LGBTIQ+ break-up assemblages : At the end of the rainbow
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LGBTIQ+ b eak-up assemblages : A he end o he ainbow
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Lah i, Annukka; Kolehmainen, Ma jo
Lah i, A., & Kolehmainen, M. (2020). LGBTIQ+ b eak-up assemblages : A he end o he
ainbow. Jou nal o Sociology, 56(4), 608-628. h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/1440783320964545
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LGBTIQ+ b eak-up
assemblages: A he
end o he ainbow
Annukka Lah i
Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Finland
Ma jo Kolehmainen
Tampe e Uni e si y, Finland
Abs ac
This a icle explo es Finnish LGBTIQ+ people’s b eak-ups. The long ba le o equal igh s has
placed LGBTIQ+ people’s ela ionships unde p essu e o succeed. P e ious s udies a gue ha
pa ne s in LGBTIQ+ ela ionships y o appea as o dina y and happy as possible, and emain
silen abou he challenges hey ace in hei ela ionships. Consequen ly, hey may miss ou
on oppo uni ies o ecei e ins i u ional and amilial suppo . This s udy aims o mo e beyond
ecu en amewo ks ha ake he simila i y o di e ence be ween LGBTIQ+ ela ionships/
b eak-ups and mixed-sex ela ionships as a p ede ined poin o depa u e. The analysis d aws
on e hnog aphic obse a ions o ela ionship semina s o he ecen ly sepa a ed, an online
counselling si e o LGBTIQ+ people, su ey da a, and in e iews wi h LGBTIQ+ people who
ha e expe ienced ecen b eak-ups. I employs he Deleuzo-Gua a ian concep o assemblages
in o de o show how di e en componen s and mani old powe ela ions come o ma e in
di e en ways in he cou se o he open-ended becomings o ela ionship b eak-ups.
Keywo ds
assemblage, b eak-ups, di o ce, LGBTIQ+, ma iage, powe ela ions, quee
[I hough ] i canno happen o oo many people, because hen i s a s o look like his
[LGBTIQ+-pa en ed amily] canno wo k ou . [. . .] I p e en ed me om hinking abou
sepa a ion o a long ime as an op ion.
(In e iew wi h a sepa a ed bisexual woman, 2014)
Co esponding au ho :
Annukka Lah i, Depa men o Social Sciences and Philosophy, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Opinki i, OPK-
akennus, Keskussai aalan ie 2, Jy äskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014, Finland.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
964545JOS0010.1177/1440783320964545Jou nal o SociologyLah i and Kolehmainen
esea ch-a icle2020
Special Issue – Expe iences o and esponses o disempowe men ,
iolence and injus ice wi hin he ela ional li es o lesbian, gay,
bisexual, ansgende , and quee (LGBTQ) people
2 Jou nal o Sociology 00(0)
In oduc ion
This a icle explo es a phenomenon abou which li le is known: he ela ionship
b eak-ups o lesbian, gay, bisexual, ans, in e sex and quee and/o ques ioning peo-
ple (LGBTIQ+, whe e + is an acknowledgemen o he non-cisgende and non-he -
e osexual iden i ies ha a e no included in he ini ialism). LGBTIQ+ couples’ pa h
o legal ecogni ion has been long and complex. Du ing he 2000s and 2010s, same-
sex ela ionships gained inc easing social accep ance and legal ecogni ion in many
Wes e n coun ies. Bu al hough Eu opean coun ies ha e seen b oadly simila ans-
o ma ions in ins i u ional no ms ega ding same-sex sexuali ies, na ional specifici ies
con inue o exis (Roseneil e al., 2013). In Finland, which is he ocus o his s udy,
he Ma iage Ac (234/1929) became gende -neu al on 1 Ma ch 2017, and he
Ma e ni y Ac (253/2018), which allows ma e ni y clinics o o mally ecognise p eg-
nan women’s emale pa ne s as social mo he s, came in o e ec in Ap il 2019. The
public campaigns ha led o bo h o hese legal changes sough he social accep ance
and legal ecogni ion o LGBTIQ+ people’s couple and amilial ela ionships by
inco po a ing hem in o exis ing legally ecognised models o in imacy such as ma -
iage and he nuclea amily. The ecen legal changes challenge he s ill widesp ead
idea ha gende di e ence is a he hea o bo h couple ela ionships and pa en ing.
