This paper examines the intersections of ethnicity, race, sexuality, sociality and urban space in the LGBTQ ‘post-migrant’ clubbing scene in London. Relying on ethnographic research conducted in clubs catering to young LGBTQ clubbers who... more
This paper examines the intersections of ethnicity, race, sexuality, sociality and urban space in the LGBTQ ‘post-migrant’ clubbing scene in London. Relying on ethnographic research conducted in clubs catering to young LGBTQ clubbers who claim British-Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Arabic identification, I argue that clubbing is a specific and productive kinship practice and that the clubs themselves are contested spaces where familial and gendered expectations are resisted, while cultural forms are embraced. These clubs are safe spaces both for ‘coming out’ and ‘coming home’ and for constructing queer alternative kinships and families, as well as spaces in which competition, violence, jealousy, and discrimination co-exist. This paper is framed through the lens of intimate ethnography.
