Outskirts addresses the diverse aspects of the queer experience on the periphery of the social world. From the Korean spa to the Carnival krewe, this volume asks questions about the places, spaces and identities that are important to LGBTQ life in the United States. By bringing together scholars specializing in the less visible facets of queer culture, the book offers insights to a deeper understanding of queer perspectives and their impact.
The volume challenges researchers to focus on diversity and complexity of the queer experience in the fringe to inform larger sociological questions and contribute to the field of sociology. Most simply put: what is it that we learn from studying at the margins?
The essays in Outskirts focus on the influence of place, both physical and virtual, within institutional settings and in situations of placelessness. This attention to non-normative spaces and identities enriches the collective knowledge of LGBTQ experiences and offers a narrative that pushes the boundaries of sociological inquiry and highlights the importance of queer voices on the fringes of society.
The editors for Outskirts are D’Lane R. Compton, a Professor of Sociology at the University of New Orleans and the co-author of Legalizing LGBT Parents: How the Law Shapes Parenthood, as well as co-editor of Other, Please Specify: Queer Methods in Sociology. Amy L. Stone is a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Trinity University in San Antonio. They are the author of Queer Carnival: Festivals and Mardi Gras in the South, Gay Rights at the Ballot Box and Cornyation: San Antonio’s Outrageous Fiesta Tradition.
The book is available now by NYU Press.
—From staff reports