Lemke, Lea (2023) Queer FLINTA*’s Lived Experiences with Visibilities in the German Feminist Movement–A Qualitative Exploration. Bachelor thesis, Global Responsibility & Leadership (GRL).
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[Capstone] QUEER FLINTA_, VISIBILITIES AND THE GERMAN FEMINIST MOVEMENT_LLemke.pdf Download (423kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Visibility, which can be understood as the degree to which an individual is recognized and acknowledged by others, is often described as an ambiguous concept. It can be beneficial when it allows for an individual and/or a group to speak and be heard, and when they have control over how they are perceived by other individuals, groups, media and society. However, it can also be limiting and disempowering when individuals or groups are made hypervisible by the dominating group to render them voiceless, powerless and invisible. Among others, queer FLINTA* voices have historically been excluded from the feminist movement. The continuous centring of the white, heterosexual, middle-class cis-gender woman exemplifies how the feminist movement upholds these historical hierarchies of feminist subjects today, thereby contributing to the feminist movement remaining gendered, classed, racialised, cis- and heteronormative. Based on intersectionality theory and using qualitative methods, this study explores the lived experiences of queer FLINTA* with different types of visibilities in the German feminist movement. Results show that participants were active in a range of feminist spaces, whereby most of them were queer-coded and had the aim to highlight intersectional perspectives. While some participants felt a sense of belonging to the overall feminist movement, all emphasised a strong distancing from exclusive feminist streams, such as white feminism and trans*-exclusive radical feminism. Participants emphasised the value of role models and signs of support and allyship, which contributed to creating positive visibilities. Despite many participants feeling seen and valued, some also shared experiences of alienation, fear of denial of one’s identity, as well as an overall ambivalence regarding umbrella terms, which highlight a complex relationship between hyper-, invisibility and power structures. All participants regarded the visibility of queer FLINTA* in the German feminist movement to be crucial and many saw this as a stepping stone for wider societal goals like more acceptance, less discrimination and deconstructing systems of power. Limitations of this study are discussed and future research avenues are suggested. Keywords: queerness, FLINTA*, German feminist movement, positive visibility, invisibility, hypervisibility, queer feminism, intersectionality
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Name supervisor: | Gul, P. |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Sep 2023 09:51 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Sep 2023 09:51 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/272 |
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