Queer legibility and the refugee status determination process

Abstract

It is well documented that LGBTIQ+ applicants face a multitude of stereotypes and biases from decision-makers worldwide. We build on literature that argues that there is an unspoken component of credibility – to what extent the applicant is legible to the decision-maker. Based on interviews with legal representatives of LGBTIQ+ people seeking asylum in Australia, we observe that if the applicant’s narrative and label of their lived experience is familiar to the decision-maker, they are more likely to be understood by the decision-maker. Those whose experiences fall outside Western, and specifically Australian, conceptualisations of sexuality and gender identity categories are less legible to the decision-maker, than those who present a dominant, definitive, and stable identity narrative that is ‘out and proud’. Importantly, this paper also found that legal representatives shepherd applicants towards a clear label to perform an identity that is understood, or knowable to decision-makers.