1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This thesis qualitatively maps the spatial experiences of queer and trans* youth in Montréal by relying on community-based research with Project 10, a local Montréal community organization that supports LGBTQ youth. The purpose of this thesis is to address the particular social and spatial exclusions that young queer and trans* people face, and to highlight the ways they seek, access and build safer spaces for themselves.» (p. iii)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The research examines the spatial experiences of a largely Anglophone group of queer and trans* youth between the ages of 15 and 18 years of age […].» (p. iii) L’échantillon compte 20 jeunes, dont quelques-uns ont participé à un focus groupe.

Instruments :
- Guide d’entretien semi-directif
- Guide de discussion pour les focus groupes

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«The empirical chapters examine the multiple identities of the queer and trans* youth participants; how they negotiate their presence in everyday spaces such as the home, school and public spaces of the city; and how they create spaces for themselves through relationships, virtual spaces, and community organizations, particularly Project 10. In these chapters I present their particular stories, reflect on how their unique embodiments inform their experiences and consider the intersections between their identities. I argue that while queer and trans* youth face significant spatial exclusions in everyday environments, they find ways to negotiate these exclusions and to participate in and create meaningful places for themselves.» (p. iii) À noter qu’une section de ce mémoire s’attarde à la situation familiale des participants. À cet égard, l’auteure remarque «[o]verall, acceptance and support from family members was seen as important to the youth; most of those who did not receive positive reactions to their gender and sexual identities expressed feelings of frustration, disappointment or hurt. Even though some of the youth sympathized with the worries their parents’ expressed, […]. Some were unsettled regarding whether or when they would come out to their parents at all; for the most part out of fear. The variations in the youth’s needs for support and acceptance reveal some of the complexities of familial dynamics. Moreover, these varied responses affirm that the home can be a site of either, and at times both, exclusion and inclusion.» (p. 95)