Howe e , p e ious esea ch indica es ha he long ba le o equal igh s has placed
LGBTIQ+ people’s ela ionships unde p essu e o i in o he he e ono ma i e model
o long- e m monogamous ela ionships, and o appea as happy as possible (Dahl,
2014; Gahan, 2018; Lah i, 2015; Mo ing, 2013). Fo ins ance, he ex ac abo e
comes om an in e iew wi h a bisexual woman who explained ha one o he ea-
sons she had s ayed so long in he egis e ed pa ne ship, despi e ecu ing igh s and
o he di icul ies, was ha she conside ed i o be mo e shame ul o a ainbow amily
(LGBTIQ+ people’s amilies) o dissol e han o a adi ional nuclea amily wi h
wo s aigh pa en s.
Mo eo e , same-sex ma iages and amilies con inue o encoun e an ipa hy in
Finland. Opponen s epea edly a gue ha ma iage and pa en ing should emain
be ween wo pe sons o ‘opposi e’ sexes (Jalonen and Salin, 2020; Nikande e al.,
2016). We assume ha as long as his esis ance con inues, i may be di icul o
publicly discuss he p oblems ha occu in LGBTIQ+ people’s ela ionships,
including he ac ha hey oo expe ience di icul b eak-ups. Hi he o, only a ew
s udies ha e explo ed he expe iences and causes o LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups (e.g.
Balsam e al., 2017; Gahan, 2017, 2018; Ju onen, 2018; Lah i, 2020). P e ious
esea ch on LGBTIQ+ ela ionships and b eak-ups has o en compa ed ei he
same-sex and mixed-sex couples, o emale couples and male couples (e.g. Balsam
e al., 2008; Goldbe g and Ga cia, 2015; Go man e al., 2003b). Fu he , hese s ud-
ies ha e o en been in es ed in s essing how ‘simila ’ same-sex couples a e o
mixed-sex couples.
This a icle aims o mo e beyond amewo ks ha mobilise he ca ego y o gende
di e ence o sc u inise LGBTIQ+ ela ionships and sepa a ions. Ins ead, i seeks an
unde s anding ha does jus ice o messy a ec i e p ocesses ha do no assume p e-
de ined indi idual gende and sexual iden i ies. We a e inspi ed by schola s such as
Lah i and Kolehmainen 3
Buchanan (2015), De Landa (2006) and Ring ose and Renold (2014), who employ he
Deleuzo-Gua a ian no ion o ‘assemblage’ o highligh connec i i ies be ween
objec s and bodies. We sugges ha LGBTIQ+ people’s b eak-ups can bes be unde -
s ood h ough assemblage heo y, which is a way o mapping how hings come
oge he , and wha he assembled ela ionships enable o become o block om
becoming (De Landa, 2006; Ring ose and Renold, 2014). An assemblage is a p oduc-
i e in e sec ion o bodies, ac ions, hings, a ec s, wo ds and ideas (Buchanan, 2015:
390). Assemblages a e empo al g oupings o ela ions ha a e bo h un inished and
open-ended (Coleman and Ring ose, 2013). In Deleuzo-Gua a ian e ms, assem-
blages a e hizoma ic: hey connec bodies wi h o he bodies, ma e , a ec s, ideas
and socie al p ocesses in many di e en di ec ions, wi hou assuming de e minis ic
op-down ope a ions o powe . Ne e heless, i is s ill possible o de ec segmen ing
and iola ing o ces wi hin assemblages. In Deleuzo-Gua a ian hough , ‘ e i o iali-
sa ion’ e e s o he p ocess o s abilising an assemblage, and ‘de e i o ialisa ion’ o
des abilising i (Deleuze and Gua a i, 2004). By paying a en ion o he mul iple ele-
men s ha come oge he in a ela ionship b eak-up assemblage, i is possible o g asp
he mos cen al en anglemen s ha shape LGBTIQ+ in imacies.
