LGBTQ+ Intimacies in Southern Europe

This Open Access book argues that Southern European countries offer valuable, though historically overlooked, knowledge regarding intimate citizenship. Guided by the fundamental sociological question of how change takes place and, concomitantly, how law and social policy adjust to and/or shape the practices and expectations of individuals in the sphere of intimacy, this edited volume explores partnering, parenting and friendship issues from the perspective of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people in Italy, Portugal and Spain. Chapters offer a cross-national understanding of the relationship between everyday practices of intimacy amongst LGBTQ people and national legal, political and policy contexts in terms of the recognition of otherwise ‘intimate strangers’. The book contributes to further theoretical and policy debates about citizenship, care and choice, as well as, more broadly, sexuality, welfare, health and justice.

This book will be of interest to scholars across Gender and Feminist Studies as well as Citizenship Studies, Law, Policy, and Politics.

 

“This is a truly outstanding collection of innovative and critical essays that explore pressing issues in contemporary intimacies in Southern Europe. The volume attests to the creativity and courage of queer and trans* lives in the region, foregrounding the significance of intimacy, friendship, and care networks beyond legally recognised or biologically defined structures of kinship.” (Christian Klesse, author of The Spectre of Promiscuity) 

“A fascinating edited collection that adds much needed empirical, conceptual and theoretical work on the relationships between care, intimacy, choice and LGBTQ+ people. The collection highlights how LGBTQ+ people’s experiences can provide insights into the ways national gender and sexual regimes are negotiated, reproduced and contested in everyday life. This is a great addition for academics and students that explore issues of gender, sexuality, citizenship and intimacy.” (Carl Bonner-Thompson, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Brighton, UK)

“This is a timely and cutting-edge contribution to a distinct European tradition of queer studies and a critical intersectional interrogation of queer livability and resistance under neoliberal austerity in Southern Europe. Grounded in qualitative research, this must-read collection advances social theory, offering fresh perspectives on citizenship, choice and care as crucial dimensions of intimacy. Highlighting the challenges and promises of complex entanglement of power and affect, it also boldly dares to imagine queer intimate futurities otherwise.” (Ulrika Dahl, Professor in Gender Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden)

“Ana Cristina Santos has edited a splendid volume assembling chapters based on the work of the INTIMATE project. The result is a superb and comprehensive resource on citizenship, care and choice, providing insights into topics ranging from the recognition of bisexual citizenship to the maturing of monstrous citizenship, andfrom insurgent parenting practices to queer transfeminist materialism, which I wholeheartedly recommend to scholars and others interested in LGBTQ+ intimacies in Southern Europe and elsewhere.” (Judit Takács, Research Professor, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence, Budapest, Hungary)

Ana Cristina Santos is a Sociologist and Senior Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, working on LGBTQI+ issues, gender, citizenship and the body. Since 2014, she has received two European Research Council Grant Awards, the first of which to lead the cross-national study INTIMATE - Citizenship, Care and Choice: The micropolitics of intimacy in Southern Europe (2014-2019).