We cordially invite chapter proposals and art submissions for an edited book entitled ‘Queering Nutrition and Dietetics: LGBTQ+ Reflections on Food Through Art’. The book will bring the voices of LGBTQ+ people front and center through the chapters and art submissions and will contribute to experiential learning, allowing for more understanding of the lives of LGBTQ+ peoples relating to food and nutrition. Submissions will be selected for their originality, creativity, and potential to expand knowledge and practice in health professions. The book will give readers, health professions, health educators, and heath students the opportunity to better understand the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ individuals in the context of food, nutrition, and their bodies.
It is based on an accepted book proposal by Dr. Phillip Joy (Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada) and Dr. Megan Aston (Dalhousie University, Canada) for Routledge Publishing.
Co-Editor Contact Info
Aim
The intent of this proposed book is to tell the stories of the LGBTQ+ people and their allies relating to food, bodies, nutrition, health and wellbeing through a collection of art and narratives. The collection will give LGBTQ+ people representation and voice in the areas of dietetics and health.
Target Audience
The target audience to be all health professional (dietitians, nutritionists, nurses, doctors, dentists, and social workers), health educators, and health students, as well as arts and social science professionals within disciplines such as gender studies, queer studies, art and media.
Contextual Overview
It is increasingly being recognized that the voice of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, and other gender sexually diverse) peoples within the fields of nutrition, dietetics, and health are largely silent. Within professional health training programs, gender and sexually diverse curriculum is practically non-existent, with some research noting that less than 7 hours within the entirety of a 4-year training program are dedicated to relevant topics (Joy and Numer, 2018). This is despite the fact that LGBTQ+ peoples face social stigma, barriers to access healthcare, hetero and cis-normativite healthcare institutions and policies, and, as a result, have unique nutritional, body, and health concerns.
It is recommended that dietetic and health curriculum involve teaching strategies that are innovative, contextual, and experiential. An example of experiential learning is first-hand accounts from LGBTQ+ individuals. Learners are able to gain knowledge about the lives of LGBTQ+ peoples and partake in critical reflections of their values, biases, empathies, and judgements of LGBTQ+ peoples. In addition, experiential learning provides students with authentic learning and personal connections with LGBTQ+ individuals who are the experts of their lives and health.
Stories for experiential learning purposes can be told in many different ways. We believe moving beyond traditional academic writing to other forms of story-telling, such as storytelling through artistic expression, is critical to amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ peoples in the professions of dietetics and health. Art becomes a way for LGBTQ+ people to reveal their experiences, challenge notions of hetero and cis-normativity, and to acknowledge their truths. As Finely (2008) suggested “to claim art and aesthetic ways of knowing…is an act of rebellion against the monolithic ‘truth’ that science is supposed to entail” (p.73). Art allows knowledge to become expressive by involving the emotions, the senses, the creativity, and the bodies of participants (Finley, 2008). Art can challenge and subvert the constructions of subjectivities, sexuality, gender, bodies, food, and health and wellbeing while contributing to social transformation through the expression of new perspectives (Schuhmann, 2014).
Table of Contents with Potential Chapter Topics
Written submissions: 2000-5000 words.
Art submissions: artist statement (100-500 words) and/or analysis of the art (2000-5000 words).
We intentionally leave potential topics open to interpretation to more fully capture the diversity of nutrition and food topics that may be explored and the diverse LGBTQ+ communities in which they may represent. Although it will be for authors to decide on titles and foci, the following areas are identified as particularly relevant to this book (divided into the Sections of the Book).
Part 1: Food, Nutrition, and Bodies
- Experiences and intersections of BIPOC queer identities with food, nutrition, and/or bodies
- Experiences and intersections of trans identities with food, nutrition, and/or bodies
- Social construction of bodies, body image, body standards for LGBTQ+ people
- Influences of social media, pop culture, celebrities on food, bodies, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people
- Social and political movements that intersect food, nutrition, and LGBTQ+ experiences
- Intersections of food and nutrition, with stigma, poverty, racism, hetero and cis-normativity
- Issues of colonization and/or decolonizing food and two-spirit and indigenous voices/identities
- Disordered eating, eating disorders, body dysmorphia
- Food insecurity, homelessness, and LGBTQ+ people
Part 2: Communities, Connections, and Celebrations
- Community food and nutrition programs for LGBTQ+ people
- Experiences and intersections of BIPOC queer identities
- Experiences and intersections of Trans identities with food/nutrition
- Influences of online communities, food and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people
- Social and political movements that intersect food, nutrition, and LGBTQ+ experiences (veganism, mindfulness, etc)
- Experiences of food and bodies with various LGBTQ2SIA+ communities and subcultures (i.e. Bears and other communities)
- Two-spirit and indigenous voices/identities/communities
- Community events, art shows about food, nutrition, bodies, and LGBTQ+ identities
- Building relationships and communities through food
- Celebrations of LGBTQ+ lives, bodies, communities, cultures and food
Part 3: From the Front Lines: Compassionate Care in Practice
- Art-based therapies
- Experiences and intersections of BIPOC queer identities within nutrition and healthcare
- Experiences and intersections of Trans identities with food/nutrition healthcare
- Intersection of LGBTQ+ experiences and compassionate practices in nutrition and health
- LGBTQ+ community and/or health organizations and their role in food and compassionate health and practices
- Issues of decolonizing food and two-spirit and indigenous voices/identity
- Nutrition and health education and curriculum for training professionals to work within LGBTQ+ communities
- Culturally safe and structurally competent care,
- Activism to disrupt food, body discourse, social and political systems that cause harm to LGBTQ+ people
- Reflections from health professionals (dietitians, nurses, social workers, or others),
Submission Details:
Written Submissions
Written submissions should be rooted in critical social theories and should focus on reflective assessment and critique of society and culture (food, bodies, sexual orientation, gender) in order to reveal and challenge existing power structures, hetero and cis-normativity, and the way discourses and knowledge influence and shape the way we know things. Submission of autoethnographies, performative autoethnography, journaling (Goodall, 2000), emotional memory (Poulos, 2009), performative writing (Spry, 2011), critical personal essays and reflections, and research findings are welcomed. Abstract submission should be 300 words in length and detail the focus of the chapter.
Art Submissions
We seek art pieces on the themes suggested above, including poems, visual media, photographs, graphic art, illustrations, collages, and other forms of creative expression. Please email the co-editors for more information about art submission details, such as size, formats, etc. See emails above. Abstract submission for art pieces should be 300 words in length and describe the artwork and its meaning. Please indicate in your abstract if you are providing an artist statement (100 to 500 words) or art analysis (2000-5000 words) with your art submission.
Please send abstracts to phillip.joy@msvu.ca and megan.aston@dal.ca
Schedule and Deadlines
Abstract submission deadline – June 15th 2021
Decision on all abstracts for chapter submission – July 15st 2021
Full chapter submissions – Nov 1st 2021
Reviewer Comments to Authors Dec/Jan 2021/2022
Revised Chapters – March 31th 2022
Final manuscript to Routledge – May 1st 2022
Final Publication – Dec 2022
*For Style Guidelines please refer to the Routledge style guide*