A LOOK FROM THE INSIDE: THE IMAGE OF LGBTQI+ COMMUNITIES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ITS MEMBERS IN ROMANIA

Rezumat

The present study proposes an affirmative, constructivist and inclusive approach to how people who identify themselves as sexual and gender minorities (SGM) in Romania perceive their community and how they occupy and feel its space. I also try to focus on how SGM perceive their physical/online/imagined spaces, in a subjective geography, how they constructed it, and the manner they relate to the concept of community. The research is quantitative, exploratory, transversal, and uses the questionnaire as a research tool. Regarding the participants in this study, I tried to represent all the letters under the LGBTQI+ umbrella, with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, ages from 18 to 56 years old, and from all over Romania. After the Corona Virus Pandemic and with the ascension of far right-wing parties, those who took part in this study had a harsh perspective on the LGBTQI+ communities, but also a greater need for connection and understanding from their peers. I find it important to speak nearby, instead of speaking for, so the communities are presenting their realities, qualities, and flaws.