‘Provenly’ Queer and Entitled for Asylum : A Qualitative Study of the Social Exclusion that Heteronormativity Produces through the Finnish Asylum System

Abstract

Queer asylum seekers find themselves at an intersection of multiple exclusions because of their refugeeness and queerness, among other features (Danisi et al. 2021). In the European context, the borders of the EU have been externalized as a part of constructing ‘fortress Europe’, which, arguably, is a continuation of the colonial legacies of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees from 1951 (see Varada Raj 2006, Spijkerboer 2017b, Mayblin 2014). Within this asylum regime of the EU, the externalization of borders, and the consequent exclusion of asylum seekers, queer asylum seekers arguably face compounded exclusion because of their queerness. Concerning the case of Finland, this thesis employs queer theory and social exclusion theory together to investigate how heteronormativity operates in the evaluations of sexual orientation and gender identity as asylum grounds in the asylum procedures conducted by the Finnish Immigration Service, and how it produces and reproduces social exclusion. The study employs a qualitative research design, including data production through semi-structured interviews with the personnel of the Finnish Immigration Service. The data produced through the interviews are subsequently analyzed through the theoretical framework, and elements of social constructionism and critical discourse analysis are incorporated as well. The findings of the study then guide painting a ‘queer future’ of the queer asylum seekers and a pathway for future research.