Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Singing survival in community: A qualitative study of care, resilience and futurity in two queer community choirs in Berlin and Malmö

Jarlman, Benedicte LU (2026) SIMZ21 20261
Master of Science in Social Studies of Gender
Abstract
This thesis examines how survival is articulated and practiced within two queer community choirs in Malmö and Berlin. Situated within a European context marked by increasing anti-gender politics and queer precarity, the study conceptualizes queer survival as a collective and political practice grounded in care, resilience and futurity. Drawing on queer theory and queer political sociology, it explores how community choirs function as spaces in which marginalized subjects sustain and reimagine life under conditions of vulnerability.
The study employs a qualitative mixed-methods approach, combining eight semi-structured interviews with autoethnographic observation. Through thematic analysis, the research investigates how participants... (More)
This thesis examines how survival is articulated and practiced within two queer community choirs in Malmö and Berlin. Situated within a European context marked by increasing anti-gender politics and queer precarity, the study conceptualizes queer survival as a collective and political practice grounded in care, resilience and futurity. Drawing on queer theory and queer political sociology, it explores how community choirs function as spaces in which marginalized subjects sustain and reimagine life under conditions of vulnerability.
The study employs a qualitative mixed-methods approach, combining eight semi-structured interviews with autoethnographic observation. Through thematic analysis, the research investigates how participants experience belonging, healing and collective imagination within queer communal singing spaces.
The findings demonstrate that queer community choirs operate as infrastructures of care that foster recognition, safety and relational support beyond heteronormative social structures. Collective singing enabled participants to experience visibility, emotional connection and resilience, while also creating spaces in which alternative forms of resistance, belonging and queer futurity could be rehearsed. At the same time, the study highlights how grief, vulnerability and inequalities remain embedded within queer communal life.
The thesis therefore argues that queer community choirs are not merely cultural or recreational spaces, but politically significant sites of everyday survival and collective world-making. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Jarlman, Benedicte LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMZ21 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Political Science, Sociology, Gender Studies, Queer Worldmaking, Survival, Care
language
English
id
9239904
date added to LUP
2026-06-25 11:53:43
date last changed
2026-06-25 11:53:43
@misc{9239904,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines how survival is articulated and practiced within two queer community choirs in Malmö and Berlin. Situated within a European context marked by increasing anti-gender politics and queer precarity, the study conceptualizes queer survival as a collective and political practice grounded in care, resilience and futurity. Drawing on queer theory and queer political sociology, it explores how community choirs function as spaces in which marginalized subjects sustain and reimagine life under conditions of vulnerability.
The study employs a qualitative mixed-methods approach, combining eight semi-structured interviews with autoethnographic observation. Through thematic analysis, the research investigates how participants experience belonging, healing and collective imagination within queer communal singing spaces.
The findings demonstrate that queer community choirs operate as infrastructures of care that foster recognition, safety and relational support beyond heteronormative social structures. Collective singing enabled participants to experience visibility, emotional connection and resilience, while also creating spaces in which alternative forms of resistance, belonging and queer futurity could be rehearsed. At the same time, the study highlights how grief, vulnerability and inequalities remain embedded within queer communal life.
The thesis therefore argues that queer community choirs are not merely cultural or recreational spaces, but politically significant sites of everyday survival and collective world-making.}},
  author       = {{Jarlman, Benedicte}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Singing survival in community: A qualitative study of care, resilience and futurity in two queer community choirs in Berlin and Malmö}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}