Comparative Analysis of Urban Queer Experience: Street Dynamics in Istanbul and Brussels

Details

Supervisors

Vrielink, Jogchum

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master de spécialisation en études de genre

Abstract

This thesis offers a comparative study of queer street life in Istanbul and Brussels, focusing on the street as a site of visibility, safety, and resistance. Based on in-depth interviews with queer, trans, racialised, and migrant individuals in both cities, it examines how political, social, and material conditions shape the ability to appear, move, and act in public space. Drawing on feminist and queer theory, the research explores intersections of gender, sexuality, racialisation, class, and urban governance. It argues that visibility is not a linear measure of progress but a relational and ambivalent process that can offer recognition while exposing individuals to vulnerability. By comparing Istanbul and Brussels, the study shows how surveillance regimes, conditional inclusion policies, and geopolitical imaginaries produce uneven queer possibilities. It also highlights the role of everyday tactics, safe route mapping, ephemeral solidarities, disidentification, in making public space livable, even when it is not safe.