Peer review of scholarly outputs is a process with a long history, but one which is increasingly coming under critique from equity and
inclusion perspectives. As an original process of Eurocentric design with anonymised and hierarchical structures, peer review can be a
site of oppression and harm. Academics have reported emotional harm associated with the process, and the emotional impacts of peer
review may be experienced differently by different groups of people, with associated equity implications. This presentation draws on a
subset of data from a larger study with 25 experienced academic authors from one NZ institution. These academics discussed their
perceptions of how demographic aspects of their identities (most commonly, gender and culture) affected their emotional reactions to
the peer review process. Using a critical narrative analysis, we identify thematic connections between demographic influenced
experiences and emotions. We offer this analysis to demonstrate the need for renewed critical examination of academic processes
such as peer review. Acknowledging the conference theme of Mā muri, mā mua, we advocate learning from both harms and good
practices of the past to ensure an equitable, safe, and inclusive future for peer review as an important mechanism for the quality
assurance of scholarship.