On the edge of sustainable”
LGBTQ+ researchers’ experiences of harm, fear, and community
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8133278 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rosie Nelson (0000-0003-1885-9625, University of Bristol), Rosie Ola-Marie (University of Bristol, corresponding author), Charlotte Jones (0000-0002-7348-4662, Swansea University), Amy Ryall (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama), Tig Slater (0000-0001-6739-7784, Sheffield Hallam University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-21 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sexualities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1363-4607 • E-ISSN: 1461-7382 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/13634607251415362 |
| OpenAlex | W7125479688 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 21 |
Those who research LGBTQ+ issues find themselves at the intersection of multiple pressures, including conservative research cultures, public backlash, and intensive workloads. This paper explores the experiences of LGBTQ+ researchers in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) through a qualitative focus group study. Four focus groups demonstrate that LGBTQ+ researchers experience specific barriers and challenges due to their research topic and the currently hostile political climate. We argue that the harm, fear, and (lack of) community that LGBTQ+ researchers experience can be interpreted through Ahmed’s (2014) conceptualisation of stickiness, whereby queerness holds many contradictory meanings beyond its practice. This queer stickiness impacts LGBTQ+ researchers’ careers, resulting in a challenging and stressful balance of duties and self-management in neoliberal HEIs. This article develops conceptualisations of stickiness, understandings of UK research culture and pressures, and indicates the challenges of working in commercialised neoliberal HEIs. We conclude with some suggestions on how universities could better support the researchers putting themselves at risk to benefit their research cultures
Focus (optics · Focus group · Intersection (aeronautics · Neoliberalism (international relations · Politics · Qualitative research · Queer · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
University Audit Cultures and Feminist Praxis
Me, not you
The Cultural Politics of Emotion
Denzin’s Paradigm Shift
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Cisnormativity, Whiteness, and the Fear of Contagion in Academia
Doing impact work while female
Challenging the visibility paradigm
Mundanity, fascination and threat
Transgender equality and the UK Supreme Court
The Language of (In)Visibility
Talk about a Cunt with too Much Idle Time
Gender critical' feminism as biopolitical project
Questioning identities/shifting identities
Visibility
| Highly cited | No |
|---|