Bournemouth Uni lecturer to research the LGBTQI+ fan culture of Eurovision

A Bournemouth University lecturer is undertaking research in the LGTBQI+ fan culture of Eurovision.

Dr Jane Healy, a Bournemouth University academic and project leader, will lead a research initiative exploring the relationship between Eurovision and the culture of LGBTQ+ fans.

Jane will be in Liverpool this weekend where the Eurovision Song Contest is being held in order to conduct interviews with fans with the aim of understanding the contest’s importance to the community and how fans use it to express their identities and connect with others.

“Watching Eurovision last year, I was really taken by how it’s such an inclusive and positive event – it seemed particularly so for those who might be targeted or victimised in the course of their lives because of who they are and how they identify,” Dr Healy told the Bournemouth Echo.

“I wanted to explore how Eurovision made people feel, and what it is about Eurovision that draws them to it.”

The project will also be studying how LGBTQI+ identity overlaps with nationality, ethnicity and ability. Fans are encouraged to participate in the interviews “regardless of how they identify.”

Additionally, the research will investigate the effects of COVID-19 on Eurovision and the LGBTQ+ fan culture, as well as the contest’s potential for inclusivity in the future.

Featured image via YouTube.

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