“It’s half being queer, and half just wanting to leave:” queer migration in Kazakhstan
Date
2022
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Tartu Ülikool
Abstract
Queer migration has been studied among different groups and in different regions of
the world but so far no comprehensive study has been undertaken in Central Asia.
Much existing queer migration research focuses on specific destination countries or
specific migratory pathways, and is often explored after the fact. This dissertation is
based on qualitative research with aspiring queer migrants before they embark on a
journey.
Through examinations of the decisions to migrate, which migratory pathway to take,
and where to go, this dissertation offers the first academic insight into the
phenomenon of queer migration in Kazakhstan. It brings new contributions on the
factors behind queer mobility and immobility, explores the ‘queer lens’ through which
aspiring queer migrants view migratory processes and decisions, and explores how
their queer, national and ethnic identities intersect in these processes.
This study is based on in-depth qualitative interviews with 15 queer migrants and
aspiring queer migrants in Almaty, Kazakhstan with a range of life experiences and
sexual or gender identities. Analysis generates new empirical insights into the factors
that lead queer people in Kazakhstan to pursue migration, the pathways they
choose, from asylum to education to work, and the destinations they seek. The study
explores how and why Kazakhstani queer migrants differ from general migratory
patterns in Kazakhstan and from queer migrants in other contexts.