Talking abou LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups as assemblages sheds ligh on he ela ionali y
and mul iplici y o b eak-up p ocesses. Hence, we sugges ha he e is an analy ical
ad an age in speaking o b eak-ups as assemblages (c . Buchanan, 2015). The e a e
di e en ways o unde s anding assemblage heo y, which is also used in a my iad o
ways ac oss he social sciences and humani ies (Buchanan, 2015). Following Buchanan
(2015: 391), we conside ha he e m ‘assemblage’ loses i s analy ical powe i i is
only used o name and close down p oblems; ins ead, we use i o p o ide a new unde -
s anding o a p oblem. In ou analysis o LGBTIQ+ people’s b eak-ups, he concep
opens a new pa h o enqui y whe e LGBTIQ+ ela ionships and sepa a ions can escape
wo n-ou compa isons o ‘s aigh couples’. Since assemblages eme ge om he in e -
ac ions be ween hei pa s (De Landa, 2006: 21), o mobilise his concep ual ame-
wo k is also o e use o educe b eak-ups o easons, o o s aigh o wa d no ions o
causali y ha la en ou unde s anding o sepa a ions. I also ejec s sho -cu explana-
ions o LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups ha o eg ound op-down ope a ions o socie al powe
(see Kolehmainen and Ju onen, 2018).
An assemblage links i s pa s oge he by c ea ing ela ions, and i always exceeds he
sum o i s componen s. In ela ionship b eak-ups, as we will demons a e, ela ionship
no ms, legal s a uses, and sexuali y- and gende - ela ed cul u al unde s andings en angle
wi h ma e , e en s, scenes and a ec i e in ensi ies. In assemblages, he componen s a e
cons an ly connec ing in new ways and aking new o ms: hey assemble, disassemble
and eassemble. Fo ins ance, he concep o assemblage g asps in e sec ing powe ela-
ions by shi ing he ocus om s able iden i ies, en i ies o bodies o p ocesses and pa -
e ned ela ions. The ela ional becomings o human bodies, subjec i i ies and di e ences
hus exceed p ede ined classi ica ions o iden i y; a he , ma e ial and non-human ele-
men s a e in ol ed in he ela ional eme gence o in e sec ional di e ences and ela ed
powe ela ions (see also Tiainen e al., 2020). We he e o e conside he mobilisa ion o
he concep o assemblage o be one way o des abilise he ca ego ies o homosexuali y
and he e osexuali y alike.
4 Jou nal o Sociology 00(0)
The ques ions o in e es in his a icle a e:
1) Wha does assemblage heo y do o ou unde s anding o ela ionship b eak-ups?
In pa icula , how does assemblage heo y enable us o be e concep ualise and
con ex ualise LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups?
2) How a e he sepa a ion p ocesses o LGBTIQ+ people li ed and expe ienced?
Wha kinds o suppo do sepa a ed pa ne s seek, gain o need om ela i es,
iends, au ho i ies and se ice p o ide s in hese p ocesses?
3) How can we g asp he powe ela ions wi hin an assemblage wi hou enewing a
educ ionis iew o powe ? How do ela ions and ela ional ne wo ks cons i u e
pa icula kinds o b eak-up?
This a icle d aws on h ee esea ch p ojec s. The i s au ho , Annukka Lah i, is conduc -
ing pos doc o al esea ch on LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups (P ojec ‘When he Rainbow Ends’).
The second au ho , Ma jo Kolehmainen, has s udied ela ionship counselling (P ojec
‘Jus he Two o Us? A ec i e inequali ies in in ima e ela ionships’), pa o which
included pa icipan obse a ion a semina s o he ecen ly sepa a ed. Kolehmainen
hen mo ed on o explo e digi al in imacies as pa o a esea ch conso ium (P ojec
‘In imacy in Da a-D i en Cul u e’), conduc ing esea ch on online ad ice and counsel-
ling o LGBTIQ+ people (see Table 1 o u he de ails on all h ee p ojec s).
