Queer Youth, Suicide and Self-Harm

Queer Youth, Suicide and Self-Harm Troubled Subjects, Troubling Norms Elizabeth McDermott Lancaster University, UK

Katrina Roen University of Oslo, Norway

QUEER YOUTH , SUICIDE AND SELF - HARM : TROUBLED SUBJECTS, TROUBLING NORMS

Copyright © Elizabeth McDermott and Katrina Roen 2016 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978-1-137-00344-7 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. PDF ISBN: 978-1-349-66813-7 E-PDF ISBN: 978-1-137-00345-4 DOI: 10.1057/9781137003454 Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan®, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library.

Contents

Acknowledgements

vii

About the Authors

viii

1 Reframing Queer Youth Suicide and Self-Harm Moving beyond the ‘at-risk’ subject Moving beyond individual psychopathology Moving beyond positivism Subjugated knowledges: Moving beyond a suicide and self-harm ‘truth’ Troubling norms: Reframing queer youth suicide and self-harm Empirical studies Chapter overview

13 15 17

2 Troubled Subject-Making Making subjects ‘Is this normal?’ Adolescence Heteronormativity and recognition Troubling emotion Hate, fear, disgust and shame Embodied subjects, embodied distress Conclusion

20 22 25 25 29 32 33 38 40

3 Social Class Inequality, Heteronormativity and Shame Class shame Embodied shame ‘Failed’ subjecthood Conclusion

42 46 49 52 60

4 Troubling Gender Norms: Gender Non-Conforming Youth Gender non-conforming youth seeking clinical intervention Pubertal change and embodied distress Youth subjecthood v

1 3 4 8 11

62 67 69 71

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Contents

Discourse and sense-making Conclusion

73 78

5 Trans∗ and Genderqueer Youth Online Gendering and subjectivation Emotional, agentic embodiment Opportunities for intervention Youth and futurity Gender-questioning youth community Conclusion

80 82 86 90 94 100 101

6 Connection and Isolation: A Relational Perspective Connection and emotion Troubling sociocultural and emotional norms Relationships implicated in self-harm Secrecy, hiding and failure Conclusion

103 104 111 115 120 124

7 Help-Seeking: Recognition, Power and Affective Relations Virtual recognition Power, autonomy and emotion Subjects worthy of help? Conclusion

127 131 134 139 143

8 Promoting Liveable Lives Psychomedical approaches to suicide prevention Queering self-harm and suicide prevention Recognition Belonging Becoming Material safety Promoting queer youth wellbeing Online interventions Community-based and face-to-face settings Fostering nurturing environments Education Conclusion

146 149 153 154 155 156 157 159 159 161 163 164 165

Notes

167

Bibliography

168

Index

183

Acknowledgements The research we write about would not have been possible without the contribution of research participants. Colleagues who have contributed to parts of this work include Jonathan Scourfield, Anna Piela and Juhyun Woo. We would like to acknowledge the funders of the various research projects we write about: the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and the British Academy. We also acknowledge the universities that have supported our work during this time and provided some funding: Lancaster University (UK), the University of York (UK) and the University of Oslo (Norway).

vii

About the Authors Elizabeth McDermott’s research focuses on mental health inequalities, particularly those concerning sexuality, gender, social class and youth. She is currently the lead investigator of Queer Futures, a national UK study examining LGBTQ youth, suicide, self-harm and help-seeking. She is employed in the Faculty of Health and Medicine at the University of Lancaster, UK. Katrina Roen’s research relates to LGBTIQ youth and emotional wellbeing, and draws from queer and poststructuralist feminist understandings. She is currently engaged in studies concerning puberty suppression among gender non-conforming youth and the health care of intersex children and youth. She is employed in Cultural and Community Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway.

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