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Research Proposal: How do Estranged Queer Young Adultsin Britain
constitute a ‘Home’
While the social world continues to grow more accepting of individuals who identify as
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or any other queer identity (LGBTQ+), the LGBTQ+
community in Britain faces estrangeme n-tsdisproportionate to their heterosexual,
cisgender counterparts (Fowler, 2021). Despite comprising around 2.7% of the general
population, 22% of estranged individuals identify as LGBTQ+ (Unite Students, 2021;
Sharfman & Cobb, 2019). Thus, it is important thatsocial research examines the experiences
of this marginalised populat.ion to amplify their voices in society.
The research proposed in this paper specifically focusses on understanding how this
population perceive ‘home’. Scholarship in this field has been traditionally underpinned by
heteronormative ideas of the family (Somerville, 1997). These are not applicable to estranged
queer populations who have experienced banishment from their family of origin (Katz-Wise,
Rosario, & Tsappis, 2017). Thus, this research employs a methodology guided by queer
epistemology to empower participants and understand how queer estranged young adults in
Britain constitute ‘home’.
Literature Review
The ‘home’ is as an inherently subjective concept (Mallet, 2004). How individuals define
‘home’ is shaped by their personal experiences and their historical and social context (Mallet,
2004; Hollander, 1991). Ergo, one’s perception of home is socially constructed (Somerville,
1997).
espite being understood as a value-laden phenomena, conceptualisations of’home’ in
‘ ociological scholarship have been widely underpinned by heteronormative and cisnormative
‘assumptions of the nuclear family. Historically, ‘home’ has been associated with Eurocentric
als of the family, patriotism, and domestic morality; ideals that functioned to maintain the
17th century domination of the bourgeoise (Berger, 1984). These heteronormative
erpinnings have persisted across microsociologcal studies of ‘home’ too. The home has
En perceived as a centre for the act.ivities of traditional family, a place of safety and
axation, and a haven of freedom and independence (Somerville, 1997; Hareven, 1993).
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These themes inherently connect ‘home’ to the nuclear family and, by proxy, are not
applicable to individuals who do not operate within traditional spheres of family life.
Very little research has been conducted specifically on how queer, estranged people
constitute a ‘home’. However, prior literature can relate to the topic. Researching
homemaking and perpetual liminality among queer refugees, Wimark (2020) found that this
populat.ion do not perceive the home as a site of safety and stability. Instead, it is a site
whereby heteronormativity outcasted their queer body; ‘home’ represents trauma, alienation,
fear, and violence (Wimark, 2020). Studies ofLGBTQ+ homelessness corroborate this and
find that rejection alters how the home is perceived. Familial rejection leaves the individual
disassociated from the traditional family (Robinson, 2018). In response to this, it is common
for queer people to reconstitute ‘home’ in opposition to traditional ideas of
heterocisnormativity that inherently connect ‘home’ to the family of origin (Asakura, 2009;
Wimark, 2020). These reconstitutions may include the creation of ‘chosen families’ that
embody non-traditional, deviant values, norms and believes tailored to the specificities of the
queer experience (Hailey, Burton & Arscott, 2020).
Research Aims and Question (RQ)
This research aims to dismantle hetercisnormative assumptions of previous scholarship by
studying how ‘home’ is defined amongst queer, estranged populations in Britain.
RQ: How do estranged queer young adults in Britain consti me’
Methodology
This research is inherently qualitative as home is understood, ontologically, as a social
construct, created by social actors within their social contexts (Bryman et al., 2021). This
subjective ontology encourages the researcher to embed themselves in, and emphatically
understand, the lives of participants.This level of understanding is referred to as verstehen
(Wahyuni, 20 I 2).
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Aiming to critically analyse the dominant heteronormativity that underpins prior literature
and to challenge normative social ordering along the hetero/homosexual boundary, this
research is built upon a queer epistemology (O’Malley et al., 2018; Browne & Nash, 2010).
