Joshua Warren

My Master's thesis, "Keep Austin Queer: Performativity of Queer Space in Austin, Texas," examined how LGBTQ+ folks see themselves navigating queer identities and actions–and thus, how they "perform" and create queer space–throughout a liberal, progressive city that lacks designated "gayborhoods."

 

While at Kent, I have continued exploring queer space and the everchanging aspects of space. In particular, I approach queer space through a carnal, more embodied and erotic lens, incorporating kink and fetish (e.g., Leather) communities, sex clubs/dungeons, chemsex/party and play (PnP), and other similar aspects. I utilize queer, visual, and oral history methods to fully capture experiences of queer space and communities. My dissertation challenges metronormativity by exploring spatial, gendered, and political aspects of Leatherfolk in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, through oral history interviews, object elicitation, and carnal ethnography.

 

I currently sit on the board of directors for the International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA), and on the social media committee for Social Problems, the official journal of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP).