Queer Subcultural Integration and the Search for Community in the Modern Metropolis
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Using new interview data collected from transgender, nonbinary, and others across the LGBTQ+ spectrum in Atlanta, GA, this study analyzes how, upon first moving to a sprawling metropolis, queer people integrate into queer subcultures as a way to find community. Participants report that finding queer networks not only provides a sense of normalcy and support but also allows for the spread of information and resources vital to marginalized members entering a new urban area. Findings show that to access such information and resources these queer people primarily rely on queer institutions to integrate into queer subcultures. However, they feel disconnected from those institutions and from the queer community as a whole because of the spatial and cultural challenges of the suburbs, where many queer newcomers end up settling due to high housing costs in the central city and despite their aspirations to live in what they consider to be “queerer” parts of Atlanta. These findings corroborate prior research on the spatial structures of gay neighborhoods in urban spaces and the place-based formation of subculture. They also add new insights into the personal and community challenges of sprawling metropolitan regions for queer subcultural integration and thus reproduction over time.
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Turner, Katie Lane. "Queer Subcultural Integration and the Search for Community in the Modern Metropolis." (2021) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. https://hdl.handle.net/1911/111628.