Con ex ualising LGBTIQ+ ela ionships and sepa a ions
The ques ion o whe he and how same-sex couples di e om mixed-sex couples
has been a heme in p e ious esea ch ( o a e iew, see Lah i, 2015). Ne e heless,
no consensus p e ails, and he esul s pe haps p o ide us wi h mo e ques ions han
answe s. Fo example, Gabb and Fink (2015) show ha he e e yday p ac ices o
same-sex couples a e e y simila o hose o mixed-sex couples. Howe e , se e al
s udies a gue ha same-sex couples sha e household du ies, inances and childca e
mo e equally han mixed-sex couples (e.g. B ews e , 2016; Go a e al., 2011).
Acco ding o a US s udy, same-sex couples show mo e a ec ion and humou when
hey ha e a disag eemen , and eac mo e posi i ely o such disag eemen s, han
mixed-sex couples (Go man e al., 2003a, 2003b). Female couples end o sco e mo e
highly han mixed-sex couples in ela ionship sa is ac ion measu es, acco ding o a
ecen s udy in Finland (Aa nio e al., 2018). Howe e , nume ous s udies ac oss
Wes e n coun ies also indica e ha emale couples a e mo e likely o end up sepa a -
ing han male couples o mixed-sex couples (Aa nio e al., 2018; Ande sson e al.,
2006; Fa , 2017; Ga ell e al., 2011; Wiik e al., 2014).
Female couples’ high sepa a ion a es a e o en explained as esul ing om hei lack
o suppo in he e ono ma i e socie y (Balsam e al., 2017; F os and Leblanc, 2019).
Despi e he p og ess in LGBTIQ+ people’s legal igh s in many Wes e n coun ies,
LGBTIQ+ in imacies do no ecei e he same s uc u al, legal and social suppo as
mixed-sex couples. In Finland, he ea o disc imina ion om se ice p o ide s also
p e en s LGBTIQ+ couples om seeking help such as counselling (Kuosmanen and
Jämsä, 2007), and indeed i has been poin ed ou ha counselling p ac ices s ill os e
Lah i and Kolehmainen 5
Table 1. Da ase s employed in his a icle.
Resea ch p ojec Da ase Collec ion E hical conside a ions Addi ional in o ma ion
1. ‘Well-being in Finnish Rainbow Families’,
conduc ed in coope a ion wi h he
Family Fede a ion o Finland and Rainbow
Families in Finland, wi h unding om he
Finnish Minis y o Educa ion and Cul u e,
2014–18.
Twen y-six esponses o open-
ended online su ey ques ions
abou di icul ies and suppo
needed du ing LGBTIQ+
b eak-ups.
Collec ed in 2015–
16 by psychologis
D Kia Aa nio,
p ojec PI.
The su ey was conduc ed online,
and pa icipan s (N = 80) esponded
anonymously. The majo i y o
su ey ques ions we e closed, wi h a
p ede ined lis o esponse op ions.
The su ey was he i s a emp o
in es iga e how pa en s in Finnish
ainbow amilies iew he psychological,
physical and social well-being o hei
child en, hei amily ela ions, and he
suppo p o ided o hei amily. The
closed ques ions a e analysed in Aa nio
e al. (2018) and Aa nio (2020).
2. ‘When he Rainbow Ends’, Lah i’s
pos doc o al p ojec on he b eak-up
expe iences and p ocesses o sepa a ed
LGBTIQ+ people, unded by Alli
Paasiki i Founda ion (2017–18) and Kone
Founda ion (2020–22).
Eigh in e iews wi h LGBTIQ+
people who had expe ienced a
ecen b eak-up,
i e o whom had a ended a
suppo g oup o he ecen ly
sepa a ed a e hei b eak-up.
Collec ed in 2018
by Lah i.
The pa icipan s we e in o med o
he s udy opic be o e in e iews
began. The pa icipan s hen signed a
consen o m. The olun a y na u e
o pa icipa ion was s essed.
