Warming the Whare: Decolonising approaches to advancing trans inclusion in perinatal healthcare

Alex Ker – PhD Candidate and Dr Katie Graham, Lecturer in Te Puna Hauora – School of Health

The roots of trans people’s exclusion from reproductive healthcare are entangled with colonial norms around gender, sexuality, and family formation. In work towards trans reproductive justice, then, it is critical to think of and practise trans inclusion as a process of decolonisation. In this seminar, we share insights from Warming the Whare, our participatory action research project with two perinatal mental health services in Aotearoa implementing trans-inclusive practices. Our project is guided by Kerekere’s (2023) wellbeing framework Te Whare Takatāpui. We reflect on how working with and within Te Whare Takatāpui has guided our research relationships, helped us to reimagine trans inclusion and exclusion in Aotearoa, and inform the development of our education for service providers.

Alex Ker - Alex is a trans health researcher, PhD candidate, and co-investigator on Warming the Whare. His research addresses the social and political determinants of trans people’s health and wellbeing in Aotearoa. Alex is on the cusp of submitting his thesis on what facilitates and limits trans people’s social safety in contemporary sociopolitical climates.

Dr Katie Graham (she/her/ia)  - Katie is a lecturer in Health Psychology in Te Puna Hauora (The School of Health). Katie is interested in research that explores constructions of gender and sexuality as they relate to health and well-being, particularly in the context of education. She has a passion for critical research focused on social justice issues.

This seminar will be held ‘In person’.