'There is LGBTQ Life beyond the Big City': Discourses, Representations and Experiences in Two Medium-Sized Spanish Cities

Abstract

Whilst debates on sexual diversity in public space have been extensive, these have tended to focus on large cities as the environments within which to analyze sexual and gender diversity, gradually consolidating an intrinsic relationship between the LGBTQ experience and the big city. This emphasis has led to the LGBTQ experiences of small and medium-sized cities being overlooked, neglecting the complexity of the intersection between the urban and the sex-gender. Grounded on an original ethnographic work, this paper explores the experiences of LGBTQ people living in two medium-sized cities in Spain: Girona and Sabadell, to analyze the interrelationships between these cities and Barcelona as their main LGBTQ-friendly reference; and the perceptions of tolerance and hostility toward LGBTQ expressions in public spheres. The paper reveals that all cities are shaped by sexualized discourses and experiences, and argues that the experiences of LGBTQ people in medium-sized cities needs to be recognized to understand the influence of space in shaping the sex-gender experiences