Theory Making from the Middle

Researching LGBTQ Communities in Small Cities

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12765859
AutoresClare Forstie (0000-0002-1691-6860, Farmingdale State College, autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Volumen19
Número1
Páginas153-168
Fecha de publicación2019-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCity and Community (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1535-6841 • E-ISSN: 1540-6040
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1111/cico.12446
OpenAlexW2987736498
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas22
Referencias citadas81

Urban lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community research in sociology has largely ignored LGBTQ communities in the most common urban form: small cities. In this article, I argue that LGBTQ communities in small cities are an underexplored source of theory making about LGBTQ communities more broadly, and I highlight the ways such research enhances LGBTQ community research. I first discuss a definitional framework of LGBTQ communities in small cities. In other words, what do we mean by small cities, and what do we mean by LGBTQ communities within them? I then discuss the handful of examples of research on LGBTQ communities in small cities, describing the kinds of theoretical questions such research raises. I examine specifically how small–city LGBTQ communities shift our thinking about urban LGBTQ community research in the following four areas: social networks, spatial and temporal dimensions of community, identity intersections, and allyship. Next, I identify three reasons why a focus on small cities is necessary to theory making in LGBTQ and community research more broadly, including and moving beyond questions of representation. I conclude by highlighting the methodological diversity needed to effectively research LGBTQ communities in small cities and briefly address a few challenges in moving this field of research forward

Diversity (politics · Geography · Identity (music · Lesbian · Queer · Sociology · Transgender · Anthropology · Gender Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies · Urbanization and City Planning