Extensive primary and secondary research carried out for my MSc dissertation revealed a lack of recognition of the needs of ageing and elder LGBTQ+ (queer) people in England, and a dearth of services and legal frameworks to adequately support them. In fact, interviews with a diverse cross-section of the queer community identified significant concerns about equitable access to services based on their lived experiences. Their concerns are substantiated by a lack of regard for queer people in health, social care and housing, exhibited through a deficiency of policy, training and bespoke services to support these communities effectively. A strong theme of the ‘chosen family’ also emerged from my Masters’ primary research, which is a protective factor and a unique component of queer communities that could be used as an opportunity to disrupt societal views, redesign services and influence legal frameworks.

I propose to delve deeply into our current interpretation of the ‘family’ with interlocutors that explore alternative approaches to kinship, with clarity and reflexivity about the queer lens through which I will approach my research and the interpretation of its results. I will use robust research methods, with a focus on oral histories, to gather evidence about how queer kinship groups are formed and recognised across time, place, and populations. I will carry out extensive, ethical primary research through interviews, focus groups, questionnaires and visits to health and care settings that support queer people and their carers. I will counter societal reference points for favoured, biopolitical familial relations in England, and seek to understand if disruption to societal expectations will allow new possibilities for queer kinship futures to emerge.