On April 28, 2026, Laura Soler defended her PhD thesis on youth, rurality, and sexual dissidence, titled “El retorn al camp des de la geografia de les sexualitats: joventut i arrelament al món rural català”, supervised by Dr. Mireia Baylina.
The study analyzes the trajectories of sexually and/or gender-dissident young people in rural areas of Catalonia, focusing on processes of attachment, belonging, and the construction of community ties. Using a qualitative, intersectional, and geographical approach, the research is based on in-depth interviews with young LBT adults (aged 25 to 34) who have left urban environments to settle in various Catalan regions.
The findings show how experiences of sexual and gender dissidence significantly shape the ways in which these young people build their place within rural territories, developing strategies of agency and resistance in response to social and structural constraints. The thesis also highlights the transformative potential of these trajectories, which contribute to generating new ways of living and feeling part of rural life.
This research makes important contributions to rural geography, youth geography, and sexuality studies, as well as offering practical implications for public policy design, the promotion of community activism, and support for dissident youth in non-urban contexts.
The Geography and Gender Research Group celebrates this new academic contribution, which reinforces a commitment to critical, situated, and socially transformative research. Congratulations, Laura, on this valuable work.