Fi s esul s o he p ojec will be
published in Lah i (2020).
3. Lah i’s pos g adua e esea ch in gende
s udies on how bisexuali y is expe ienced
and nego ia ed in ela ionships.
Fi e (o iginally se en) couple
in e iews wi h bisexual
women and hei pa ne s; 11
indi iduals eached o ollow-up
in e iews.
Couple in e iews
conduc ed in
2005 o an MA
s udy; ollow-up
in e iews in
2014–15 o a PhD
s udy; bo h by
Lah i.
Pseudonyms we e used in he
epo s o esul s, and some
in e iew quo a ions we e sligh ly
modi ied, wi h he aim o p ese ing
he ichness and in eg i y o he
in e iews while also ensu ing
pa icipan s’ anonymi y.
One emale ex-pa ne o a bisexual
woman did no wan o pa icipa e in
a ollow-up in e iew and also declined
o gi e Lah i pe mission o use he
2005 couple in e iew in he s udy.
4. Kolehmainen’s pos doc o al s udy (1) on
ela ionship and sex counselling p ac ices
in Finland, as pa o he esea ch p ojec
‘Jus he Two o Us? A ec i e Inequali ies
in In ima e Rela ionships’, unded by he
Academy o Finland (p ojec numbe
287983, PI Tuula Ju onen).
Obse a ions a 40+
ela ionship enhancemen
semina s and o he ela ed
e en s, some o which ocused
in pa icula on sepa a ion.
Mainly collec ed
by Kolehmainen in
2015–17.
The ieldwo k no es ha e been
anonymised, and some de ails ha e
been omi ed o al e ed o he sake
o anonymi y.
A ew e en s we e a ended by a
esea ch assis an o ell ou side he
main da a-ga he ing pe iod.
5. Kolehmainen’s pos doc o al s udy (2) on
di e se p ac ices o e-counselling, including
online counselling a ge ed a LBGTIQ+
people, conduc ed as pa o he esea ch
conso ium ‘In imacy in Da a-D i en
Cul u e’ (PI Susanna Paasonen).
One hund ed and i y- wo
le e s (2014–15) submi ed o
a Finnish online counselling si e
ha specialises in gende and
sexual di e si y, and an email
consul a ion wi h a counsello
who wo ks o he si e.
Le e s collec ed
by a esea ch
assis an in 2016;
email consul a ion
conduc ed by
Kolehmainen.
The le e s a e anonymous. The
esponses by counsello s a e no
analysed. The online si e was public,
and no in o ma ion beyond ha
which was publicly a ailable was
ga he ed, o he han he email
consul a ion.
The da a was o iginally collec ed
du ing he p ojec ‘Jus he Two o
Us? A ec i e Inequali ies in In ima e
Rela ionships’, unded by Academy o
Finland, bu is analysed he e o he
i s ime.
No e: PI – p incipal in es iga o .
6 Jou nal o Sociology 00(0)
gende s e eo ypes and ad ance he e ono ma i e wo ld iews (Kolehmainen, 2018,
2019a). Howe e , i migh be easie o LGBTIQ+ people o exi unhappy ela ionships
when ins i u ional suppo is pa ial, andom, spo adic o absen . Simila ly, i migh be
easie o dis ance onesel om he cul u al ideal ha he longe a ela ionship las s, he
be e i is. Indeed, we do no wish o p omo e he idea ha ela ionship b eak-ups a e
always o be a oided. Many expe ience sepa a ion as a means o imp o e hei li es.
E en in such cases, howe e , sepa a ions o en eel bu densome and oubling, a leas
empo a ily. Fu he mo e, p e ious s udies ha e o en concen a ed on same-sex couples
o same-sex pa en ed amilies wi hou aking in o accoun ans, in e sex and quee peo-
ple’s ela ionships and amilies (e.g. Balsam e al., 2017; Gahan, 2018). We sugges ha
LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups canno be app oached as uni a y whole, bu a he he e migh be
impo an di e ences wi hin LGBTIQ+ popula ions.
