Bringing Psychology into the Twenty-First Century: Research on Gender Resilience, Integration, and Transformation

In this discussion chapter, I discuss how the 2023 Nebraska Symposium on Motivation brought together a set of thinkers, theories, and arguments about psychological research. Collectively, we asked: who is imagined as the subject of psychological research, what are the costs of remaining outside of this subjecthood, and what else besides “damage discourses” can exemplify discussions of marginalization and discussions of power? Psychology has prided itself on studying the mechanisms of power, identity, and oppression but has lagged far behind its peers in the social sciences in seriously engaging the perspectives of those who are most affected by these mechanisms. This conference aimed to correct this erasure. The presentations, now chapters collected in this issue, singularly and collectively explore questions of pleasure in one’s body and identity, resistance to cultural and political restrictions, issues with inadequate measurement and assessment in research, and considering nuance in psychology more carefully. Why do we need to think together about these issues of pleasure, joy, resiliency, and well-being? There is a very simple answer: in order to fight, in order to teach others, and in order to survive. The stakes are extremely high, extremely present, and cannot be delayed another minute.