Meet Dr. Kevin Nadal (he, them, siya)
Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York, one of the leading researchers in Microaggression Theory, Queer Psychology, and Filipino American Studies.
@kevinnadal // kevinnadal.com
Shop their look: D.R.A.G. T-Shirt
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your mission/work.
On most days, I just view myself as a queer Filipino American child of immigrants who became a father and husband and now typically spends my day changing diapers or teaching toddlers about life. However, my bios will tell you that I’ve done a few cool things in my professional life too.
As a notable author and distinguished professor, what has be the most fulfilling aspect of your work?
The most fulfilling aspect of my work is when I am reminded of its impact - especially when I am less likely to expect it. When a young queer person or Filipino American recognizes me and stops me in a public place and tells me how they’ve read one of my books and that they felt seen or validated, the joy or satisfaction that it brings is a bit indescribable. It motivates me to continue doing what I am doing, reminding me of how much more work is left to do.
Now, since it is Pride Month, let's talk Allyship!
What does it mean to be an ally and support a friend or family member of the LGBTQIA+ community?
Being an ally means being an accomplice - someone who will sacrifice their own privilege or comfort to advocate for justice. It means challenging your own conceptions of what relationships and success look like and understanding how systems of oppression have promoted transphobia, heterosexism, sexism, racism, and other forms of discrimination in our society.
Allyship isn’t just for CIS hetero people. There are many dynamics and unconscious bias within our community as well. How can we be better Allies from within the LGBTQIA+ Community.
Thank you for acknowledging this dynamic. The LGBTQIA+ community is so diverse, with so many gender identities and sexual orientations - along with diverse racial and ethnic groups, religions, ability statuses, immigration experiences, and so forth. We must constantly be aware of power dynamics in our communities - recognizing the ways that our community and own LGBTQ media has created impossible standards of beauty and typically center cis white gay men and women. This means having conversations - sometimes difficult conversations - and naming the oppressive realities of the word and within our own communities. We also need to center the narratives of those who experience multiple forms of oppression. Give the microphone or the platform to Black trans women, to LGBTQ people of color or with disabilities, to nonbinary folks who live in poverty or indigenous queer youth who are homeless. If any of these folks encounter any inequity, it is an LGBTQ inequity; and our community can and should do what we can to address it.
What is your advice for other activists within our community? With current events highlighting the continued discrimination attacks, it can be mentally and physically triggering causing trauma over and over.
What steps do you take for self care, and keep up the energy to fight each day and be a voice for those who need it most.
Everyone has their own journey. For some people, marching on the streets every day or engaging in tense conversations is something that is physically or emotionally feasible. For some people, fighting in the revolution is something that they engage in daily. However for many of us, it simply isn’t that easy.
The only advice I can offer is to pay attention to your body. If you need to rest, take a nap or get a good night’s sleep. If you need to eat, cook or order in. The fight isn’t going to be effective if you’re not in your best mental, emotional, or physical state. So make sure you put on your own metaphorical air mask before assisting others.
Picture it, its a family reunion and Uncle or Auntie start talking about politics. How do you attempt to reason or express a POV with those of differing points of view in an attempt to build allyship?
Honestly, I probably avoid a lot of spaces where I presume there would be homophobic, transphobic, or racist people - which includes certain family functions. However, one important thing that you can do is simply set clear boundaries about what is acceptable or unacceptable language. It is way more than differing political views when someone believes that your life doesn’t matter or that you don’t deserve the same access to health care, legal protections, or basic civil rights. I have generally cut all of those individuals from my life. There’s no benefit to maintaining relationships with toxic people or people who view you as less than human.
However, for those who show any interest in learning about social justice, I am usually willing to have a conversation. One practical thing that I have found to be helpful is to ensure that people in my life are aware of my political stances; this might be from posting on social media or just from having conversations with others who will make it clear where you stand on issues. In doing so, I have generally found that people can either initiate conversations to learn more, or just remain quiet about controversial topics because they know where I stand. And if those naysayers don’t, then I revert back to my earlier comments on cutting out toxicity.
What is your hope for LGBTQ youth and/or LGBTQ families today? How can others help to build positivity around that vision?
Honestly, I just hope that LGBTQ people are able to live their best lives. Let them be. Let them live and love and fuck and succeed and be themselves and hold hands and raise children and talk about their lives in schools and at work. Let them have the same opportunities as non-LGBTQ people. Let them make the same types of everyday mistakes as CIS hetero people. Stop making these laws that try to change them or punish them or make them feel like second class citizens. They just need to be treated with the baseline respect that non-LGBTQ people are afforded. From there, they can succeed or fail, be happy or not - but all on their own accord and not because society has inflicted those obstacles or traumas onto them.
How do we get there? Well, education and activism and justice in laws and policies are obviously good places to start. However, another thing that non-LGBTQ people can do is what New Yorkers have been taught to do - mind your business! If LGBTQ people aren’t doing anything to personally harm you, leave them/ us alone. It’s as simple as that.
Some may not know, but you in fact helped popularize the term microaggression, which we hear used a lot now!
How can one address microaggressions when faced with them in the workplace or at family gatherings.
I’d first suggest buying one of my books on microaggressions 😀 or read one of the many free, available articles written by me or others on the topic. There are just so many ways to react to microaggressions that it would be too much to cover. However, one thing that is always helpful for me is to trust your gut, seek support from your people, and know that you’re definitely not alone.
How can someone be aware of their own unconscious bias and avoid saying a microagression?
It is generally a good practice for folks to have others to process their emotions and biases with. We all have them, as we are all products of a biased society. However, recognizing them takes a critical and intentional effort, and when you belong to any privileged group, it can be easily to be complacent. So, again, find your people - but this time, find the people who will keep you in check and uplift you at the same time.
About Dr. Kevin Nadal:
Dr. Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Graduate Center at the City University of New York. He received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Columbia University in New York City and is one of the leading researchers in understanding the impacts of microaggressions, or subtle forms of discrimination, on the mental and physical health of people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people; and other marginalized groups. He has published over 100 works on multicultural issues in the fields of psychology and education. A California-bred New Yorker, he was named one of People Magazine's hottest bachelors in 2006 and one of NBC's Pride 30 in 2018. He once won an argument with Bill O'Reilly on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor"; and he was even once a Hot Topic on ABC's "The View". He has been featured in the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, the Weather Channel, the History Channel, HGTV, Philippine News, and The Filipino Channel. He is the author of ten books including Filipino American Psychology (2011, Wiley); That's So Gay: Microaggressions and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community (2013, APA); Microaggressions and Traumatic Stress (2018, APA); and Queering Law and Order (2020, Lexington). He was the first openly gay President of the Asian American Psychological Association and the first person of color to serve as the Executive Director of the Center for LGBTQ Studies. He is a National Trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) and a co-founder of the LGBTQ Scholars of Color National Network. He has delivered hundreds of lectures across the United States, including the White House and the U.S. Capitol. He has won numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association 2017 Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest; the 2019 Richard Tewksbury Award from the Western Society of Criminology, and the Thought Leadership Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
