Towards a Queer Understanding of Environmental Racism: An Exploration of LGBTQ+ BIPOC Experiences of Environmental (In)Justice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Abstract

This thesis centers on how--and to what extent--LGBTQ+ people of color (henceforth QTPOC: queer and trans people of color) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin experience and resist environmental injustices, and how environmental organizations in Milwaukee conceptualize the ways race/ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality intersect to influence experiences of environmental injustice. Environmental racism, a specific type of environmental injustice, describes the social phenomenon wherein the racial composition of a neighborhood’s residents is strongly correlated with the environmental quality those residents experience. That is, neighborhoods with more Black and brown residents are disproportionately likely to be exposed to environmental injustices—such as poor air quality, unclean water, or less greenspace—while white neighborhoods are significantly less likely to experience these problems. While exposure to environmental toxins is highly correlated with race/ethnicity, class, and socioeconomic status, less is known about how toxic geographies might affect people according to gender and sexuality.