Open AccessThe Epistemologies of ‘Lockdown’: closets, vulnerability, and citizenship
Author(s) -
Dave Ashby,
Niharika Banerjea,
Pascale Baker,
Dhiren Borisa,
Kath Browne,
Cesare di Feliciantonio,
Zalfa Feghali,
Dylan Kerrigan,
Mary McAuliffe,
Aoife Neary,
Gavin Brown
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
lias working paper
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2516-4783
DOI - 10.29311/lwps.202274078
Subject(s) - citizenship , human sexuality , closet , sociology , negotiation , gender studies , pandemic , vulnerability (computing) , everyday life , politics , parallels , metaphor , covid-19 , political science , social science , geography , law , philosophy , computer security , linguistics , archaeology , pathology , computer science , engineering , medicine , mechanical engineering , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
This paper reviews current concepts from the social sciences and humanities through which to understand and interpret the sexual and gendered politics of the COVID-19 pandemic. We revisit Sedgwick’s ‘epistemology of the closet’ to think about the ways in which sexuality and gender have become known and understood in new ways through a different form of containment, the experience of COVID-19 lockdowns. This paper sets out a framework for rethinking sexual and intimate citizenship during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine how the pandemic has impacted on the everyday negotiation of intimacy and highlighted material inequalities that impact on the lives of women and LGBTQ+ people. Non-technical summary: This working paper provides an overview of concepts from the social sciences and humanities which might contribute to an analysis of the sexual and gendered politics of the COVID-19 pandemic. We draw parallels between the metaphor of ‘the closet’ to think about the ways in which sexuality and gender have become known and understood in new ways through a different form of containment, the experience of COVID-19 lockdowns. This paper sets out a framework for rethinking sexual and intimate citizenship during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine how the pandemic has impacted on the everyday negotiation of intimacy and highlighted material inequalities that impact on the lives of women and LGBTQ+ people.