LGBQ Migrations: Racialization and (Un)belonging in Iceland

Abstract

This article examines LGBQ migrants’ experiences of living in Iceland, with a focus on LGBQ migrants from the Global South. LGBQ migrants may belong to various communities, for example, to their ethnic community, the queer community and to the wider Icelandic society, all of which affect their experiences. Various societal changes have taken place in Iceland in recent decades regarding LGBQ people, and at the same time, the number of international migrants who have taken up residence in Iceland has vastly increased. This article applies theories of belonging to LGBQ migrants’ subject-positions in society, using theories of racialization to explore the ways in which migrants’ experience exclusion and xenophobia. It draws on an intersectional approach to analyze how issues relating to people’s gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality, and class overlap and shape their experiences, throughout the migration process and in their daily life. The findings show that LGBQ migrants employ a bifocal world view, while also demonstrating the ways in which they perceive racialization and a sense of (un)belonging in the Icelandic context. Furthermore, this study shows that migration can provide an opportunity for new. paths and practices regarding participants’ sexual orientation and identity construction.