‘Jack was just Jack’: performance ethnography of one trans student’s secondary school experiences

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an ethnodrama that explores the school experiences of one transboy. To do this, the author weaves a series of life-history interviews into a single performance script that may create unique opportunities for examining different learning environments and support structures while offering insights into the school experiences of one transboy. The manuscript includes a performance script that invites the reader to engage in the participant’s story as he navigated school. Drawing from the potential of dramatic performance, the playscript may offer possibility for affective and actionable reader responses.

KEYWORDS:

• Queer theory
• masculinities
• ethnography
• secondary education

Acknowledgements

The author conducted research for this piece while a doctoral student at Arizona State University. The author would like to thank the participants for their trust and feedback. Without them, this manuscript could not have been written, and he hopes this collective work honors their stories. He is also indebted to his sister, Marie E. Sweet, who read multiple drafts and whose critical eye provided important feedback and many loving correctives.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joseph D. Sweet

Joseph D. Sweet is an Assistant Professor of English Education at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. His research explores intersections among English methods, teacher education, gender, art, and philosophy.