Dr. Julia Sinclair-Palm is an Instructor in the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University. She completed her doctorate in Education in the Faculty of Education at York University. She has an MA in Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State University and a BS in Psychology. Her research on trans youth carries the trace of this interdisciplinary history—across her work, she considers how conceptualizations of trans youth are tied to concerns about violence, risk, and mental health often at the exclusion of other, more complex narratives of identity, gender, and belonging. She examines how trans youth forge new identities, imagine futures and navigate structural inequalities in the midst of these larger, and sometimes restrictive narratives about trans lives.
Sinclair-Palm is the co-editor (with Jen Gilbert) of a special of Sex Education on “Trans Youth in Education” and is the author of an article titled “’It’s Non-Existent’: Haunting in Trans Youth Narratives about Naming.” She is also working on extending her research on trans youth to begin an international study of trans youth to examine how trans youth negotiate family, school, love, and friendship in 3 different contexts: Dublin, Ireland; Melbourne, Australia; and Toronto, Canada. Her research brings queer and trans theory together with youth studies to explore the well-being and daily lives of young trans people with the purpose of facilitating youth leadership development, creating better supports for young trans people, and improving training about trans issues for educators.
Instructor in the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University
Received Doctorate in Education in the Faculty of Education at York University
Received MA in Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State University
Received BS in Psychology from California Polytechnic State University