Jj Wright

Background

About Jj Wright

I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at MacEwan University, and a community-engaged scholar-activist dedicated to advancing gender justice, queer and trans liberation, and intersectional approaches to ending structural violence through research, education, and community partnerships. The core of my work focuses on how queer and trans young people experience and resist gender-based violence (GBV)—and how their insights can transform education, policy, and community practice. I directed the Public Health Agency of Canada-funded Queer Sexual Joy project, in collaboration with Canada's leading 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy organization, Eagle Canada. This project examined how cis-heteronormativity continues to drive rape culture — and how queer and trans sexual cultures hold vital lessons for reducing violence while creating more joyful, pleasurable, and affirming relationships (See https://egale.ca/awareness/qsj/ for more). I continue to build on this research with my SSHRC-funded "Centering Queer Joy in Response to Gender-Based Violence (Queer Joy! Project)", which develops anti-GBV and anti-hate education and policy grounded in BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, and disabled perspectives. My research is mixed-methods with a focus on qualitative and participatory visual arts-based methodologies (collaging, zine-making, cellphilming (creating short films on phones), etc.) I am also co-leading a $3 million, national, 5-year longitudinal study of rising anti-2SLGBTQ+ hate in Canada, and I am a collaborator on several other major projects. See my website for more. Before joining MacEwan, I was the lead postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University on a project examining campus sexual violence. I completed my PhD at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, where my dissertation—The Grey Area” of Consent: Understanding the Psychosocial Impacts of Trauma on Sexual Consent—involved research with diverse youth (predominantly BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, first generation Canadian, and disabled) in higher education who self-identified as trauma survivors and explored the impact of traumatized subjectivity for GBV prevention education, namely consent education. Across my research, teaching, and advocacy, I am committed to grassroots-informed feminist praxis. I work with community organizations, educators, and policymakers to address GBV and anti-2SLGBTQ+ hate, promote queer- and trans-affirming education, and develop strategies that center joy, resilience, and collective care.