Positionality statement.

I am an Irish white male, a middle child from a council estate background. I was born pre-good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland, my family history is Irish Republican, and we stand for a United Ireland. This might give a bias towards colonial views on Irish history and living and working in London, England.  I grew up with a single parent, who moved us from a catholic centred part of the city to a more integrated society, that valued a different look on the past of Northern Ireland. The life experience of understanding a brighter future and the possibilities they could provide changed the game for me. My understanding of my heritage and identity was based on my religion and nationality before my identity. I have realised my identity as a human is more than where I was born.

I have been quite lucky in my generation to be welcomed as a Queer man, finding the courage to tell my family was easy and that is a privilege for my generation. My queer identity didn’t really blossom until I was older and realised the history behind queer culture and especially the taboo or sins related to my religion, now living as a queer man, with a queer family and outstepping the heteronormativity around adult life, my identity is separate of that I was born with and in relation to my blood siblings and life I live today.

I am also an abled-bodied man, I have been diagnosed in the past with developmental dyslexia, which is where you tend to skip words while writing and it affects how my brain and hand motor functions. With this, I was also diagnosed with ADHD, and this can work as a double-edged sword in how I live my life, especially if I enjoy the subject.

Honesty in teaching is something I strive for, and transparency in education is needed to allow students to understand where I come from and where I stand within my career and my teaching practice.