Prism Hosts First Global Pride Panel

Google Meet — On June 20, Fulbright Prism hosted its first Global Pride Panel. Prism connected a group of LGBTQ Fulbrighters to discuss the state of Pride worldwide, queer community building among the Fulbright network as well as in grantees’ host countries, and strategies to improve diversity and representation across the Fulbright program.

In a conversation moderated by 2016 New Zealand research fellow Robby Goldman (he/him), a fourth year Ph.D candidate in geology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Prism’s panelists were as follows:

Moderator Robby Goldman welcomes the audience.

Faith Brown (she/her), a 2017-19 ETA in Bulgaria, who worked as Assistant Director of the BEST Foundation, an international educational nonprofit organization dedicated to providing students a safe place to express their diversity and identity through speech and debate.

Mailé Nguyên (they/them), a 2018-20 ETA in South Korea, who volunteered with the Korean Adolescent Mentorship Program to mentored young queer students and is currently undertaking research on androgynous aesthetics in Korean media funded by the Fulbright Korea Alumni Fund.

Nathaniel Tran (he/him/they/them), a 2019 research fellow in Argentina, who work with the Anthropology & Health Program at the University of Buenos Aires researching how the cultural memory of dissidence led by Las Madres during Argentina’s dictatorship influenced contemporary activism in support of the National Campaign of Free, Safe, Legal Abortion.

Stephen Szypulski (he/him), a 2012-13 research fellow in Poland, who focused on the legacy of communism in Poland and Eastern Europe, specifically on transitional justice, collective memory legislation, and development of rule of law, and conducted an oral history of the last living leaders of Communist Poland.

While acknowledging some cultural blindspots and challenges living openly queer in their host countries, all four panelists spoke of their experiences positively. (Fulbright Prism is clear in noting that anti-gay sentiments and discriminatory practices also remain prevalent across the U.S.) “My identity as a queer person and a teacher has been really important – a personally expansive experience,” Nguyen said of their time in South Korea. “My students have not had any other exposure to queer adults.”

Poland was “definitely developing” its attitudes towards the LGBTQ community during his time there, Szypulski said, adding that his fellow Fulbrighters were a valuable support network. “I wouldn’t say it’s easy being a queer person in Eastern Europe,” Brown said likewise of her time in Bulgaria, but “there are still beautiful people everywhere.” She cited differences between her experiences in the country’s capital, Sofia, versus her time in a smaller town; Tran noted a similar dichotomy between his experiences in Buenos Aires and those of Fulbrighters in his cohort placed in rural Argentinian communities.

Panelists noted the importance of language, both as a barrier and a bridge between them and their students and/or peers. “The way I have explained my gender – I’ve only tried to do it twice, with mixed results,” Nguyen said. “I don’t speak enough Korean!”

“Go into your host country doing the research – what is the word for bi? Do they have a word for pan?” Brown advised. “Do they have gendered language or can I use they/them pronouns in everyday speech?” To this effect, Szypulski called for LGBTQ-specific guidance and support to be provided by Fulbright Commissions.

The Fulbright program must “challenge the recruitment pipeline,” Tran argued, to better recruit grantees that represent the diversity and intersectionality apparent in contemporary collegiate cohorts, and then to support them during their Fulbright experience. He cited the power of the “double consciousness” a cultural exchange provides; “Fulbright is a transformative social experience, not just about education,” he continued. “How do you shift towards providing transformative experiences for all types of Americans?”

“The biggest problem is talking about it,” Brown noted. “We encourage Black Fulbrighters, we encourage queer Fulbrighters,” she added. “We want you!” To this effect, Fulbright Prism welcomes discussions with commissions worldwide, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the Institute for International Education to foster greater inclusion/a commitment to representation.

Goldman ended the conversation with a call to action, as he works to open Fulbright Prism’s first U.S. chapter centered on California and the Pacific Northwest. Fulbrighters interested in becoming involved in the chapter’s leadership team are invited to email the team at f.p.team@fulbrightprism.org.

The Pride Panel can be viewed in full Fulbright Prism’s Youtube Channel.