The Trans Person is not the Problem: Brave Spaces and Structural Competence as Educative Tools for Trans Justice in Social Work

Authors

Jama Shelton, Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter CollegeFollow
Kel Kroehle, University of PennsylvaniaFollow
Maria Monica Andia, Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter CollegeFollow

Keywords

Social work education, transgender, brave space, cultural competence

Abstract

Social work students must be equipped to confront injustice and oppression. Effectively challenging oppression necessitates attention to the ideological origins and subsequent systematic marginalization of oppressed populations. This article critically examines social work education as it relates to trans people and communities. We propose two interconnected pedagogical shifts for consideration: moving from the social work classroom as “safe space” to the social work classroom as “brave space,” and broadening the commonly used educative method of cultural competence to structural competence. We argue that these pedagogical shifts will better prepare social work students to disrupt cisgenderism and dismantle the gender binary, and to be responsive across multiple axes of power, privilege, and oppression—necessary measures for advancing equity and justice for trans people and communities.

Recommended Citation

Shelton, Jama; Kroehle, Kel; and Andia, Maria Monica (2019) "The Trans Person is not the Problem: Brave Spaces and Structural Competence as Educative Tools for Trans Justice in Social Work," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 46: Iss. 4, Article 7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.4356
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol46/iss4/7