Pivoting toward solidarity: Black studies,Black feminism,and performance in geographical scholarship on sexuality

Abstract

In this commentary on Andrew Tucker's ( 2025) article, ‘A Sexuality Pivot,’ I discuss both the exciting possibilities and some caveats to consider as we engage critically in solidarity-oriented research. In the main, I am interested in what kinds of considerations we as researchers must engage if we are to effectively pivot toward solidarity. Here, I engage the rich history of solidarity from Abolitionist and Black feminist traditions to think through how contributions from Black studies, expansively defined, might enrich the conversation on solidarity as a research method. In particular, I examine the fruitful possibilities drawn from D. Soyini Madison, Audre Lorde, and the strategy of witnessing (developed from Frederick Douglass by way of Dwight Conquergood) as a way of thinking through contemporary solidaristic scholarship on the geographies of sexuality.