Play Like a Girl: Girlhood and Identity in Video Games

Rights, Pride & Belonging: From Gender Panic to Trans Joy

It’s pride month, and in this episode of Sustainability Matters we discuss how queer and trans youth have always fought to shape their own futures—and why their rights have become a flashpoint in contemporary culture wars. From Gay-Straight Alliances and gender-neutral bathrooms to representation in sports and the concept of trans joy, we unpack the narratives shaping identity, belonging, and inclusion in today’s political climate. All this and more with Dr. Julia Sinclair-Palm, author of “Queer and Trans Youth Political Activism [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111215105-023/html],” which is Chapter 17 in the De Gruyter Handbook of Youth Activism [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111215105/html], published by De Gruyter Brill.  Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/ramzinasir] Guest:  Dr. Julia Sinclair-Palm [https://edcp.educ.ubc.ca/julia-sinclair-palm/] Citations: 1. Sinclair-Palm, Julia. (2024). Names as a trans technology: Exploring the naming practices of trans youth in Australia, Ireland and Canada. Nordic Journal of Socio-Onomastics, 4 (1), 137-161. https://doi.org/10.59589/noso.42024.16669 [https://doi.org/10.59589/noso.42024.16669] 2. Sinclair-Palm, Julia. (2023). The Role of Family in Trans Youths’ Naming Practices. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2023.2181450 [https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2023.2181450] 3. Dyer, Hannah, Julia Sinclair-Palm and Miranda Yeo. (2020). "Drawing Queer and Trans Kinship with Children: Affect, Cohabitation, and Reciprocal Care." Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 42(4), 257-276. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2020.1724764 [https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2020.1724764] 4. Dyer, Hannah, Julia Sinclair-Palm, Chase Joynt, Miranda Yeo, and Calla Tait. (2020). Aesthetic Expression of Queer kinship in Children’s Drawings. Journal of Canadian Studies, 54(2-3), 526-543. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/780618 [https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/780618]. 5. https://thebaffler.com/latest/reject-transgender-liberalism-gill-peterson [https://thebaffler.com/latest/reject-transgender-liberalism-gill-peterson] 6. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=jqtsie [https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=jqtsie] 7. Tourmaline, S., Eric, A., & Burton, J. (2017). Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility. 8. Westbrook, L., & Schilt, K. (2014). Doing gender, determining gender: Transgender people, gender panics, and the maintenance of the sex/gender/sexuality system. Gender & society, 28(1), 32-57. 9.  Cruz, C. (2001). Toward an epistemology of a brown body. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(5), 657-669. 10. McCready, L. T. (2004). Understanding the marginalization of gay and gender non-conforming Black male students. Theory Into Practice, 43(2), 136-143. 11. Brockenbrough, E. (2015). Queer of color agency in educational contexts: Analytic frameworks from a queer of color critique. Educational Studies, 51(1), 28-44.

Virtual, Real, Resilient: Jewish Spaces in 21st Century Europe

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we explore how Jewish Europe is being reshaped across physical and digital spaces in the 21st century. How do virtual environments change the way heritage is preserved and shared? Can digital reconstructions and online communities sustain cultural identity? What happens when these spaces are affected by rising antisemitism, shifting politics, and changing public visibility—against a longer history of loss and reconstruction? All this and more with Dr. Maja Hultman and Dr. Joachim Schlör, editors of Virtual and Real-Life Spaces of Jewish Europe in the 21st Century, [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111268132/html] published by De Gruyter Brill. Discourse on sustainable digital spaces is just one of our sustainability initiatives here at De Gruyter Brill. Explore the recent De Gruyter Brill Annual Impact Report [https://degruyter-live-craftcms-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/DGB_25/Documents/dgb_impact-report-2025.pdf]for a closer look at our sustainability commitments and progress in 2025. Host: Dr. Shawn Rowlands [https://www.rtc.bt/social-sciences-faculty] Guests: Dr. Maja Hultman [https://www.gu.se/en/about/find-staff/majahultman] and Dr. Joachim Schlör  [https://www.southampton.ac.uk/people/5x2wnz/emeritus-professor-joachim-schloer]

Who Gets to Be Indigenous?

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we examine how indigeneity is defined and contested in conversations around identity, science, and sovereignty. Is it something we inherit, or a political construct? How can scientific and Indigenous knowledge systems collaborate without losing their distinct integrity? And what happens when genetic research defines belonging in ways that conflict with cultural and political self-understandings?  All this and more with Dr. Benjamin Gregg, author of “Scientific Integrity and Indigenous Justice in Genetic Research [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111592077-009/html],” which is Chapter 5 in the book Indigeneity as Social Construct and Political Tool: Critique and Reconstruction of a Contested Identity [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111592077/html], published by De Gruyter Brill.  Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/ramzinasir] Guest: Dr. Benjamin Gregg [https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/government/faculty/bggregg]

Play Like a Girl: Girlhood and Identity in Video Games

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we look at how video games are reshaping the representation of girlhood, identity, and coming-of-age through play. Why have games so often been associated with boyhood? What overlooked histories of girls’ gaming cultures challenge this narrative? And how are contemporary games challenging traditional heroic narratives with more complex stories about growing up, belonging, and self-discovery? All this and more with Dr. Stephanie Harkin, author of Girlhood Games: Gender, Identity and Coming of Age in Video Games [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111560939/html], which is Volume 20 in the series “Video Games and the Humanities”, [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/serial/vgh-b/html] published by De Gruyter Brill. Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/RamziNasir] Guest: Dr. Stephanie Harkin [https://www.rmit.edu.au/profiles/h/stephanie-harkin ]

The Power of Unions: Rise, Fall, Return?

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we ask: why do unions rise, why do they fall, and what does it take for them to rise again? How do leadership, strategy, and internal democracy shape their trajectory? And what can the turbulent history of a major New York transit union teach us about the labour movement today? All this and more with Dr. Marc Kagan, author of Take Back the Power: The Fall and Rise and Fall of NYC’s Transport Workers Union Local 100, 1975–2009 [https://brill.com/display/title/73488?srsltid=AfmBOoriqHIhlV1DkttG-ew6LDEeoha3ur3Ny4O9A0p6Jzn9dPN7QJDQ], which is Volume 7 in the series Studies in Political Economy of Global Labor and Work [https://brill.com/display/serial/PELW], published by De Gruyter Brill. Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/RamziNasir] Guest: Dr. Marc Kagan [https://marckagan.substack.com/ ]