Meg-John Barker

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Meg-John Barker
Bisexuality and mental health - Meg-John Barker.jpg
Meg-John Barker speaks about bisexuality in 2016
Born (1974-06-23) 23 June 1974 (age 50)
Hull, England
EducationPhD Psychology, University of Nottingham; MA Psychotherapy, University of Sheffield
Occupation(s)writer, writing mentor, creative consultant, and speaker
Years active2003–present
Known forwriter on queer, [1] sexuality, [2] relationships, [3] and gender. [4] Authority on open non-monogamy, bisexuality, non-binary gender, and BDSM
Website www.rewriting-the-rules.com

Meg-John Barker (born 23 June 1974) is a writer, writing mentor, creative consultant, speaker, and independent scholar. They have written a number of anti self-help books on the topics of relationships, sex, and gender, as well as the graphic non-fiction books, Queer: A Graphic History and Gender: A Graphic Guide, and the book The Psychology of Sex. They are the writer of the relationships book and blog Rewriting the Rules, and they have a podcast with sex educator Justin Hancock.

Contents

Barker is a full-time writer, as well as being a writing mentor, creative consultant, speaker, and independent scholar. Barker holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Nottingham, and worked for two decades as an academic psychologist at the Open University in the United Kingdom, and as a psychotherapist specialising in sex, gender, and relationships.

Barker has written and/or edited some of the first academic collections on open non-monogamy, bisexuality, non-binary gender and BDSM. They were editor of the journal Psychology & Sexuality from 2010 to 2017, and lead author of The Bisexuality Report and the BACP document on Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diversity.

Barker's pronouns are singular they/them.

Early life and education

Barker was born in Hull, England, on 23 June 1974, grew up in Bradford, and holds a PhD [5] in Psychology from the University of Nottingham. After teaching at a number of higher education institutions, Barker settled at the Open University in 2008, having also qualified with an MA in Psychotherapy from the University of Sheffield and trained at the major NHS sexual and relationship clinic at Guy's Hospital for several years.

Recent career

Barker's main area of expertise is human sexuality, gender and romantic relationships, with a focus on the experiences of people in sexual, gender and relationship communities located outside the mainstream – particularly polyamorous, [6] kink, [7] non-binary [8] and bisexual communities. Theoretically their work draws on social constructionism, existentialism and Buddhist philosophy. Barker, with co-author Darren Langdridge, has published two edited collections on sadomasochism [9] and on non-monogamy, [10] and a recent book for mental health professionals (co-authored with Christina Richards). Barker founded the journal of Psychology & Sexuality [11] together with Langdridge in 2010, and they co-edited it until 2017. Barker co-organized the Critical Sexology [12] series from 2006 to 2018, and BiReCon [13] (a biennial research conference which takes place prior to the annual BiCon event).

Writing

Barker coined the phrase ‘anti self-help’ to describe self-help materials which locate the struggles that people have in their wider societal structures and cultural messages rather than in them as individuals. [14] Barker's anti self-help books aim to help people to navigate their relationship with wider sociocultural understandings, rather than viewing themselves as a problem that needs fixing. They have produced books applying this approach to relationships, [15] sex (with Justin Hancock), [16] and gender (with Alex Iantaffi), [17] as well as producing graphic-novel style non-fiction books and zines on queer, [18] mindfulness and other topics, [19] and a podcast on sex and relationships. [20]

Consulting

Barker has a background in psychotherapy, and led production on the Open University module Counselling: Exploring Fear and Sadness. [21] They are trained in existential psychotherapy and mindfulness with books on the latter [22] developing the approaches of social mindfulness and mindful sex and relationship therapy (MSRT). [23] Their practice now takes the form of peer-to-peer consulting and mentoring with writers, practitioners, activists, and organizers, with a focus on relationships with self, others, and the wider world.

Activism

Barker's activism in the area of LGBT&Q rights has been recognized by placement in the top 40 of The Independent on Sunday newspaper's Pink List, [24] and Rainbow List. [25] Barker was one of the founder members of BiUK, the organization for bisexual research and activism. [26] This group wrote the international guidelines for academics studying bisexuality (published in Journal of Bisexuality ) and produced The Bisexuality Report which informs UK policy and practice regarding bisexuality based on the evidence regarding biphobia, bisexual invisibility, and mental health [27] In 2013, Barker took home an Erotic Award in the academic category for the book Rewriting the Rules, as reported in Times Higher Education . [28] Their current activism focuses on trans and non-binary communities. [29]

Works

Books (as author)

Books (as editor)

Reports

Selected articles and book chapters

Journal editorships

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "Queer".
  2. ↑ "Sexuality".
  3. ↑ "Relationships".
  4. ↑ "Gender".
  5. ↑ Barker, M. (1999). Student Loneliness: An Exploratory Investigation. PhD. Psychology. University of Nottingham. Unpublished.
  6. ↑ Clarke, V.; Ellis, S. J.; Peel, E.; Riggs, D. W. (2010). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer Psychology: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0521700184.
  7. ↑ Weeks, J. (2011). The Languages of Sexuality . Routledge. ISBN   978-0415375733.
  8. ↑ Burr, V. (2015). Social Constructionism (3rd ed.). Routledge. ISBN   978-1848721920.
  9. ↑ Barker, M.; Langdridge, D. (2013). Safe, Sane and Consensual: Contemporary Perspectives on Sadomasochism. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-1137338372.
  10. ↑ Barker, M.; Langdridge, D. (2012). Understanding Non-Monogamies. Routledge. ISBN   978-0415652964.
  11. ↑ "Psychology & Sexuality". Taylor & Francis. ISSN   1941-9899.
  12. ↑ Critical Sexology
  13. ↑ BiReCon, 27 August 2011
  14. ↑ Barker, M.-J. (2018). Rewriting the Rules: An Anti Self-help Guide to Love, Sex and Relationships. Second edition. Routledge. ISBN   978-1138043596.
  15. ↑ Barker, M.-J. (2018). Rewriting the Rules: An Anti Self-help Guide to Love, Sex and Relationships. Second edition. Routledge. ISBN   978-1138043596.
  16. ↑ Barker, M.-J.; Hancock, J. (2017). Enjoy Sex (How, When and If You Want To): A Practical and Inclusive Guide. Icon Books. ISBN   978-1785780806.
  17. ↑ Iantaffi, A.; Barker, M.-J. (2017). How to Understand Your Gender: A Practical Guide for Exploring Who You Are. Jessica Kingsley. ISBN   978-1785927461.
  18. ↑ Barker, M.-J.; Scheele, J. (2016). Queer: A Graphic History. Icon Books. ISBN   978-1785780714.
  19. ↑ Zines
  20. ↑ Meg-John and Justin
  21. ↑ Counseling: Exploring Fear and Sadness
  22. ↑ Barker, M. (2013). Mindful Counselling and Psychotherapy. Sage Publications. ISBN   978-1446211113.
  23. ↑ Brotto, L.; Barker, M. (2014). Mindfulness in Sexual and Relationship Therapy. Routledge. ISBN   978-0415736961.
  24. ↑ The Independent on Sunday Pink List 2013 , 12 October 2013, archived from the original on 12 May 2022
  25. ↑ The Independent on Sunday Rainbow List 2014 , 9 November 2014, archived from the original on 12 May 2022
  26. ↑ Barker, Meg (2012), BiUK, Routledge, ISBN   978-0415517638
  27. ↑ Bisexual stigma and adverse mental health
  28. ↑ Times Higher Education, Erotic Awards, Academic Category 2013, 12 June 2013
  29. ↑ The Indie. Trans activists. 2018, January 2018
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