Space for Queer and Trans Youth? Reflections on Community-Based Research in Montreal

Abstract

This article focuses on the process of conducting community-based geographic research with queer and trans youth. It is based on a research project that investigated the spatial experiences of adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age who attended Project 10, an out-of-school LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community support organization for youth in Montreal, Canada. The authors examine the ways in which working within this community space shaped the research process and how it functioned as a site of critical geographic inquiry. The article highlights the process of gaining access to this population, the methodological particularities of working with queer and trans* youth support groups and, finally, how conducting research in an LGBTQ community space facilitated the research process. The objective is to reflect on the possibilities and limitations of this site in terms of conducting geographic research that considers the lives of queer and trans* adolescents.