Queering the coast: a research project exploring the geographies of sexuality on the East Kent coast

我的博士研究将以伦敦市为基础，了解沿海地区和城市发生的文化和社会变化之间的联系。考虑到伦敦和肯特这两个地方的邻近性，无疑会产生意识形态的溢出效应，以及一系列的人员流动和文化从城市到农村。对两个独立（但又有联系）的地方进行比较，对于认识到（年轻）城市人口如何回归“普通”郊区（Brown 2008, 2012； Browne和Bakshi 2013； McGlynn 2018）和创造新的艺术文化场景很重要，这些文化场景可能会增加、影响或重新定义“酷儿”地方，并随后创造新的“酷儿”身份。与此同时，东肯特郡日益增长的文化、物质（基础设施）和经济发展（如HS1和2号铁路、多佛港、港务局和周围设施的重建，以及马盖特作为一个“复古”海滨度假胜地的再生）是考虑到英国在国际人员和技术交流方面的地位时特别重要的领域。肯特连接着英国与欧洲（英吉利海峡）以及伦敦（随后通过铁路和公路连接英国其他地区），因此，该地区无疑将在英国脱欧后建立新的国际关系方面发挥关键作用。它还将为那些迁出城市、从欧洲大陆和更远的地方迁入的人提供新的家园和社交生活。正是因为肯特在经济、文化和空间上的重要地位，它值得也需要批判性的研究，以打开对更广泛的全球进程如何塑造该地区城镇的社会和自然景观的理解。作为我的家，对我来说，把对酷儿的理解放在这项研究中也很重要；通过教育机构和社会环境的生活经验，我在这个地区的成长经历显然是异性恋的。我希望将人文地理学中紧迫的（国际）国家、政治和文化问题与酷儿经历结合起来，更多的工作将受到它的影响，更多的酷儿生活将被注意到，并为未来的研究绘制地图。

The research for my PhD will use the city of London as an anchor in understanding much of the connections between cultural and social changeshappening on the coast and the city respectively. Given the proximity of the two places - London and Kent - there is undoubtedly a spill-over effect of ideology, and a series of mobilities by people, and culture from the urban to rural. This comparison of two separate (yet connected) places is important in recognising how (young) urban populations are returning to 'ordinary' suburban areas (Brown 2008, 2012; Browne and Bakshi 2013; McGlynn 2018) and creating new artistic cultural scenes that may be increasing, affecting, or redefining 'queer' places and subsequently creating new 'queer' identities. Meanwhile, the increasing cultural, physical (infrastructural) and economic development of East Kent (such as HS1 and 2 rail, the redevelopment of Dover port, harbour board, and the surrounding amenities, as well as the regeneration of Margate as a "vintage" seaside resort) are particularly important areas when considering the position of the UK in relation to international exchanges of people and technology. Kent connects the UK with Europe (the English Channel) as well as with London (and subsequently the rest of the UK via rail and road), therefore the area will undoubtedly hold a key role in the UK's ability to forge new international relationships post-Brexit. It will also provide new homes and social lives for those moving out of the city and those moving in from mainland Europe and further afield. It is because of Kent's important position economically, culturally and indeed, spatially, that it deserves and requires critical research to open up an understanding of how wider globalprocesses are shaping the social and physical landscapes of towns in this area. As my home, it is also important for me to place queer understandings within this research; my experience growing up in this area was decidedly heteronormative, through education institutions as well as lived experience in social environment. It is my hope that in combining pressing (inter)national, political and cultural matters in human geography alongside the queer experience in place, more work will be influenced by it and more queer lives will be noticed and mapped for future research.