Abstract
Research in urban studies on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) people and their housing choices has focused on economic choices and the role of exclusion, or conversely higher household disposable income, in residential location. Evidence on lived experiences has focused on residence in so-called ‘gaybourhoods’ with high concentrations of non-heterosexual households, or experiences within the home. Contrasting to this scholarship, in this paper we focus on LGBT+ people who live in socially rented housing in deprived neighbourhoods that are geographically, socially and economically marginal. Our evidence shows how complex experiences of exclusion for LGBT+ people, not always directly connected to their sexual or gender identity, led to individuals living in these neighbourhoods. Using the theoretical approach of housing pathways, we further suggest that these neighbourhoods offer limited affordances for wellbeing for LGBT+ individuals that need to be recognised by housing and other service providers. We also argue that mainstream housing and urban studies needs to use sexual and gender identity as a category of analysis in research so we can better understand the lived experiences of non-heterosexual individuals and households.
Highlights
Over recent decades many countries in the industrialised world have been transformed in their attitudes towards same-sex relationships and transgender identities
In describing how people came to be living in deprived neighbourhoods we identified three themes: extreme vulnerability or disability; an experience of homelessness; or an active choice when people were in less constrained circumstances
The other, larger group had a greater degree of choice. This may have overlapped with other vulnerabilities, such as a disability, but as the participants described their housing journeys there was a clear agency in their choice to live in an affordable home, that happened to be in a deprived neighbourhood
Summary
Over recent decades many countries in the industrialised world have been transformed in their attitudes towards same-sex relationships and transgender identities. In England and Wales, 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of sex, in private, between two men aged over 21 Despite this progress, there remains a concern that people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT+1) are subject to exclusion within society, such as lower educational attainment due to bullying, or higher rates of homelessness (Uhrig, 2015; Ecker, 2016). Gay men are seen as first-wave gentrifiers, sometimes in thinly-veiled homophobic accounts, and part of Florida’s “creative class” (Florida and Mellander, 2010; Castells, 1983; Andersson, 2019, online preprint) This led Gorman-Murray to raise the question in 2006: ‘Why are gay men considered to be gentrifiers par excellence, with growing mainstream fascination about how they make home?’ (Gorman-Murray, 2006: 66)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
