# Queerly departed: Queer viral socialities and Caribbean migrant desires

## TL;DR

This paper examines the transnational migration experiences of queer HIV-positive Caribbean individuals navigating social and political barriers.

## Contribution

The study introduces the concept of 'queer viral socialities' to explore how identity and health intersect with migration.

## Key findings

- Queer HIV+ Caribbean migrants develop unique social relationships shaped by their identities and health status.
- Migrants face challenges crossing borders due to restrictive migration policies in Global North countries.
- The intersection of queer orientations and viral status influences migratory desires and transnational movements.

## Abstract

In this paper I explore the transnational journeys of a group of queer HIV positive (HIV+) Caribbean migrants moving between Canada and the Caribbean. I focus on queer orientations and viral statuses as key nodes of subjectivity and/or sociality that may combine in different ways to produce (re)orientations (qua Ahmed 2006) and new social relationships—queer viral socialities—that generate migratory desires and journeys across transnational borders. However, queer HIV+ migrants from Global South locations like the Caribbean often encounter difficulties crossing Global North borders designed to facilitate entry for select categories of acceptable migrants. Acknowledging the productive yet unpredictable interactions of queer viral orientations and socialities that generate migratory desires and journeys alongside the harsh surveillance and disciplinary actions of nation-states’ border security regimes draws attention to the intersectionality and complexity of subjectivities, socialities, desires, and movements of queer HIV+ Caribbean migrants specifically, and transnational migrants more generally as they navigate the barriers and inequities of state migration apparatuses.