Jensen, Mie Astrup; (2024) Being Queer and Jewish: Queer Women’s Intimate and Jewish Lives in England and Israel. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This sociology thesis examines how queer Jewish women’s lived experiences and practices are understood, experienced, navigated, and expressed by queer Jewish women themselves. The thesis is concerned with understanding how the couple-norm and the procreative-norm influence queer Jewish women’s lived experiences, the differences between how queer women engage with Jewish practices and beliefs in England and Israel, and how queer Jewish women live their lives at home and in religious settings. Through 40 biographic-narrative interpretive method interviews with queer women in England and Israel, the thesis critically examines queer Jewish women’s lived experiences and practices. Thus, it contributes to conversations in Sociology, Gender Studies, Sexuality Studies, Jewish Studies, and Religious Studies. I explore how people’s families of origin shape their Jewish and queer identities. I argue that families of origin influence people’s perceptions of appropriate intimate relationships, and that familial Judaism shapes people’s Jewish identities. Second, I examine people’s sexual stories, where I find halachic religious observance does not necessarily dictate how supportive their families are of their queer identities. Thirdly, I focus on people’s intimate lives, where I assert that there is a connection between the couple-norm, the procreative-norm, and Judaism; however, some challenge these norms through non-monogamy and non-normative family structures. Next, I examine people’s Jewish beliefs and practices. Here, I demonstrate that the queer Jewish women I interviewed are highly involved with Jewish practices and beliefs on personal, familial, and communal levels. Afterwards, I focus on the experiences of Jewish women with disabilities, where I conclude that disabilities often directly influence people’s intimate and Jewish lives. Finally, I trace people’s experiences of trauma. I argue that while antisemitism and LGBTQphobia have been at the centre of research discourses, people’s experiences of trauma are predominantly linked to abusive intimate relationships and families and ethnoreligious settings.

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