The project attends to intimacy, mobility, and belonging as they unfold in contemporary landscapes of all-gay cruises and cruising grounds in London. Cruising, a long-standing practice, especially among queer men, of searching for sexual partners with stolen glances, or other non-verbal cues in parks, bars, streets, driveways, and so on. From ethnographic research on parks, clubs, archives, and all-gay cruises, this research finds fortune in nuanced relations and marginalised phenomena, exploring their anthropological potential to tackle broader issues in late-stage capitalism.

Supervisor:  Prof. Dr. George Paul Meiu
Co-Supervisor:  PD Dr. Lorena Rizzo

Kaue F. N. Crima Bellini is a PhD candidate and Project Assistant in Social Anthropology at the University of Basel, with research interests that include political economy, queer anthropology, migration, embodiment, affect theory, and space. Their work is funded by the Humer Foundation for Academic Talent and the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF).

Crima Bellini holds a master's degree in African Studies from the Centre for African Studies (University of Basel), with a thesis that examined the adaptation process of queer African migrants living in Basel (CH). They also earned a Licentiate degree in Social Sciences from the State University of Maringá (UEM), Brazil, where their research focused on sexual and emotional initiations among homosexuals and on sexual practices in public spaces. During this period, they contributed to a sexual health education outreach initiative in secondary schools.

In addition to research, they have taught courses on Global South theory, emotions in fieldwork, and political economy. Crima Bellini currently serves as the PhD disciplinary representative for Social Anthropology at the University of Basel and a member of the Steering Committee of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Main areas of work:

• Space-making, political economy
• Queerness, embodiment
• Sex, sexuality, gender
• Mobility, migration

Regional focus:

• Western Europe
• Latin America (Brazil)
• South Africa