Presentation at QTRG 2025: Queer Temporalities

Marta Ilo (she/they), a current 2nd-year student at SIPS, participated in QTRG 2025: Queer Temporalities, an international academic conference hosted by Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia from October 1st to 3rd, 2025. Organized annually by the Queer Theory Reading Group (QTRG), the event offers a platform for scholars and researchers to share insights and advance dialogues in Queer Studies.

Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, QTRG 2025 centered on the theme “Queer Temporalities.” The conference explored how, amidst growing political backlash against trans rights, same-sex marriage, and reproductive justice, reimagining time and queer existence can serve as an act of resistance to create new possibilities for expansive, self-determined queer lives. The conference featured presenters from across the globe who examined topics such as memory, generations, histories, and futurity.

Marta presented online on October 3rd, during the session titled Intersections, sharing her research, “The Influence of the Queer Community in the Military on the General Perception of Queerness in Ukraine.” Her work investigates how LGBTQIA+ individuals serving in the Ukrainian armed forces shape narratives of queerness tied to progress, Westernization, and liberation within contemporary Ukraine.

Supported by her academic adviser, Dr. Lydia Ayame Hiraide, whose research focuses on critical race and gender studies, Marta’s participation in QTRG 2025 provided not only an opportunity to share her research but also to engage with leading scholars in Gender and Queer Studies. The experience contributed to deepening her understanding of humanistic education and the transformative power of knowledge production across global contexts.