Section 2: Introduction: Queering Public Policy and Advocacy in the Deep South

In the introduction to this volume, I overviewed the connections between public policy, advocacy, and public health. In the Section 1 introduction, Sherry Wang highlighted the range of issues and dynamics that are involved in public health in the Deep South. This second section of the book will shift to highlight public policy and advocacy work.

Importantly, the topics in this second section span from mass incarceration and the carceral state, to the policing of queer bodies, to advocacy with and for bisexual individuals, to reimagining activism and pride. In several of these chapters, the authors intentionally highlight the ways that queer advocacy and queer communities often cross into issue of race/racism, sex/sexism, ability/ableism, and other issues. One such example is Chapter 10, which highlights the efforts of people of color to make LGBTQ pride celebrations more equitable and inclusive. But the authors in this section not only call on readers to reimagine how they might queer public policy and advocacy, but also to queer the sense of history many might hold about public life.