An ethnography of the experiences of Arab trans migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees in Germany.

Estimates suggest that tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ migrants from Arab-majority countries have resettled in Europe in recent years, prompting research that emphasises their experiences of interlocking racist-xenophobic-homophobic discrimination in host countries and particularly within LGBTQ+ communities. However, systematic reviews suggest that this research, focused primarily on cisgender gay male migrants, neglects the particular experiences of trans migrants who arguably constitute the most vulnerable and socio-economically excluded subgroup of Europe's LGBTQ+ migrant population, reporting disproportionately higher rates of healthcare and employment discrimination, poverty, homelessness, sex work, trafficking, physical violence, sexual assault, and murder. Taking Germany as a case study for contemporary institutional approaches to, and personal experiences of, Arab trans migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees in the European Union, this qualitative ethnographic project, employing a mixture of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, legal document analysis, and arts-based methods, will consist of a year-long fieldwork placement in Germany to examine three key areas of investigation:

The first area focuses on the legislation, practicalities, and challenges surrounding the process of seeking asylum as a trans person in Germany, through engagement within formal and grassroots support services for LGBTQ+ migrants and within LGBTQ+ asylum-seeker accommodations.

The second area employs narrative and artistic methods to explore how trans migrants negotiate relationships to their biological families through everyday practices of keeping in touch, as well as through their decision-making around transition.

Attending to the agential capacity of Arab trans migrants to resist intersecting discriminations, the final area of investigation examines their attempts to produce alternative narratives and communities, particularly in nightlife and artistic spaces.