Next week, for our monthly open seminar, we will be hosting Júlia Pascual Bordas (she/her), PhD Student in the Inter-University Doctoral Program in Gender Studies: Cultures, Societies and Policies, researching on LGBTIAQ+ youth and home spaces in Catalonia (Universitat de Barcelona) and Research Assistant at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

The presentation will take place on April 17th, 2:30-3:30 pm, in Room 40.249 (Roger de Llúria building). If you can´t attend in person you can join us online: https://upf-edu.zoom.us/j/95211876939

Abstract
The concept of home as a safe space has been problematized from feminist and queer perspectives, revealing that it can be more than just a place of refuge. Instead, it can also serve as a site of conflict and negotiation, where significant power dynamics are (re)produced and transformed. Understanding these dynamics is essential for analyzing social inequalities. Using a qualitative methodology, this research delves into the daily experiences, emotions, and coping strategies of 37 LGBT+ youth within their family and personal homes. By examining the intersection of age, gender, and sexual orientation, the study uncovers the influence of societal expectations, adult power dynamics, and cisheteronormativity on LGBT+ youth in their home environments, as well as their responses of resistance. Situated in the region of Bages (Catalonia), outside the metropolitan area of Barcelona, the research aims to address the lack of studies in smaller cities, medium-sized towns, and rural areas, thereby expanding the understanding of LGBT+ realities across diverse contexts. The findings illustrate how adult power and cisheteronormativity operate within domestic spaces, shaping the experiences of LGBT+ youth. Faced with a cisheteronormative context, youth with non-normative sexual orientation and gender identities respond by developing strategies of resistance and transformation. The thesis highlights the importance of focusing on the home to understand how social norms operate and offers a complex view of the private space as a conflicting space of negotiation, (dis)comfort, power dynamics, and conflicting emotions, thus enabling a deeper understanding of how social norms related to gender and sexuality operate within domestic spaces.