Connie Oxford, ‘Queer asylum: Policies and responses to sexual orientation and transgendered persecution’, in Marlou Schrover and Deirdre M. Moloney, ‘Gender, migration and categorisation: Making distinctions between migrants in Western countries, 1945-2010’, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press B.V., 2013, pp. 127-149 (IMISCOE Research)

Abstract

This chapter examines US asylum laws (both legislative and case law) and policies regarding sexual orientation and transgendered persecution. It addresses the gendered nature of us asylum laws and policies towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (lgbt) migrants, paying particular attention to the claims of gay men and transgendered women. Queer asylum seekers face particular obstacles in immigrant advocacy communities, and the current laws and policies have implications for what constitutes queer identity. Sexual and family violence has emerged as the dominant narrative in asylum declarations by gay men and transgendered women. The chapter argues that queer asylum is gendered in that laws and policies seemingly  facilitate gay men and transgendered women’s claims.