Happy Symposium Day!
I attended Danica’s poster presentation on the effects of LGBTQIA+ legislators on public perceptions of same-sex rights. Her results show that while all aspects of an individual’s identity factor into levels of approval for same-sex rights, having an out LGBTQIA+ member of the legislature does have an additional impact on public perception. She portrayed the Latin American countries in her study as significantly more progressive on the issue of same-sex rights than what many US and European focused scholars/publics might expect.
I also attended Sarah Vonck’s G&IS/Spanish poster presentation on the connection between Ecuadorian environmental policy and the treatment of Ecuador’s indigenous population. Her project emphasized the tension between the demands of political structures and humanitarian concerns of indigenous populations. In discussing part of her data, Sarah focused on her interpretation of primary reports of oil extraction, arguing it is skewed lower than the numbers suggest as the Ecuadorian government wanted to appear to be making environmental progress regardless of the real state of extraction.