Hi! I’m Eleanor (she/her), most people call me El, and I’m a Reader in Sociology and Youth Studies at Sheffield Hallam University. I’m a cis lesbian woman, and have two main (overlapping) research interests:
- Understandings and experiences of LGBT+ communities, including LGBT+ people’s feelings of belonging (or not), and their experiences of particular spaces, such as the scene or Pride events. I could talk about this all day long! And I wrote a book about it
- Young LGBT+ people’s life experiences, particularly related to school or youth work. I’ve done a fair few research projects on this, and published various articles. Another book coming too!
Recently I was involved in research on LGBT+ homelessness, so I think this project on LGBT+ experiences of welfare, wealth, or debt is really important. I’m hoping people will want to speak to us, and that we can try make a difference through what we find out. I’m happy for people to contact me by email (e.formby@shu.ac.uk) or on Twitter @EleanorFormby.