Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Sociology

Major Professor

S.L. Crawley, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Michael Flaherty, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Vrinda Marwah, Ph.D.

Keywords

Sexualities, Temporality, Geography, Politics

Abstract

Florida has emerged in recent years as a breeding ground for a new generation of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. The state has introduced 10 anti-LGBTQ+ laws so far in 2023, touching on issues such as bathroom access, healthcare, and education. This paper analyzes the experiences of queer and transgender people living in Florida to ask: How do LGBTQ+ people in Florida cope phenomenologically with rising anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination? Drawing on data from 22 interviews with LGBTQ+ people situated in and around Florida in 2023, this paper captures a distinct political moment for the people that I spoke with, as anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments continue to throw lives and families into jeopardy. Temporality is an often-overlooked resource for resistance made relevant by the ties of time and place in constructing the political and social climate. I argue that while forecasting their LGBTQ+ experiences into the future proves difficult for participants in the face of uncertainty, recontextualizing them in the past is a simpler task. Thus, in a time and place when pursuing the future is increasingly difficult, LGBTQ+ people turn instead toward queer and trans pasts to create a scaffolding for queerness and transness that can be projected both backward and forward as a source of hope.

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