1st Edition

Exploring LGBT Spaces and Communities Contrasting Identities, Belongings and Wellbeing

By Eleanor Formby Copyright 2017
    228 Pages
    by Routledge

    228 Pages
    by Routledge

    The phrase ‘LGBT community’ is often used by policy-makers, service providers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people themselves, but what does it mean? What understandings and experiences does that term suggest, and ignore? Based on a UK-wide study funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, this book explores these questions from the perspectives of over 600 research participants.

    Examining ideas about community ‘ownership’; ‘difference’ and diversity; relational practices within and beyond physical spaces; imagined communities and belongings; the importance of ‘ritual’ spaces and symbols, and consequences for wellbeing, the book foregrounds the lived experience of LGBT people to offer a broad analysis of commonalities and divergences in relation to LGBT identities.

    Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective grounded in international social science research, the book will appeal to students and scholars with interests in sexual and/or gender identities in the fields of community studies, cultural studies, gender studies, geography, leisure studies, politics, psychology, sexuality studies, social policy, social work, socio-legal studies, and sociology. The book also offers implications for practice, suitable for policy-maker, practitioner, and activist audiences, as well as those with a more personal interest.

     

    1. Introduction

    Spatial communities and ‘gay ghettos’

    Cultural communities and practices

    Imagined communities and the ‘gay imaginary’

    Friendships and personal communities

    Virtual communities and cyberian mailways

    Community is here to stay?

    The research

    The book

    References

    2. ‘Owning’ and questioning LGBT communities

      Introduction

      The acronym that ‘lumps together’

      ‘Managing’ the acronym

      Ambivalence

      Commonality

      Agency

      Chapter summary

      References

      3. Diversity, inequality and prejudice amongst LGBT people

      Introduction

      Overview of existing literature

      Diversity and inequality

      Identity-based prejudice

      Faith and religion

      Parenting

      (Non)conformity

      Chapter summary

      References

    4. Lived experience and ‘doing’ community

    Introduction

    Overview of existing literature

    Socialising, friendship and seeking intimacy

    Friendship families

    Safety in numbers

    Accessing ‘safe’ spaces

    Self-censorship

    Activism

    Lived experience across the life course

    Chapter summary

    References

    5. Relationships to, within and beyond physical spaces

    Introduction

    Overview of existing literature

    Physical space and geographical areas

    Relocation

    Rural living

    Travel and tourism

    Groups and services

    Online spaces and virtual communities

    Chapter summary

    References

    6. The pleasures and pains of scene spaces

    Introduction

    Overview of existing literature

    The scene as ‘community’

    Positive experiences

    Scene exclusions

    Invasion, choice and ownership

    Chapter summary

    References

    7. Pride spaces, rituals and symbols

    Introduction

    Overview of existing literature

    Creating communities?

    Safety and freedom

    Celebration

    Protest

    Partying with politics

    Commercialism

    Alcohol at Pride events

    Exclusion

    ‘Excess’ and ‘extreme’ displays of pride

    Chapter summary

    References

    8. Imagined communities and a sense of belonging

    Introduction

    Overview of existing literature

    Belonging and connection

    Commonalities, similarities, and mutual understanding

    Differences and values

    Shared experiences and the ‘bond’ of discrimination?

    Chapter summary

    References

    9. Consequences for wellbeing

    Introduction

    Overview of existing literature

    Impacts on physical and mental health

    Seeking support

    Friendships, confidence and self-esteem

    Finding people ‘like me’

    Alcohol, drugs and sex on the scene

    Paradoxical spaces

    Chapter summary

    References

    10. Conclusions and implications

    References

    Appendix: Research methods and participants

    Research process and recruitment

    Online survey

    Interviews and group discussions

    Participants

    References

    Biography

    Eleanor Formby is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research at Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

    This important work, critically approaches a vexed topic that of ‘community’ in an informed, innovative and rigorous way.  Its cross disciplinary approach and clear writing style means that it will be of interest to all who are interested and work with not only lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans communities, but also those who are interested in social cohesion, identities, exclusions and marginalisations.  This is also a must read for policy makers and the LGBT community and voluntary sector.

    Katherine Browne, Professor Human Geography at University of Brighton, UK

    Exploring LGBT Spaces and Communities interrogates the complexities that lurk behind the deceptively simple idea of "community." Page after page, Eleanor Formby shatters the stereotype of singularity and shows us the manifold experiences of communities—in the plural—for LGBT people. This book is sure to poke and provoke as it traverses tensions between sameness and difference, hostility from the outside and safe spaces within, forced labels that misalign with lived experiences, on-line and offline encounters, cynicism and celebration about membership, demanding conformity or celebrating individuality, and in broad strokes, whether sexuality is primary or peripheral in our lives.

    Amin Ghaziani, University of British Columbia, Canada

    This book will be a valuable addition to any undergraduate or postgraduate course of study that includes issues of sexuality, identity, community, (mental) health and wellbeing. It makes no apology about the complexities that the data unfolds and provides meticulous attention to the detail of people’s experiences and intersectional identities. Overall, the book explores the many ways in which ‘LGBT community’ – awkward, inadequate, limited, sometimes oppressive, discriminatory, hostile and exclusive – is aspired to (and is often a [temporary] reality).

    Catherine Donovan, University of Sunderland, UK