Dr. Tobias B.D. Wiggins (he/him) is an assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Athabasca University (AU). His research centers transgender mental health, queer and trans visual culture, clinical transphobia, accessible community-based wellness, and psychoanalysis. Broadly, Wiggins’ work aims to address the continued psychiatric pathologization of gender variance and to support the efficacy of trans-competent medical care. At AU, he coordinates the University Certificate in Counselling Women, an interdisciplinary program which applies contemporary feminist theory to the practice of counselling. His recent publications appear in the Transgender Studies Quarterly, Studies in Gender and Sexuality, The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, and the anthology Sex, Sexuality and Trans Identities: Clinical Guidance for Psychotherapists and Counselors.
He is currently engaged in two active research projects. The first is a community-based qualitative research project that aims to trace the effects of COVID-19 on transgender communities’ mental health in Alberta, as well as their use of digital worlds for survival and resistance. Second, Wiggins is presenting and publishing on the implications of cisgender adult’s anxious and defensive response to gender non-conforming youth.
Believing that the most efficacious research is grounded in community engagement, Wiggins has always been a strong organizer and advocate for anti-oppressive mental health care for marginalized people. He is a current member of the Alberta Trans Health Network, a collaborative group of healthcare providers, researchers, and community-based organizations interested and actively working in trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit health in Alberta. He was a board member for JusticeTrans, a not-for-profit that offers legal information about trans rights across Canada. In Toronto, he ran peer-to-peer support groups for trans men at the Sherbourne Health Centre, and he was also long-time crisis line operator at the Trans Lifeline. Wiggins is a certified yoga teacher, and he teaches accessible trauma-informed yoga to the 2SLGBTQ community.
PhD, Gender, Feminist, & Women’s Studies, York University
Master’s Degree, Gender, Feminist & Women’s Studies, York University
Honours Bachelor of Arts, Women’s Studies, Trent University
Book chapters and peer-reviewed articles
Wiggins, T. (forthcoming 2021). Do Psychoanalysts Dream of Polymorphous Sleep: Clinical Desiring with Transgender Subjects. 23(2). Journal of Gender and Sexuality.
Wiggins, T. (2021). Listening for Trans Childism in Discursive Concern. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child.
Gozlan, O., Osserman, J., Silber, L., Wallerstein, H., Watson, E., Wiggins, T. (2021). Transgender Children: From Controversy to Dialogue. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child.
Wiggins, T. (2021). Transgender Folks and Sexual Perversion. In L. Erickson-Schroth (Ed.) Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wiggins, T. & Woodams, E. (2020). A Dialogue on Therapeutic Peer-to-Peer Models for Trans and Nonbinary Surgical Support. QED: A Journal In GLBTQ Worldmaking, 7(3) 39-52.
Wiggins, T. (2020). Non-Recognition and Healing Transgender Trauma with Yoga. In M. Klein (Ed). Embodied Resilience: 30 mindful essays about finding empowerment after addiction, trauma, grief, and loss. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, pp. 157 – 166.
Wiggins, T. (2020). A Perverse Solution to Misplaced Distress: Trans Subjects and Clinical Disavowal. Transgender Studies Quarterly. 7(1), 56–76.
Wiggins, T. (2020). The Pervert on Your Couch: Psychoanalysis and Trans/Sexual Health. In J. Niemira, G, Jacobson, & K. Violet (Eds.), Sex, Sexuality and Trans Identities: Clinical Guidance for Psychotherapists and Counselors (pp. 155-181). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Wiggins, T. (2020). Leave Britney Alone!: And Other Spectral Affects. In A. Mitchell & C. McKinney (Eds.), Killjoy’s Kastle: A Lesbian Feminist Haunted House (pp. 94-96). Vancouver, B.C.: UBC Press; Toronto, ON: Art Gallery of York University; Los Angeles: The ONE Archive.
Wiggins, T. (2017). Encountering Inheritance in Vivek Shraya’s I want to kill myself. Transgender Studies Quarterly. 4(3-4), 668-674.
Wiggins, T. (2018, January). Calpurnia fiercely tackles everyday racism with tact and humour. Nightwood Theatre. Retrieved from https://www.nightwoodtheatre.net/blog/calpurnia _fiercely _tackles _everyday _racism _with _tact _and _humour _review _by _t Find a PDF copy here.
Heagberg, Kat & Kyle Rebar. (2018, November). Gender and Consent in Yoga with Tobias Wiggins. Yoga International [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from https://yogainternational.com/ecourse/yoga-talk
Wiggins, T. (2017, August). Creating a Culture of Consent through Yoga Practice. Union Yoga and Wellness. Retrieved from http://www.unionyogastudio.ca/creating-a-culture-of-consent-through-yoga/ Find a PDF copy here.
Wiggins, T. (Director). (2014). You Are Here: Exploring Yoga and the Impacts of Cultural Appropriation. Documentary, colour HD, 25:00. Open access digital release, retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OoBaDt9cvQ