Shifting Paradigms, Not Identities: LGBTIQ+ Refugees Queering Temporalities in Denmark

Abstract

Abstract In light of tightening immigration policies, LGBTIQ+ refugees are oftentimes presented as ‘stuck’ in the asylum regime, having to continuously perform their sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or expression (SOGIE) in a fixed way. This article rethinks this narrative, arguing that rather than being stuck, LGBTIQ+ refugees are navigating through spatialized temporalities—during and after their asylum process. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with LGBTIQ+ refugees in Denmark, this article explores how LGBTIQ+ refugees queer temporality in multiple ways: First, I demonstrate how the so-called Danish ‘paradigm shift’ is producing uncertain temporalities for LGBTIQ+ refugees. Second, I analyse how LGBTIQ+ refugees are becoming and remaining queer after having been granted asylum. Finally, I explore how LGBTIQ+ refugees are (un)able to ‘come out’ of the asylum system. By claiming belonging to the Danish nation-state, they seek a change in the asylum system and demand permanent residence to express their SOGIE fluently.