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Seeking security: Gay labour migration and uneven landscapes of work

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  • Nathaniel M Lewis
  • Suzanne Mills

Abstract

Previous research has understood the migrations of gay men and other queer people through a lens of identity development, whereby relocation is driven by processes of coming out and consuming particular urban amenities. Meanwhile, labour geographers have largely overlooked sexuality, seeking to understand work-related migration in relation to gender, race, citizenship and the collective organization of workers. Drawing on the migration narratives of gay-identified men living in Ottawa, Canada, and Washington, DC, USA, we argue that the norms governing gender and sexuality within various workplaces, economic sectors and locales continuously influence migration related to work and inextricably linked processes of social reproduction. In particular, we explain how the affective needs of gay workers both deflect them from and attract them to particular locales and workplaces. In their migration destinations, gay workers tend to also transform the norms of social reproduction within workplaces and sectors. While gay workers may use migration to successfully negotiate the uneven landscapes of inclusion and visibility in North America, their agency is also constrained by the ongoing of regulation of sexuality in both workplaces and social and community environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Nathaniel M Lewis & Suzanne Mills, 2016. "Seeking security: Gay labour migration and uneven landscapes of work," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(12), pages 2484-2503, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:48:y:2016:i:12:p:2484-2503
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X16659773
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sean Waite & John Ecker & Lori E Ross, 2019. "A systematic review and thematic synthesis of Canada’s LGBTQ2S+ employment, labour market and earnings literature," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Nathaniel M Lewis, 2017. "Canaries in the mine? Gay community, consumption and aspiration in neoliberal Washington, DC," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(3), pages 695-712, February.
    3. Sanghoon Lee, 2021. "Social Tolerance and Economic Development," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 1087-1103, December.

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