Method 1: Semi-structured interviews with visual methods
Method 2: Auto-photography
Participants and Sampling
This study aims to recruit participants who identify as LGBTQ+, are aged between 18 and 25,
live in Britain, and have experienced estrangement from their family of origin. There is not
target number of participants sought to be included in the study. Instead, participants will
continue to be sampled and interviewed until a point 0-￡eticalsaturation has been
§ched. Theoretical saiuraiion denotes when the collecti iof further data is unnecessary as
new themes are being uncovered (Saunders et al., 2017).
Snowball sampling will be used it is optimal for gaining access to closed, often stigmatised,
social groups, such as estranged queer adults (DeCarlo, 2018).
Ethjcal Considerations
Informed consent will be obtained from all participants before any research methods are
conducted. Given the sensitivity of topics that may arise in the interview (estrangement,
LGBTQ+ identity, and familial rejection) participants will be made aware, before the
methods are conduced, that these may be discussed. They will give explicit consent to this
and be reminded that they can refuse to answer any question and take a break or withdraw
their participation at any point in the research process.
The use of photographs taken by the participant in the auto-photography method requires
additional ethical measures to be taken. Participating individuals will have had to have
consented to any images they take, and the objects in them. being used in the analytical phase
of the research process.
Also, all visual and verbal contributions made by participants will be anonymised in the final
report to protect participants’ identities (Johnsen, May & Cloke, 2008). This will include,
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using pseudonyms to refer to participants and blurring all faces and location signs in the
images which are published in the final report.
Interviews with Visual Methods
The primary method this research proposes is the qualitative interview. These will be
naturalistic, in locations chosen by the participant that represent ‘home’ for them; semi_xfffe_structed, guided by the responses the interviewee gives to open ended quest.ions; and utilise
visual methods (Rubin & Rubin, 2005). The visual method aspect of these will involve
participants drawing a timeline of how they have constituted ‘home’ over their life course.
These will be used to initiate the conversation.
A strength of this method is that it collects rich, realistic data. The flexible conversation
between the researcher and the participant provides the participant the time and space to
detail their lived experiences in a depth not provided in other research methods (Sheppard,
2020). The interview being naturalistic amplifies the richness of data produced as being in a
comfortable environment facilitates the participants’ openness to discuss sensitive topics in
great depth (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Furthermore, the physical data produced by the visual
methods adds another dimension to the research and further enhances its richness.
A second strength of the semi-structured interview is that it rebalances power which is
inherently attributed to the researcher in a researcher-researched relationship. By using visual
methods and being naturalistic, the participant is placed at the centre of the research process;
they prompt and guide the conversation, and they choose where the interview is located.
Before the interview has begun, it’s clear that the participant is allowing the researcher into
their life, rather than the researcher entering, and extracting data from them (Elwood &
Martin, 2000). o the historical lack of power estranged LGBTQ+ folk have in society
incredibly important for this specific research topic (Katz-Wise,
A final strength of this method relates to participants’ comfortability discussing vulnerable
and sensitive topics. Being naturalistic inherently makes the participant more comfortable
during the interview, indicating they may be more likely to share information on sensitive
topics than if the interview were conducted in an artificial, unknown setting. Additionally, the
visual methods act as a means to ease into the discussion of sensitive topics and mean that
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these discussions are mitigated, to an extent, by what the participant has drawn and, thus,
what they are willing to share with the researcher. This not only functions to aid the
discussion of sensitive topics but also aids the reestablishment of traditional power dynamics.
The limitations of semi-structured interviews relate to their practicality. Semi-structured
interviews, especially those in naturalistic settings, are a large time commitment for the
researcher in terms of travel, preparation, transcription, and the length of the interview
(Bryman, 2012). The addition of visual methods into the interview process amplifies these
practical considerations as they mean the method requires physical resources and data that
must be collected, stored, and organised (O’Connell, 2021). These practical constraints can
limit how many interviews can be conducted. This can have wider negative implications on
the research, reducing the truthfulness and richness of the data produced as, with fewer
interviews conducted, a point of theoretical saturation is less likely to be achieved.
