Date of Award
May 2022
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Geography
First Advisor
Anne Bonds
Keywords
feminist care ethics, feminist geography, LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, queer geographies, urban geography, youth homelessness
Abstract
LGBTQ+ youth homeless is a pressing topic for geographic study, as LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in youth homeless populations (Cunningham et al. 2014; Morton et al 2018). The conditions that create urban youth homelessness are social, material, and spatial. This research aims to examine service providers’ perspective of the conditions of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness in Milwaukee. Specifically, I examine how service providers in the city understand LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, where service providers identify barriers and gaps in the city for LGBTQ+ homeless youth, and ways service providers challenge and/or reproduce LGBTQ+ youth homelessness in their care work. Drawing on feminist and queer geographic literature, and informed by feminist care ethics, I conduct qualitative research with participants from four non-profit organizations across Milwaukee. From interviews with these service providers, I employ a thematic analysis of the conditions of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness in the city. In this thesis, I argue that service providers understand LGBTQ+ youth homelessness as informed by urban conditions that are reproduced through hierarchies of race, class, gender, sexuality, through the built environment, and through neoliberal logics of care.
Recommended Citation
Heady, Catherine, "“Not Just Being Out on the Streets”: Serving LGBTQ+ Youth Experiencing Homelessness in Milwaukee" (2022). Theses and Dissertations. 3013.
https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/3013