Queer in a housing crisis: how nonbinary and genderqueer young adults navigate housing precarity

Abstract

As many cities experience housing crises, those of minority identity within these cities are more vulnerable to housing exclusion and discrimination. This article explores how nonbinary and genderqueer young adults experience and navigate housing precarity. Drawing on serial interviews with nonbinary and genderqueer young adults in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we show that their gender identity adds an extra layer of insecurity to housing precarity, as the chance of gender-based discrimination undermines how those of gender-diverse gender identities approach potential housing opportunities. Nonbinary and genderqueer young adults deploy unique gendered tactics and strategies to aid in searching for a home, in which they either conceal or showcase their gender identity. We further show that gender identity requires constant negotiation in relation to housing precarity, as exclusion and discrimination often continue beyond the search process and contribute to gendered forms of home unmaking. Our findings underscore the importance of urban nodes in queer infrastructures of care and mutual aid in home-making and achieving ontological security.