Intersecting inequalities in the time of COVID-19

Editorial team Kate Sang, Abigail Powell, Chrissi McCarthy, Josephine Kinge, Barbara Myers

We are currently facing what many people referred to as unprecedented times. Globally we are facing a health crisis, which is emerging into an economic and social crisis.  While Medical Research continues apace to develop a vaccine and treatments for the coronavirus, there is considerable work to be done to understand the social impacts of both the virus itself, lockdown measures and public health efforts.

Data suggest that the coronavirus itself has gendered health outcomes, with men more likely to face fatality as a result of infection, and black and minority ethnic men and women are far more likely to die as a result of contracting coronavirus in countries such as the UK.  The reasons for these disparate health outcomes are not yet known, but it seems likely that issues such as class and racism interact to inform these devastating outcomes. There are also early reports of gendered effects of the lockdown, for example gender differences in research productivity and an exacerbation of the unequal household division of labour.   Further there is emerging evidence that people living with mental health conditions are experiencing difficulty accessing support, and lockdowns may exacerbate their underlying health conditions. Coupled with media narratives of the expendability of disabled, immunocompromised and older people, there are clear intersecting inequalities in terms of how Covid-19 affects individuals, and the economic and social consequences of public health measures, and resulting recessions. These effects have been felt even before a post-pandemic recession truly hits.

We are also, at the time of writing, witnessing the resurgence of anti-racist protests which began in response to the death of George Floyd, and have spread across the US and to other countries.

IPED therefore issues an urgent call for submissions exploring intersecting inequalities in the time of Covid-19.  In order to develop a special issue which is diverse in terms of its readership, and perspectives, we welcome submissions in varying formats. In addition to traditional academic papers, we invite shorter think/opinion pieces, photographic essays, British sign language video presentations, autoethnographic accounts and creative writing.  We welcome submissions in multiple languages, and if you would like to submit a piece in a language other than English, please contact the editorial board for guidance.

Suggested topics for discussion include but are not limited to:

• The gendered effects of lockdown
• Working on the frontline of COVID-19
• Health disparities in the time of Covid, and in a post-Covid world
• The impacts on teaching across the education system
• The lessons that can be learnt from lockdown for example more inclusive working practices
• Protest in the time of pandemics
• Racial inequalities in responses to the virus and the pandemic more broadly
• Importance of intersectional responses to COVID-19
• Institutional racism, heteronormativity, ableism, ageism and sexism in institutions responsible for COVID-19 responses

Submissions should be made through the journal website. Upper limit for papers is 8000 words, think pieces should be in the region of 1500 words. Please contact the editorial board for guidance on other forms of submission. k.sang@hw.ac.uk

Papers should be submitted via our online journal management system.

New deadline 30th September 2020.

The IPED board stands in steadfast solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement as it fights to eradicate racism, violence, and the murders of black men and women globally.

We recognise the intersectional aspects of racism, and welcome efforts to embed the needs of disabled and trans black people in the worldwide protests.

We recognise that racism is structural and systemic, and it runs deep in many institutions of the Global North, and Higher Education spaces are no different.

In the academy, we acknowledge that racism manifests in different ways from barriers to employment and promotion, to disregard for and exploitation of black scholarship, and subsequent lack of scholarly acknowledgement and citation.

At IPED, we want to do better and we are committed to embedding anti-racism through our commissioning, editing, publishing and editorial board practices and by being aware of our privileges. Further information to support this work can be found here http://danceandwhiteness.coventry.ac.uk/blog/

#BlackLivesMatter