Abstract:
This study explores the intimate worlds of families and their queer kin in, and around,
Beirut. Worlds, which despite being framed by legal and social homophobia have
fostered the emergence of supportive family members. My thesis examines their
departure from the cultural orthodoxy, and asks what the work of becoming, and acting
as, an ally entails. My analysis focuses on three dimensions: forms of support, modes of
becoming supportive, and the role of the non-profit sector in producing allyship.