ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we use an autoethnographic lens to explore our experiences as two female academics from cultural and linguistic backgrounds which fall outside the dominant discourse of the context in which we find ourselves. We explore the consequences and impacts of the cultural markers of gender, ethnicity and social class inextricably entangled with our identities. We attempt to draw attention to the multiple points of discord and incongruence which can arise with such identities amidst the expectations of the existing cultural habitus of academia in a Global North setting. In particular, we examine the schism between gender roles in Southern European contexts and those pervading Global North feminine academic discourse and the disjunction between socio-economic status, ‘first in family’ to attend university issues, and the traditional make-up of academia. Mapping experiences retrospectively, over a decade or so, we examine critical incidents in navigating the implicit expectations and unwritten rules of engagement in higher education in Australia. We focus on the inherent tensions of being seen as an ‘insider’ in terms of appearance and language, whilst, simultaneously, remaining an ‘outsider’ in terms of cultural and class mindset, values, and ways of being.
