“I’m not your SISTA”: An Intersectional Exploration of Queer Black Women’s Experiences in LGBT+ Nightlife in the United Kingdom
Jackson, Monisha
Citations
Abstract
This thesis explores 18 queer Black British women’s experiences of LGBT+ nightlife in the United Kingdom. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, I explore experiences of exclusion and inclusion within white, male-dominated LGBT+ nightlife and QTIPOC nightlife. My findings show that queer Black women are excluded by discrimination in the forms of physical violence, sexual violence, and fetishisation. Additionally, queer Black women experience exclusion through homonormativity which facilitates and privileges the comfort of gay white men, while excluding other intersecting marginalized groups. Homonormative processes were found through white patriarchal domination of space, heterosexual presence, and the music played within these night-time spaces. Queer Black women felt more included; they felt more comfortable and safer(r) within QTIPOC nightlife where their intersecting identities are affirmed, honoured, and valued.
