Short Abstract

A group discussion on the practice and ethics of working both with, and as people of gender diverse identities, while engaging with Indigenous Australian communities during the course of Anthropological research.

Long Abstract

Historically, Indigenous Australian societies have been represented by anthropologists as gender dichotomies: Men/boys and women/girls. This gender dichotomy is largely reflected in traditional law and custom. However, in contemporary practice, people outside the gender binary are increasingly entering the frame - as both the researched and the researchers. What does this mean for the ways that gendered information is recorded, stored, accessed and shared? What are the implications if genealogical databases do not accommodate gender diversity or fluidity? And what are researchers' ethical responsibilities when engaging with communities who may (or may not) be encountering gender non-binary citizens among their membership for the first time? This discussion group aims to bring together researchers who are dealing with the practice and ethics of working with people who have gender diverse identities in Indigenous Australian communities. It aims to facilitate a discussion group and provide a safe space in which researchers can share complications they have encountered, as well as problem-solving strategies that they have developed. It would be conceptual, and generically relative to the practice and ethics of 'doing anthropology' with and for Indigenous people around Australia.