This research explores the unique and divergent experiences of LGBTQ+ young adults as they engage in identity and space-making practices at the intersection of gender/sexuality and religion. Utilizing queer theorists’ conceptualization of identity as a form of embodied and spatial labor, I critique the approach of existing scholarship that constructs LGBTQ+ and religious identities as incompatible or at least in need of reconciliation. Based on thirteen semi-structured interviews with LGBTQ+ young adults in Utah, my research makes visible how vulnerability and risk impact the strategies that LGBTQ+ young adults employ to navigate their identities and make space. It shows that they strategically navigate space wherever they find themselves, regardless of whether they encounter accommodation or belonging. In doing so, it comes to look beyond the narrative of visibility as the primary strategy for LGBTQ+ progress to recognize that LGBTQ+ young adults employ varied strategies of visibility and concealment to navigate the spaces where they find themselves.

This study examines what it means to be a Russian LGBTQ emigrant in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The study follows a phenomenological research approach that differs from the commonly used scientific approach that strives for objective knowledge. Through a qualitative study consisting of 5 participants who identify themselves as Russian LGBTQ emigrants, this research examines findings via affect theory, queer theory, and theories of social and cultural trauma to ask what it means to be a Russian LGBTQ emigrant, how the LGBTQ emigrant is constructed, and how the construct of being a Russian LGBTQ emigrant affects the subject. The study shows how the meaning of being a Russian LGBTQ emigrant is constructed through the effects of affect and how these effects create a collective, social, and cultural trauma that manifests in their everyday lived experiences while shaping their prospects for the future. / <p>2023-09-14</p>

This is a thematic study examining a popular Swedish public service television show for children. The purpose of the study is to uncover how the show, Bolibompa, has communicated diversity over the last 34 years. Through a thematic analysis with multimodal tools, we investigate three categories of diversity that have undergone change in how they are conveyed: ethnicity &amp; culture, gender and sexuality. A fourth category, disability, is briefly mentioned. Even though Bolibompa has progressed to become more positive towards diversity, there are still aspects left to criticize. While Bolibompa mediates multiculturality, only a few displays of creative diversity are shown. Furthermore, no homo- or bisexuality is seen in Bolibompa, although two trans people are seen and heard in 2020 and 2023 respectively. There are both similarities and differences in how Bolibompa shares its values concerning each of the three categories. Elements such as music, games, colors and clothes are used in different amounts depending on which message of diversity is being conveyed.

True Colors: Out Youth Theater at The Theater Offensive is a Boston based program that focuses its theatrical and social mission on engaging Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered (GLBT) at-risk, youth and the community that surrounds them. Through the process of generating an original touring production, True Colors employs theatre as a tool for personal, social, and artistic expression, empowerment, and activism. The program's balance of both process and product focused goals creates an environment of multifaceted engagement and provides an example of how art can thrive in a structure of youth outreach. Though directors and facilitators guide the process and final product, a fundamental mission of True Colors is to provide a student or youth-centered experience where inspiration, decisions, discussions, and leadership generates directly from participants. By observing and participating in the creation of one of these productions, I explore the impact of this student-centered structure on the personal perspectives and artistic growth of the GLBT participants and the artistic process of creating the production. My goal is to discover True Colors' effectiveness of achieving its mission to both create an impactful and positive process for the youth and also develop a final product that is artful and evokes social change. Additionally, by studying similar programs, I establish a basis of comparison against True Colors in order to develop a broader view of the field and evaluate the variances in methodology and the impact on youth and communities.

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Research shows that Bulgaria is among the least LGBTQ+ friendly countries in the European Union, with members of the community facing discrimination, hostility, and violence both in their everyday lives and on a systemic level. The environment of suppression and stigma has also had an effect on the volume of local research into LGBTQ+ issues. This project’s goal is to fit into that research gap by providing a perspective on the problems faced by Bulgarian LGBTQ+ people and the plausible, practical solutions they would like to see or be part of on a local level. Participants focused on solutions that would create a space for queer community and expression, provide support and information where it is needed, and grow stronger community bonds. Some of those solutions were technological (such as an informational application and a community forum), others focused on interpersonal connection (such as an LGBTQ+ book club), and yet others on direct action (distributing counterpropaganda). / Forskning visar att Bulgarien är bland de minst hbtq-vänliga länderna i EU, med medlemmar av samhället som utsätts för diskriminering, fientlighet och våld både i sin vardag och på systemnivå. De miljö av förtryck och stigma har också haft en effekt på volymen av lokal forskning om HBTQ+-frågor. Detta projektets mål är att passa in i denna forskningsklyfta genom att ge ett perspektiv på problemen som bulgariska HBTQ+ står inför människor och de rimliga, praktiska lösningar de skulle vilja se eller vara en del av på lokal nivå. Deltagarna fokuserade på lösningar som skulle skapa ett utrymme för queergemenskap och uttryck, ge stöd och information där det behövs och stärka gemenskapsbanden. Några av dessa lösningar var tekniska (som en informativ ansökan och ett communityforum), andra fokuserade på interpersonell koppling (som en HBTQ +bokklubb), och ytterligare andra om direkta åtgärder (distribution av kontrapropaganda).

