Queer oltre l’urbano: spazi periferici, Sud globale e nuove regionalità sessuali

Abstract

This article offers a critical re-reading of contemporary queer geographies by questioning the metronormative paradigm that has historically associated LGBTQIA+ experiences with Western urban space. Drawing on a dialogue between queer theory, the sociology of space, and decolonial studies, the article examines how non-heteronormative subjectivities are also produced and negotiated in rural, peripheral, and Mediterranean contexts. It weaves together the concepts of queer ruralities, queer anti-urbanism, and critical queer regionalities to show how non-metropolitan areas function as active spaces of resistance, belonging, and social innovation. Particular attention is given to the Italian and Mediterranean contexts, understood as laboratories for the experimentation of situated queer practices, in which tourism, mobility, and family models contribute to reconfiguring visibility, intimacy, and agency. The article argues that a genuinely critical perspective requires the decolonization of the sociological gaze, capable of decentering itself from Euro-American trajectories and of recognizing the plurality of queer temporalities, scales, and forms of life. It concludes by proposing a transscalar research agenda that values territorial differences and promotes a situated, intersectional, and territorially grounded queer sociology.