About

What is the SRG Collective?

The SRG [Sexuality/Relationships/Gender] Research Collective is committed to creating an interdisciplinary, intersectional research focused community for faculty and research interested graduate students who have marginalized sexuality and gender Identities and do work with these populations/communities, in order to support growth and success in the Academy. We are a collaborative groups of individuals that believe in community driven, translational, responsive, and engaged research must be done in a collective rather than isolation, and should be grounded in the values and the needs of the communities with whom we work.

Mission and vision

We are currently working on co-creating our mission and vision statements. As a placeholder, we want to share our dedication to community driven research done by, with, and for members of marginalized groups. Much research on sexuality, relationships, and gender is conducted by outsides of the communities and populations, which often results in research that can be more harmful than helpful. Our collective is made up of individuals who hold a variety of marginalized identities and we are committed to centering these and non-academic community voices within all stages of our work.

Goals of the collective

Connect faculty and students holding marginalized identities around sexuality and gender with intersectional research projects. So many of us are doing our research in isolation, not aware that there are these connections to be made, and amazing opportunities to collaborate in our scholarship.

Build affirming community for those with marginalized sexuality and gender identities to discuss challenges and success strategies in the Academy. As LGBTQIA+ faculty and students in a state (Michigan) and field (the Academy) known for not being particularly affirming, we often can feel isolated and alone. Building community and connection can help to ameliorate that.

Support the production of intersectional interdisciplinary research around sexuality, relationships and gender, allowing for more publication opportunities, and improving faculty members with marginalized sexuality and gender identities’ chance at receiving tenure. Creating more research will allow us to blossom in our fields and as scholars, while also supporting our marginalized identities.

Collaborate by creating research opportunities between faculty with marginalized sexuality and gender identities and students with similar identities where the faculty can afford to pay the students for their labor on projects that may have less funding due to the focus area. When we cannot pay due to lack of fiscal support, we are committed to ensuring graduate students get publication and speaking opportunities, as they are valuable members of our research team(s) and community.