P e ious esea ch on he opic o LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups sugges s ha he e a e signi i-
can di e ences in e ms o gene a ion, cul u e and geog aphical loca ion. In an Aus alian
s udy (Gahan, 2018), same-sex pa en s aged 23–57 we e in e iewed abou hei sepa a-
ions, du ing which hey had ecei ed suppo om nei he hei LGBTIQ+ communi y
no hei iends. The sepa a ion o en led o eelings o shame, isola ion, anxie y and
ailu e. Fu he mo e, he in e iewees el ha hey had b oken an unspoken ule o
same-sex amilies, which a e conside ed accep able on condi ion ha hey a e middle
class, ‘well beha ed’ and no di o ced. This is di e en om Ju onen’s (2020) s udy o
he sepa a ions o middle-aged and olde Finnish lesbians and bisexual women, who had
o en emained iends wi h hei exes a e he b eak-up. Ju onen’s s udy add esses he
bu geoning lesbian communi y in Tampe e, one o he la ges ci ies in Finland, in 1970–
90, and as pa o ha s udy she in e iewed women abou hei ela ionships wi h women
du ing ha pe iod. As Ju onen ema ks, be o e he legal ecogni ion o LGBTIQ+ peo-
ple’s ela ionships, when he exis ence o emale couples was o en o e looked in public
discussions, such couples we e pe haps able o de ine he e ms o hei ela ionships
mo e eely. Ju onen s esses ha he ‘a my o ex-lo e s’ was one way o s ay wi hin and
build a lesbian communi y. Howe e , i mus be no ed ha she does no ocus on sepa-
a ed pa en s in pa icula , which migh explain he di e en expe iences pos -sepa a ion.
Also, in secula No dic wel a e coun ies such as Finland, sepa a ion and di o ce a e
ai ly commonplace, which may no malise sepa a ion expe iences in gene al.
Finland’s di o ce a e has emained a he same le el o o e 20 yea s: app oxima ely
hal o ma iages end in di o ce (SVT, 2012). Sepa a ion and di o ce a e among he
commones easons o seek couple counselling o he apy in Finland. The e has been a
his o ical shi , om di o ce p e en ion o he nou ishmen o emo ionally sa is ying
ela ionships and suppo o he sepa a ion p ocess (Maksimainen, 2014). Indeed, he
popula unde s anding o ela ionships in Finland en ails he ideas o complex ela ion-
ships and in elligible sepa a ions (Maksimainen, 2014). Howe e , i is ques ionable
whe he hese ideas apply o LGBTIQ+ people’s ela ionships and sepa a ions. I is one
hing o be suppo ed as a happily ma ied same-sex couple, and ano he hing o ecei e
ecogni ion o you g ie o e you ailed ela ionship. In o he wo ds, a e legal ecog-
ni ion and inc eased igh s ha e been g an ed, he e ono ma i i y may s ill ope a e by
ma ginalising emo ions o LGBTIQ+ people (Dahl, 2014; Gahan, 2018; Lah i, 2015;
Mo ing, 2013).
Lah i and Kolehmainen 7
While p e ious s udies p o ide impo an insigh s in o he ab ics o di e en ela-
ionship o ms, when such s udies a e oo ed in dualis no ions o sexual o ien a ion o
gende hey p oduce limi ed unde s andings o he complex, nuanced li ed eali ies o
gende and sexual iden i ies and p ac ices, and indeed o ela ionship dynamics. This has
led o he sidelining o o he componen s o LGBTIQ+ ela ionships and he neglec o
di e ences wi hin same-sex ela ionships. Deleuzian hinking has been used as a pa h-
way beyond dualisms (e.g. Coleman, 2009), and his a icle uses Deleuzian assemblage
heo y o a oid enewing dualisms such as same-sex/mixed-sex, as well as o a oid mak-
ing a clea -cu di ision be ween ela ionship and b eak-up. We employ a Deleuzian ake
ha sees gende and sexuali y as p oduc s o bodies’ ela ions wi h o he bodies: hey a e
abou ‘becoming’ a he han ‘being’ (e.g. Coleman, 2009; Kolehmainen, 2018), which
enables us o discuss b eak-ups wi hou educing gende and sexuali y o indi idualised
iden i y ca ego ies. In o de o g asp he a ec i e, li ely and o en messy eali ies o
ela ionships, we employ he Deleuzo-Gua a ian concep o assemblages (e.g.
