There Was a Queer Guy: a performative poetic inquiry into heterosexism

At a time when hate crimes related to sexuality and gender identity are increasing and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) youth are disproportionately more likely to attempt suicide, this critical poetic inquiry revisits our shared history of heterosexism. Specifically, through the methodology of performance autoethnography, I explore some of the processes through which heterosexism, homophobia, and heteronormativity have operated within British culture across my own life course. I reimagine a well-known traditional rhyme with the aspiration that this accessible poem be used by others as a component of their activism and teaching on diversity and LGBTQ+ rights.