Conclusion: home-onormativity?
At the outset of this paper, it was argued that bringing queer theory into an understanding of homelessness helps us both understand homelessness more, and the particular experiences of LGBT + people’s experiences of homelessness. Theoretically, it was argued that queer theory can open up critiques of heteronormative society that would not otherwise be recognised, and highlight the act of being queer in a society which is not queer, including the discomfort of being the ‘wrong’ body in such a society (Ahmed, 2013 ).
As such, the act of becoming homeless, for some LGBT + people might be essentially linked to their growing identity, and the move out of homelessness closely connected with stabilising identity and becoming more comfortable in a world of discomfort. (more…)