Preface

Globally, the political situation for Queer and Trans folks is precarious. In many jurisdictions, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to live a safe, out life. In many more, it has never been possible. Our need for community is not lessening.

This book marks the publication of international experiences of LGBT+ communities by an international authorship. Throughout my time editing this volume I had the opportunity to engage in discussion on the topic of how LGBT+ communities are functioning globally. Some chapters have been written from places where being Queer and Trans is not illegal, however, even in these locations the authors speak about the stigmas that continue to be attached to these identities and the challenges of finding others who are experiencing similar struggles. There are chapters from places where being Queer and Trans is punishable under law, and the authors of these pieces are bravely situating the experiences of people in their countries who are attempting to create a community despite the dangers.

For such a geographically broad discussion of community to be possible, it is necessary to carefully consider what is meant by "community." In Chapter 1, "Introductory Chapter: LGBT+ Communities – The Challenges of Uncomfortable Spaces", I speak to why I chose to define community as a loose grouping of individuals who share common struggles and joys. I focus on the need to understand community as much more than place-based. Around the globe, as our right to exist as Queer and Trans people is increasingly challenged, we will continue to search for common spaces, both online and in person, from which to work toward our own safety and identity.

In Chapter 2, "We Are Humans: Discourse Representations of Identities in the Tweets of Nigerian LGBT People", Dr. Olubunmi Oyebanji gives us an excellent overview of what it means to look for others and create community even when faced with restrictive and punitive laws. Dr. Oyebanji reviews the laws in Nigeria and focuses on Twitter as a platform where people are able to express their struggles and celebrations. This chapter uses social identity theory and critical discourse analysis to consider how people are using tweets and the meaning of these tweets. In this exploration of the tweets used by people in Nigeria, we see hope, resilience, and creation of space where LGBT+ people can find each other and a sense of belonging.

Chapter 3, "Developing a Resilient Sexual and Gender Minority Identity Online: The Importance of Social Media for Youth before Coming out" by Lika Brinkman and Ryanne Francot, demonstrates how youth in the Netherlands have internalized stigma and engage in periods of hiding their identity before they come out. Through participant interviews, it was made apparent that youth are finding resources on social media and often rely upon support online before they make their Queer and Trans identities known in an offline environment. This research confirms that identity and community formation in online spaces remains important to youth even in countries where their Queer and Trans identities are not illegal.

In Chapter 4, "Decolonization of Gender and Sexuality: Exploring the Stories of Discrimination, Marginalisation, Resistance, and Resilience in the Communities of Khawaja Sara and Hijra in Pakistan", Alamgir Alamgir explores colonization, laws introduced by the British, impacts of Islam, and local moves to decolonize. Through interviews with members of the community, this chapter clearly links the consequences of colonization with the social position of these populations and how they have had to re-create new ways of understanding themselves and the larger social whole. Decolonization is ongoing and presents many challenges, including the impacts of long years of colonization. The author speaks to the complexity of these identities in both historical and current time periods.

In Chapter 5, "Weaponising Digital Architecture: Queer Nigerian Instagram Users and Digital Visual Activism", Dr. Paul explores how Instagram is used both by people who are not supportive of the Queer and Trans community and members of the community who are using the media platform for a space to create community and meaning together. Once again, we hear about resilience in the face of violence and the strength of people in the community to create meaning with each other.

Chapter 6, "Perspective Chapter: Considerations about Sexual and Gender Identities and Their Influence on the Unity of the LGBT Community" by Pilar Rio-Campos, explores the ideas of finding commonality – how challenging this can be and yet how necessary. We see in this exploration the different ways that identity can be considered with a comprehensive review of many of the major thinkers on these issues. The author points to the difficulty of identity as a basis for political movement and suggests that instead, it may be more useful to consider commonalities over different identities to achieve some form of equality. This chapter is essential reading for people considering the idea of a clear LGBT+ community.

> **Deborah Woodman** Algoma University, School of Social Work, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

**Chapter 1**

*Deborah Woodman*

**2. Conceptual framework**

Trans identities, finding others is life-saving.

**1. Introduction**

Introductory Chapter: LGBT+

Uncomfortable Spaces

places, creating commonality and reinforcing ideas of humanity.

Communities – The Challenges of

The concept of this book has been exciting for me. As an academic who teaches on issues of gender and sexuality and as a Queer community member and activist the idea of hearing from others about the challenges and strengths of community is something I was looking forward to reading and considering. The quest of this book has been to find authors who are speaking to these experiences of finding community in unlikely

Let me first locate the notion of community for gender and sexual minority groups. There are many who have been suggesting that especially in large urban centres an identifiable Queer community or location (the idea of the Gay Village) has devolved [1]. Meaning that, particularly in large urban Canadian and American centres, areas where an identifiable grouping of Queer people live is no longer necessary. In these nation-states, we have rights and have been integrated into other urban locations and suburban areas. The need to organize and congregate is no longer as necessary in these spaces, although we all experience pride celebrations where we see the remnants of the former physical locations of gathering. In the argument of devolution, we must be cautious of the Americanization of Queerness wherein what many of us experience gets lost within the normalization of the experiences of a diversity of people in larger urban Canadian and American centres. Furthermore, the idea of devolution has been critiqued as we continue to see Queer and Trans communities forming and re-forming in small urban centres [2, 3] and in spaces where identity claiming is dangerous and represents struggle. Certainly, as someone who lives in a smaller town in Canada, finding others who are navigating Queer and Trans experiences has been necessary. Without the other people in this loosely based grouping of people, I would feel quite alone. For more on this we can look to the work of Henriquez and Ahman [4] to reiterate that for many Canadians living in rural spaces adds to precarity. For people living globally in much more dangerous circumstances because of their Queer and

Therefore, when I was first contemplating how we might conceptualize the idea of "LGBT+ communities" I thought about the way community formation happens, and
