Sexualities Sociologies and the Intersectional Potential of Two Qualitative Methodologies

Abstract

In this chapter I outline my understanding of how sociologists have contended with the challenges that queer theories present for sociological (especially intersectional) research about sexualities. I begin by tracing the conversation about how (and whether it is necessary) to do both poststructuralist and deconstructive queer work and empirical sociology about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) lives (synthesized or not). Ultimately, I demonstrate how recent work points to a fruitful strategy of viewing queer deconstructive work as different from but intersecting with empirical sociological research. In that spirit, I therefore discuss two recent developments in qualitative methodologies as important resources for doing empirical research on sexualities that can attend to intersectional questions and observe intersectionality in practice. These, I argue, are valuable strategies of inquiry that can be used to produce situated knowledges that intersect with important (but different) deconstructive knowledges.