and community members and allies can support and can help hold space for nonbinary people. 
• Dr. Christy shares how they will celebrate International Nonbinary Person’s Day
• Dr. Christy shares a major takeaway they want to leave everyone with: all the boxes you experience are more fluid than you think.

Key Quotes:

• “I’ve really cherished the opportunity to hear back from students who said, ‘seeing you, in this space, being confident in who you are, has allowed me the space to accept that this is who I am, or just accept that my worldview has been expanded.’”- Dr. Christy [23:30]
• “A lot of my work is rooted in my experience. And I think everyone’s work in The Academy is that is rooted in their experience. So this isn’t different, because I’m nonbinary.” [25:30]
• “We should all have space and freedom to find fun and delight and joy, and there are struggles and there are challenges, but to center, the pleasure, the joy, the excitement is such a gift.”- Dr. Thea [37:45]
• “If I have the ability to make a bigger voice, I constantly have to use it.”- Dr. Christy [42:05]
• “If we’re able to hold each other’s humanity, that only makes us better humans, as well. And really, I think part of what we strive for with our programs is really that shift to change the culture of academia.”- Dr. Thea [45:40]

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