Type of Data and Analysis
The data collected in this method will be: audio recordings of the conversation; the physical
setting of the interview; participants’ timelines; and, any notes or reflections scribed by the
interviewer during the interview. The audio transcriptions will be transcribed, and all written
data will be analysed using coding and thematic analysis.
Auto-photography
The second qualitative research method proposed in this paper is auto-photography. This will
involve a portion of the interview part.icipants being provided disposable film cameras and
asked to capture images of ( I) when they feel at home and (2) what they consider their home
to be. Auto-photography is an important tool in empowering and amplifying marginalised
groups; it provides them with the physical power to show the social world they experience
through visual means (Glaw et al., 2002). This re-establishes the division of power in a
research relationship by making the participant the expert. This represents this research’s
queer epistemology by visually showcasing the world of the queer, estranged participants
ther than having the researcher impose meanings on their narratives (Lombard, 20
A strength of auto-photography is that they, in combination with qualitative interviews,
maximise the richness and truthfulness of data produced. The images produced by
participants are likely to corroborate or elaborate on the interviews’ findings (O’Connell,
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2021). The methods in tandem will, thus, allow for in-depth, qualitative findings to be
produced and complete the research aim of achieving versrehen.
A second strength of auto-photography is that the photographs it elicits illuminate aspects of
social life that are often taken for granted (Sweetman, 2009). By being a visual method, it
helps participants operationalise concepts that are habitual parts of everyday life (Sweetman,
2009).This is specifically relevant when researching how ‘home’ is constituted as ‘home’ is
embedded into an individuals’ habitus and is, thus, inherently hard to verbalise (Sweetman,
2009). Having participants capture images directly shows the researcher what they constitute
home as, operationalising a hard-to-operationalise concept. This is a strength for auto photography over interviews as the verbality of interviews does not permit this level of
physical operationalisation.
Like interviews, visual methods have practical limitations. Practically, distributing film
cameras and sorting the photos requires a lot of organisation and can be time consuming. The
length of time it takes for participants to take the photos and then the time it takes for them to
be developed adds to these time constraints.
An additional weakness of auto-photography centres around the concept of deceptive
transparency; when a participant takes a photo for research, they have made the decision
about what they want to present and how (Moss, 2001; Thomas, 2009). Photographs can thus
be viewed as a performative construction of participants’ lives and should not be taken as
face value (Moss, 2001). Due to this decepiive transparency, it is important for auto photography to be used in tandem with other research methods so that the full picture of an
individual’s social world can be captured (Moss, 2001). This highlights an overarching
weakness of the method as, while it can corroborate other methods to maximise the richness
of data, alone it cannot be a truthful representation of a population’s social life. This
limitation is not observed when interviews alone are conducted, suggesting the data produced
in interviews is more trut that of auto-photography.
Type of Data and Analysis
Auto-photography will collect physical images, taken by the participants. These images will
be analysed using a mixture of content coding, looking directly at what is physically
represented in the photograph, and semiotic analysis, analysing the signs and connotations
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behind what is represented in the image, to understand how the participants constitute ‘home’
(Gaddini, 2021).
To conclude, both qualitative interviews and auto-photographical methods have strengths in
relation to the richness of data they produce. As the research proposed in this paper aims to
use naturalistic,semi-structured interviews with visual methods, power is rebalanced into the
hands of the participant, and they are more likely to be comfortable sharing about their
vulnerable experiences. These are large strengths of qualitative interviews. Conversely, the
strengths of auto-photography lie it its ability to illuminate the everyday practices of social
life, such as ideas of what ‘home’ is. Auto-photography’s weaknesses relate to its deceplive
transparency, a limitation that is combatted by using semi-structured interviews alongside
auto-photography in this research. This suggests that perceptions of ‘home’ amongst queer
estranged people may be best studied through a mixed methods practice that uses both semi structured, naturalistic interviews, and auto-photography. However, practical limitations of
both these methods may harm the feasibility of the proposed research.