LGBT+ history month seeks to visibilise and celebrate different queer identities. Supporting that aim, BASS Social Anthropology and Sociology graduate Marley Williams explains his illuminating final-year dissertation on the dearth of instersectional, Black-gay sociological research.

My final year dissertation, which I submitted in Summer 2024, is titled ‘Intersectional Erasures: The Absence of Black-Gay Sociology.’ It follows a theoretical review of intersectionality, queer theory, and Black masculinity, critiquing their exclusion of Black-gay subjectivities.

Firstly, I set out to conduct secondary research on the lived experience of Black-gay individuals, focusing on the relationship between racialised identity and sexuality. However, there was an immediate obstacle: an overwhelming lack of existing research. I had not anticipated the extent to which Black-gay subjectivities had been overlooked in academia, often being left as a critique of others. I found that most studies did not intersect queerness and Blackness in meaningful ways.

This then forced me to reconsider my approach; rather than attempting to compile non-existent data, I refocused my research on understanding why this gap exists. If intersectionality, Queer theory, and Black masculinity have become dominant frameworks in leftist and academic discussions, why have race and sexuality not crossed paths? Why isn’t this intersection at the forefront of sociological debate?

My research argues that existing theoretical frameworks must be critically engaged with to expose the homogenisation and erasure that is present. The research follows a pattern of understanding the context at which these frameworks and ideas became present and how these shape our thinking and understanding of what is important in research. For example, Queer Theory developed during a period when gender identity was first being theorised as an abstract construct, with Judith Butler articulating the performative nature of gender. While Butler’s work is instrumental in understanding how we enact gender and sexuality, it does not consider how this performance is shaped by racial identity. A brown body performs gender and sexuality differently from a white body. If gender and sexuality are a performance, how does racial identity influence these?

Similarly, discussions of Black masculinity in Sociology have overwhelmingly centred on heterosexual experiences, assuming a homogenous expression of Black manhood. This, in part, is a legacy of the historical context in which Black masculinity was theorised—a time where Black masculinity needed to assert its dominance against a society that continually emasculated and devalued them. However, this narrative excludes the spectrum of Black experiences, particularly Black gay men’s. Understanding how Black gay men navigate masculinity is paramount for broader discussions on race, gender, and sexuality.

Ultimately, engaging with diverse groups within academia is one way to shine light on those who are overlooked. Similarly, it opens space for deeper debate and discussion on intersects that cut across vast subjectivities. Then, there must be a continued exploration of these ideas to break barriers and stop homogenisation of identity and lived experiences. Queerness, like Blackness, is not a one-size-fits-all narrative, and research should continue to follow this.

In an increasingly violent world where the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals are being stripped, and racialised hate is being normalised on social media platforms, it is crucial not to separate queerness and Blackness. These identities intersect in meaningful ways. By reshaping sociological thought to consider queerness alongside Blackness, rather than as two separate categories, we can foster deeper interconnectedness across identity lines. Fracturing identity cannot lead to liberation.

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