A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SENSE OF PLACE AND MIGRATION EXPERIENCES OF QUEER ADULTS IN HAMILTON, ONTARIO

Abstract

This thesis studies the experiences of queer adults in Hamilton, Ontario with sense of place and migration. Fourteen (n=14) individuals who self-identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ were interviewed over Zoom between 2022 and 2023, all of whom had moved to Hamilton but lived in Canada immediately prior to moving to Hamilton. This study applies an interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA), informed by the geographic and phenomenological literature, which is appropriate to a small number of cases and attends to context and intersubjectivity. Each interview was analytically coded for dominant themes in an individual’s migration timeline, with special attention paid to their gender and sexual identity and how they relate to other people and places. Collective analysis of the interviews yielded three different perspectives on these participants’ experiences: embodiment as it relates to spatiality, sense of place, and migration decision making and barriers. The results of this thesis contribute to existing literature on lived experiences of gender, romantic, and sexual minorities (GRSM) and sense of place research. Together, they challenge dominant understandings of sense of place with a holistic perspective on how space is lived phenomenally. They also challenge discursive narratives of queer friendly or unfriendly spaces, highlighting the nuance in individual perceptions of various spaces and the importance of past experiences and social connections in these perceptions. Among the material circumstances that precondition queer migration decisions are housing affordability, safety, and community. I conclude by emphasizing how important these considerations are in the current and immanent political climate in which queer individuals are increasingly precariously visible, making further research on this subject crucial.