He is no longer on X. Apart from the filth he regularly had to put up with, Musk's role in the world became too much for him. ‘It is wrong that certain truths are no longer heard and that disinformation is given a platform.’ And that while, according to Spierings, it is important to know exactly what for example minorities experience. ‘My interest lies mainly in inclusion and exclusion issues. I started researching gender inequality and later Islam was added to the mix. For example, I look at the position of Muslim women. I look at marginalised groups, because how we deal with them is the best indicator of how inclusive a society is. Is a society as a whole willing to adapt to people who deviate from the norm?'
Trans people and non-binary people
One part of that research deals with the well-being of LGBTIQ+ people. In 2021 and 2023 the sociologist, together with discriminatie.nl, distributed a monitor among this group on behalf of the provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland, with questions about, among other things, acceptance and experienced violence. ‘We wanted to map out the well-being of LGBTIQ+ people in those provinces, the kind of undesirable behaviour they experienced and whether they reported it to the police, for example.’
The results of the survey show that acceptance is not improving. Trans people in particular experienced less and less acceptance between 2021 and 2023 (from 43% to 50%). There are also differences between regions in Gelderland and Overijssel, with some regions offering more acceptance and safety than others. Especially in West-Twente and Northwest Overijssel, acceptance by LGBTIQA+ people is perceived as relatively low. ‘We also saw that the number of people identifying as non-binary is increasing.’
A panel was set up for this year's monitor. This means that hundreds of people who participated in the 2023 monitor will also do so in 2025. ‘Then you can really see how the situation in Gelderland and Overijssel is changing. And this year we also hope to delve more into the combination of LGBTIQ+ with other identities. In these provinces, there are quite a lot of people who are Christian and queer, as we have already mapped out. But there are also people who are Muslim and queer. I would like to gain more insight into how they reconcile that.