Den här avhandlingen tar sin utgångspunkt i äldre lhbtq-personers livsberättelser för att undersöka erfarenheter och betydelser av att leva och åldras som lesbisk, homosexuell, bisexuell, transperson eller queer. Äldre lhbtq-personer har levt och åldrats i tider där könsidentiteter och sexualiteter som går på tvärs med heteronormativiteten har varit kriminaliserade, patologiserade och många gånger framstått som avvikande. Samtidigt är äldre lhbtq-personers erfarenheter förbisedda inom forskningen, då gerontologin ofta utgår från heteronormativa antaganden samtidigt som lhbtq-forskningen sällan fokuserar på åldrande eller hög ålder. Avhandlingen bygger på livsberättelseintervjuer med tjugo personer födda mellan 1922 och 1950 (62-88 år vid tiden för intervjuerna). Det empiriska materialet har analyserats och tolkats med tematisk analys som metod samt med ett teoretiskt ramverk bestående av kritisk gerontologi, feministisk teori samt queerteori. Analysen pekar mot hur personernas erfarenheter relaterar till tidsanda och rumsliga kontexter. Den visar hur kön, ålder och sexualitet flätas samman i heteronormativa föreställningar kring hur livet ska se ut. Att avvika från dessa normer genom att inte leva upp till binära könsnormer eller inte ingå i heterosexuella äktenskap och skaffa barn kan ge stora sociala och materiella konsekvenser under livet. Det kan handla om att behöva smyga, dölja, bli socialt förskjuten, diskriminerad eller utsatt för våld. Trots dessa förutsättningar visar analysen hur personerna orienterat sig mot andra sätt att leva där ens könsidentitet och sexualitet kan få plats. Berättelserna pekar mot de betydelser som relationer, sociala nätverk samt lhbtq-sammanhang haft, där grupper, föreningar och träffställen som skapats över tid gjort det möjligt att finna andra livsmöjligheter. Berättelserna om att åldras påminner i stor utsträckning om andras erfarenheter av åldrande, men blir i några avseenden specifika för lhbtq-personer. Det kan handla om att inse att en åldrande kropp sätter stopp för den transvård en önskar få, eller oro för att bli homo- eller transfobiskt bemött inom äldreomsorgen. Resultaten pekar mot vikten av att lyfta in kritiska förhållningssätt på kön och sexualitet i gerontologin och livsloppsstudier. De visar också vikten av att inkludera materialitet i förståelser av den åldrande kroppen. Avhandlingen bidrar till en historieskrivning av lhbtq-historia i en svensk kontext. Den utgör också en teoretisk brygga mellan gerontologi, feministisk teori samt queerteori och bidrar till mer komplexa förståelser av intersektioner mellan kön, åldrande och sexualitet inom dessa fält. / This study is based on life-course interviews with 20 LGBTQ-identified people, born between 1922 and 1950, 62-88 years old at the time of the interviews. Older LGBTQ-identified people have experienced tremendous changes in how gender identities and sexualities have been re-negotiated during their lifetimes. Even though there is a small but growing field of LGBTQ ageing studies, queer studies rarely problematizes age or ageing. At the same time, the gerontological field often assumes heterosexuality and cis-gender experiences. This dissertation uses a life course perspective and focuses on queer lines, life courses that move beyond the heteronormative expectations of how one should live one’s life in relation to gender identity and/or sexuality. The overarching aim of the study is to explore experiences and meanings of living and ageing as LGBTQ in a changing heteronormative world. Thematic analysis is used to analyse and interpret the empirical material. The theoretical framework in this study refers to critical gerontology, feminist theory and queer theory. The analysis points to how experiences of gender identity and sexuality relate to historical and geographical contexts, and change over time. It illustrates how gender, age and sexuality intersect with heteronormative expectations of what a life is supposed to be like. To not live up to these expectations by not adjusting to binary gender norms or not getting married and having children may have large social as well as material consequences. These include having to hide one’s gender identity or sexuality, being socially repudiated and discriminated against or being subject to physical violence. Despite these conditions, the interviewees have oriented toward other lines - other ways of living where there is room for their gender identities and sexualities. The interviews point to the significance of social relations, networks and LGBTQ communities. LGBTQ groups and meeting places that have been created over time have facilitated in finding these other lines. Most of the narratives on ageing are similar to those of other people the same age, but there are also narratives that are specific to LGBTQ experiences. For some the ageing body has ruled out the possibility of undergoing transgender-specific surgeries. Others are worried about encountering homophobic or transphobic treatment when in need of care. The results point to the importance of including critical approaches of gender and sexuality within gerontology and life course studies, and to including materiality when theorizing the ageing body. The dissertation also constitutes a theoretical bridge between gerontology, feminist theory and queer theory and contributes to more complex understandings of intersections between age, gender and sexuality to these fields.