‘For us it’s our life!’ – Queer utopian imaginaries in times of pandemic

Abstract

Our paper investigates how members of queer subcultures navigated the temporary closure and loss of queer spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse to analyze audio-visual materials on three queer sites in Berlin in 2020, we examine multi-faceted processes of meaning-making that invoke imaginaries of ‘queer utopia’. Examining subject positions and interpretative schemes, we show that dealing with the heteronormative pandemic regulations perpetuates processes of social isolation and invisibilization. Furthermore, in the context of queer utopian memory-making, knowledge formations about subcultural locations are used to mobilize distinct visions of queerness.