Summary

In a series of entries on Meet the Team we briefly get to know each of the GambLGBTQ+ project team a little better. This week its Matt (they/them) who is the research fellow on the project.

What is your role in the project?

I’m Matt and I am the Research Fellow on the GambLGBTQ+ project which involves working with Alex and Laetitia to carry-out the research, particularly working with our peer researchers on the phase of the project that uses photovoice to understand LGBTQ+ folks experiences of gambling harms and to provide space to discuss their desires for what they would like to see changed in the world in relation to gambling, its wide-ranging impacts, and the provision of support.

What brought you to participating in the research?

I came to Brighton to study and the city has taken on great importance as a place of multiple coming-outs, firstly as bisexual and then as genderqueer. I completed a PhD at the University of Brighton at the end of 2023 on trans geographies of the city combined with an analysis of planning policy. I am passionate about the everyday experiences of LGBTQ+ folk in the city and the inequalities experienced. I particularly care about issues that effect LGBTQ+ folk and are often overlooked or are not seen as having specifically LGBTQ+ impacts or dimensions. In my PhD this led me to focus on housing and mobility and how these can enable or limit us in how we care for ourselves and each other. For this project, LGBTQ+ experiences of gambling have certainly been under researched with little tailoring of support to meet LGBTQ+ needs, which we know exist for mental health services for instance. It is integral that policy and support concerning gambling centre the voices of those who have experienced harms. My hopes for the research are to shift the initial reaction I have encountered from one where people have difficulty understanding the connection between LGBTQ+ populations and gambling, to one where people understand the need for personalised and LGBTQ+ inclusive support environments.

What is your favourite place in Brighton & Hove?

I live in a queer housing co-operative and care deeply about the right for all to have a home that is genuinely affordable, safe, sound, and enables us to look after each other. I also have an allotment which is a really important place, as there is nothing better for me than watching things grow and getting your hands stuck in the soil. I don’t always keep on top of the grass and the weeds but I firmly believe that the bees and other creepy crawlies appreciate my lax approach.

What have you enjoyed listening to at the moment?

Radio and music are a constant background soundtrack to my life. I recently gave a presentation on trans rage and got to play some of my favourite angry punk music. I also listen to an unholy amount of BBC radio 4, but my favourite thing at the moment has to be the Beef and Dairy Network, which is a podcast that is mostly nonsense and silliness, two things I appreciate having plenty of in my life.

Photo of head and shoulders of Matt who is white with brown hair and wearing a white t-shirt. In the background is a tent, van and trees.

Matt is the Research Fellow for GambLGBTQ+