Alessi and Others, ‘How Does Necropower Shape the Everyday Experience of LGBTQ+ People Seeking Asylum in England and Wales?’, 2025
- Category: Literature
- Source: NGOs, Academic
- Subject: Sexual Orientation/Sexuality, Gender Identity, Intersex, Refugee/Asylum
- Place: United Kingdom
- Year: 2025
- File: How_Does_Necropower_Shape_the_Everyday_Experience_
- URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.70086
Edward J. Alessi, Lillian Alexander, Michael Zuch, Roei Shaul Hillel, Minesh Parekh, Ayesha Aziz, Leila Zadeh, ‘How Does Necropower Shape the Everyday Experience of LGBTQ+ People Seeking Asylum in England and Wales? Perspectives From Providers and Directly Affected People’, Sociology Compass: e70086, 2025
Abstract
Individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or with other diverse sexual orientations or gender identities (LGBTQ+) face unique challenges when seeking asylum, many of which are intensified by the state’s cisheteronormative structures. These effects can vary depending on the social identities and locations of LGBTQ+ individuals seeking asylum. We used Mbembé’s (2003) concept of necropolitics to examine the daily experiences of LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum in England and Wales. Necropower, a manifestation of necropolitics, reinforces notions that specific groups are disposable and less deserving of support. This not only furthers stigmatization but also shapes policies that criminalize and vilify them. We conducted 26 qualitative interviews with LGBTQ+ individuals seeking asylum in England and Wales, as well as with legal, social, and mental health providers who have experience assisting this group. We used constructivist grounded theory to identify four themes from the data: (1) Being trapped at the mercy of the state; (2) Perpetuating dehumanization through restricted agency; (3) Relying on informal supports (if they can be found); and (4) “I was always my hero:” Drawing on one’s strength to resist and persist. We also identified a process through which necropower contributed to hostile immigration policies; these detrimental policies fostered migration stigma, which then affected the lives of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. Despite the difficult conditions that LGBTQ+ individuals seeking asylum face, the findings underscore their agency, which enabled them to resist the impacts of widespread stigma and structural harm.