This talk draws a map of queer globalizations by situating Turkey, a Muslim majority and secular nation state grappling with the influences of global neoliberal capitalism and the rise of authoritarianism. Through vignettes of ‘lived experiences of queerness’ from the lives of sexual dissidents in the country, new local identities such as gey, lubunya, donme, bac emerge as alternatives to the established queer categories in Western locations. Sexual dissidents engage in a bargain with the sex/gender system and thread cisheteropatriarchy strategically in different moments of their lives. Deploying ‘Sexual Dissidence’ as a tool of queer ethnographic methodology, burcu will draw from participant observation, focus group interviews with LGBT activists, and in-depth interviews with sexual dissidents with children.

burcu baba is a sociologist working in the fields of feminist and queer studies. Her research considers ties of kinship and affinity in the lives of sexual dissidents in Muslim contexts in relation to the racialization of Islam, the rise of authoritarianism and queer liberalism. Her most recent project pertains to the queer and trans community organizing work in Turkey as a way of holding onto life through prefigurative politics. burcu completed her PhD at the Department of Sociology at Queen’s University and she has been teaching at Gender Studies as an Adjunct Associate Professor. She is also the Faculty Co-Chair of Steering Committee in Cultural Studies Programme.