ABSTRACT
Whilst community to many suggests commonality (Ghaziani, 2011; Guibernau, 2013), this research identified significant diversity amongst LGBT people. Previous research has also highlighted, for example, different experiences and positionings related to age, (dis)ability, ethnicity, gender, geography, political affiliation, social class and/or wealth (Heaphy, 2012; Hines, 2010; Taylor, 2007a; Weeks, 1996; Weeks, Heaphy and Donovan, 2001). The level to which these differences were acknowledged within my research varied. Whilst some participants argued that this diversity meant the application of the term community to (groups of) LGBT people was impossible or spurious, others stressed potential commonalities—such as shared experiences of stigma, prejudice, inequality or discrimination—as well as, or instead of, acknowledging difference. As Day (2006: 163–164) noted, “there are always going to be internal differences … between individuals and sub-groups”, but people “join together to perpetuate the illusion that these are of secondary importance”. Within my research, participants did not necessarily perpetuate an illusion that LGBT people are all alike, but some drew on the ideas of difference and sameness simultaneously to explain their acknowledgment of diversity at the same time as maintaining a sense of belonging, which might be described as solidarity without similarity. This view echoes Fraser’s (2008: 260, original emphasis), who noted that “difference, disagreement and friction should not be permitted to defeat community … these elements are necessary to community” as community is about coming together where differences exist. Whilst the idea of sameness was linked to feelings of belonging, difference was present as a comparable (most often heterosexual) ‘other’. However, when those deemed to be ‘other’ were excluded by LGBT people, the emotional component of not feeling a sense of belonging was most easily observed (May, 2013). Notions of sameness and belonging will be returned to in Chapter 8; here I focus on perceptions and experiences of difference.