Kolehmainen, 2018, 2019b; Lah i, 2018), and see mul iple and complex elemen s as
coming o ma e in ela ionship b eak-ups.
Da a and me hodology
Ini ially, we became in e es ed in his opic h ough ou espec i e p e ious esea ch
p ojec s. The i s au ho o his a icle, Annukka Lah i, in e iewed bisexual women
and hei pa ne s o a ious gende s o he MA s udy in 2005 and ound ou ha he
in e iewees sough o i hei ela ionships in o he oman ic ideal: o o m a du able,
happy ela ionship wi h one pe son, possibly o he es o hei li es. When Lah i con-
duc ed indi idual ollow-up in e iews wi h he pa icipan s o he doc o al s udy in
2014–15, i u ned ou ha mos o he couples had sepa a ed in he mean ime. La e she
s a ed a new line o enqui y by add essing LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups. The second au ho ,
Ma jo Kolehmainen, has s udied ela ionship counselling as a pa o he esea ch p o-
jec ‘Jus he Two o Us? A ec i e Inequali ies in In ima e Rela ionships’. In his pos -
doc o al s udy, Kolehmainen s a ed o pay a en ion o he di e en ways in which
ela ionship b eak-ups we e add essed du ing pa icipan obse a ion a ela ionship
enhancemen semina s (semina s o he ecen ly sepa a ed included). Some expe s
seemed o iew b eak-ups as some hing o p e en , whe eas o o he s dissol ing a
ela ionship was a iable op ion. Howe e , a couple b eak-up was o en imagined as a
dissol ing nuclea amily, wi h a a he , mo he and child en. La e Kolehmainen mo ed
on o explo e digi al in imacies as pa o a esea ch conso ium ‘In imacy in Da a-
d i en Cul u e’. As a pa o his s udy, she is in e es ed in explo ing online ad ice and
counselling o LGBTIQ+ people.
When we la e decided o w i e an a icle oge he , we wan ed o know as much as
possible abou he opic. Hence, o he pu poses o his s udy, we ga he ed oge he all
he da a on LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups in Finland ha we could access o collec wi h ela i e
ease. The da a we could access comp ises he ollowing da ase s: su ey o di o ced
pa ne s in LGBTIQ+-pa en ed amilies who ha e answe ed open-ended ques ions con-
ce ning hei sepa a ions; in e iews wi h LGBTIQ+ people who ha e expe ienced a
ecen ela ionship b eak-up; longi udinal in e iews wi h bisexual women and hei
8 Jou nal o Sociology 00(0)
(ex-)pa ne s abou hei ela ionships, mos o whom had expe ienced a ela ionship
b eak-up; pa icipan obse a ion a semina s o he ecen ly sepa a ed; an online coun-
selling si e o LGBTIQ+ people; and an email consul a ion wi h a counsello who spe-
cialises in LGBTIQ+ issues.
Ou di e en ypes o da ase s span a pe iod o almos 15 yea s, du ing which a lo has
changed in Finnish socie y in e ms o legisla ion. Since he egis e ed pa ne ship law
o same-sex couples came in o e ec in 2002 (Ac 950/2001), se e al legisla i e changes
ha e been made in o de o imp o e he legal posi ion o LGBTIQ+ people and hei
amilies, including gende -neu al ma iage law (Ac 234/1929). Ye hese changes migh
pain oo p og essi e a pic u e o he socie al change w i la ge. Acco ding o a ecen
s udy on social a i udes (Jalonen and Salin, 2020), a majo i y o people in Finland hink
ha homosexuals should be ee o li e hei li es as hey wish, and he p opo ion sha -
ing his iew has inc eased o e ime. Howe e , he esponden s we e less accep ing
owa ds he igh o adop ion: in 2016 jus o e 50% o people in Finland held a iew ha
gays and lesbians should ha e he same adop ion igh s as he e osexuals. Hence, he
gene al a i udes owa ds LGBTIQ+ couples and amilies ha e no pe haps imp o ed as
much as one migh imagine. Thus, he iews on and expe iences o LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups
migh no ha e changed ha much du ing he pe iod spanned by ou da a. No ably, i was
only a e he adop ion o gende -neu al ma iage in law in 2017 ha he i s suppo
g oups o sepa a ed LGBTIQ+ people we e es ablished in Finland.
