Tracing Queer Citizenship over Time: Ageing, ageism and age-related LGBTI+ politics in Europe

Project Information

TRACE

Grant agreement ID: 101044915

DOI

10.3030/101044915

EC signature date 25 September 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 999 930,00

EU contribution

€ 1 999 930,00

Coordinated by

CENTRO DE ESTUDOS SOCIAIS
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRACE (Tracing Queer Citizenship over Time: Ageing, ageism and age-related LGBTI+ politics in Europe)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

TRACE is a five-year research project (2023-2027) funded by the European Research Council (ERC), coordinated by Professor Ana Cristina Santos at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. The project researches LGBTQI+ ageing, ageism, and age-related politics in Southern Europe, offering a unique perspective on how ageing intersects with sexual and gender diversity across time and space, drawing on cross-national fieldwork in Portugal, Italy, Greece, Malta and Slovenia.
In recent years, ageing has been considered a priority area in both governmental policies and research agendas. TRACE sits at the trans/interdisciplinary intersection of Gender and LGBTQI+ Studies and Age, Ageing, and Life Course Studies – contributing to the consolidation of the field of LGBTQI+ Ageing Studies. By bringing together distant memories and the current daily management of intimate life, TRACE sociologically explores the impacts in later life of growing up in a time when legal recognition was not available for LGBTQI+ people, offering a timely contribution to debates on ageing in the context of growing populism and anti-gender backlash in Europe.
TRACE embraces a biographic narrative, life course approach, designed to preserve the embodied memory and knowledge of LGBTQI+ people over 60. By capturing these life stories, TRACE is providing invaluable insights into the lived experiences of older adults who have witnessed and survived fundamental changes in intimate citizenship regimes across their lifespan, from criminalization to the aids-crisis related stigma and the 21st century increasing recognition of formal rights, including marriage, in many contexts.
The research enables an in-depth portrait of rapidly changing intimate citizenship regimes in different regions of Southern Europe today, grounded on the life stories of older adults whose lifespan accompanied these changes. Their shared and untold past of oppression will inform scholarly knowledge and current and future policymaking - playing a crucial role in shaping more equitable futures for LGBTQI+ older adults, reinforcing their place as key witnesses and agents of social change.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In 2023, TRACE laid the theoretical and methodological foundations for the next stages. The team engaged in thematically-oriented, theoretical workshops led by the PI and post-doctoral researchers. A methodological training course on the Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM) was also conducted. Significant milestones included of the organisation of the Monsters Summer School (an international advanced training programme for PhD students), 5 socio-political country-based reports, and a number of scientific presentations and publications. TRACE also set up its website and Facebook page currently with over 2000 followers, and started engaging in the media. One highlight is the interview of the PI to broad-sheet newspaper Público in a long piece dedicated to queer ageing and activism in Portugal.
In 2024, fieldwork was conducted in all five countries, involving interviews with stakeholders and with LGBTQI+ older people. These interviews were transcribed verbatim and are currently being analysed according to TRACE three-pronged analytical protocol designed by the PI, focused on narratives, counternarratives, and encounternarratives.
During this time, scientific dissemination advanced significantly, with 5 country-based Research Summaries being published on the project’s website and 5 scientific publications, including 1 special issue of a scientific journal, 1 book chapter, and 3 peer-reviewed journal articles. The PI delivered three keynote addresses at the University of Cagliari, the European Research Council, and the Council of Europe. Some of these invitations result from TRACE’s mission to produce knowledge that informs public policies on LGBTQI+ ageing.
The team engaged in key conferences such as the European Sociological Association (ESA) Sexuality Research Network Midterm Conference in Zagreb, the ESA Conference in Porto, the European Geographies of Sexualities Conference in Brighton, the Nordic Congress of Gerontology in Stockholm, and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies’ Congress in Lisbon.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

TRACE made significant progress in LGBTQI+ Ageing studies through the successful application of a BNIM-inspired data collection method, mobilised by an interdisciplinary and international team to ethically engage with this vulnerable population. BNIM not only prevents academic extractivism while prioritising the preservation of queer embodied knowledge, but also offers a deep sociological understanding of the lived experiences of older LGBTQI+ people.
As the first large-scale LGBTQI+ ageing study in Southern Europe, TRACE fills a critical knowledge gap on queer lives over time. Its cross-country integrative framework is allowing for the exploration of ageing LGBTQI+ experiences from a national-based perspective in Portugal, Italy, Greece, Malta and Slovenia and the emergence of a transnational understanding of queer ageing experiences in its similarities and differences. In this respect, in 2024 TRACE organized the 1st International Forum on LGBTQI+ Ageing in Southern Europe, gathering researchers, activists and policymakers from across Europe.
TRACE also reframes the concept of citizenship, recognising it as processual and intersectional, and shaped by moments of transgression. As gender and sexual equality are at the core of anti-democratic attacks, the project mobilises queer citizenship as an indicator to assess the quality of current democracies.
TRACE also promoted public engagement through exhibitions during LGBTQI+ History Month (February) and the LGBTQI+ Visibility Month (June). Events such as sessions in schools, further enhanced the outreach of the topic of queer ageing beyond academia. Another important output was the promotion of the Vintage Bloc, as a safe space for older LGBTQI+ people to gather and march together during the Lisbon Pride in 2024. This event enabled dissemination and networking, which resulted into more interviews and potential interest in the Queer 60+ archive. Being the first time older LGBTQI+ people had a dedicated spot to march, this event got much media attention. These efforts underscore TRACE's commitment to scientific excellence and scientific dissemination and outreach.
Finally, in 2024 the first steps to set up the Queer 60+ Archive were given, and these included a Research Stay by the PI at the Norwegian Queer Archive (University of Bergen), as well as identification, contact and meaningful conversations with potential donors of archival queer materials.