Sex and stigma across borders: gay identity in a migration context test

Wim Peumans (FWO/Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
« Sex and stigma across borders: gay identity in a migration context »

Discutant: Joël Le Déroff (ILGA-Europe)

Salle Henri Janne (15ème étage), Institut de Sociologie
Avenue Jeanne, 44 – 1050 Bruxelles
Jeudi 9 février, 18h
 
Abstract
Within migration studies, (homo)sexuality has rarely been a topic of analysis, especially in European research. Through an intersectional approach, this talk tries to question the heteronormativity of migration studies. In an ethnographic way, it describes the lived experiences of gay and lesbian migrants to Belgium. It looks at the role played by the participants’ sexuality in their migration decision. It also examines the place of Belgium and more generally Europe within gay imagination, and how sexual identity is changing throughout the migration process. 
 
Bio-bibliography
Wim Peumans is a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the Interculturalism, Migration and Minorities Research Centre (K.U.Leuven). As a fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), he examines the intersection of homosexuality, Islam and migration in Belgium. His award-winning masterthesis on sexual migration to Belgium was published as a book (Seks en Stigma over Grenzen Heen – Homoseksuele en Lesbische Migranten in Vlaanderen en Brussel, Acco, 2011).