We acknowledge ha he da ase s a e di e en . Howe e , we do no see his as a
p oblem, especially since we a e no seeking o compa e hem. Hence, we decided no
o make a ‘cu ’ by excluding any o he a ailable da ase s. Cu s e e o p ocesses o
inclusion and exclusion in he esea ch p ocess: hey a e bounda y-d awing p ocesses
ha come o ma e h ough wha hey e eal o conceal (Ba ad, 2007). Me hodological
cu s make some aspec s o he explo ed phenomenon isible bu o he aspec s less so,
and he esea che is esponsible o he cu s ha a e made in he p ac ice o bounda y-
d awing (Coleman and Ring ose, 2013; see also Kolehmainen, 2018; Up icha d and
Dawney, 2019). F om his pe spec i e, a decision o ocus only on ‘simila ’ da ase s
would ha e been an unnecessa y cu – especially as he single da ase s in ques ion a e
ela i ely small – as we we e hoping o map di e en ways in which b eak-up assem-
blages come o ma e .
As Table 1 indica es, he su ey da a was collec ed in 2015–16 o he esea ch p ojec
‘Well-being in Finnish Rainbow Families’. The majo i y o he su ey ques ions we e
closed a he han open-ended, wi h a p ede ined lis o esponse op ions. The closed
ques ions ha e al eady been ex ensi ely analysed elsewhe e (Aa nio, 2020; Aa nio e al.,
2017, 2018). The esul s showed ha o he 89 pa en s su eyed, 68% had sepa a ed a
leas once. Aa nio’s (2020) analysis showed ha 6 ou o 10 sepa a ed pa en s we e on
good o e y good e ms wi h hei ex-pa ne s. Fou pa en s ou o 10 desc ibed hei
ela ionships wi h hei ex-spouses as di icul o e en b oken. Fi een pa en s w o e
abou di icul ies in hei b eak-ups, and 11 said ha hey had no ecei ed enough sup-
po du ing hei b eak-ups. The 26 open-ended answe s a e analysed in ou s udy.
O he wo se s o in e iew da a, he i s consis s o eigh in e iews (conduc ed by
Lah i) wi h LGBTIQ+ people who had expe ienced a ecen b eak-up. All he in e -
iewees epo ed hei o icial gende as emale; howe e , one iden i ied as non-bina y
Lah i and Kolehmainen 15
he e ono ma i i y can only e y pa ially accoun o he nuances in ol ed. Pa icula ly
in he le e s o he online counselling si e, he inabili y o de ine and ix s able, clea ly
bounded iden i ies causes anxie y and con usion, leading se e al w i e s o e lec upon
he possibili y o ending hei cu en ela ionships. Fo ins ance, in he ollowing le e ,
he young w i e s esses ha she sees he sel as a s aigh woman and does no wan o
b eak up wi h he iancé, and ye she is a aid o becoming a lesbian:
I’m a 25-yea -old woman and ha e li ed in a happy ela ionship o mo e han wo yea s. F om
ime o ime I expe ience in ensi ying anxie y abou my own sexual o ien a ion. My wo kma e
e ealed o me ha she’s a lesbian, and she made a commen ha i akes one o know one . . .
I ha e always aken o g an ed ha I’m s aigh , and I ha e ne e e e imagined ha I ancied
women, and I ha en’ ye had any c ushes on women. Bu I eel ha inding women a ac i e
o becoming a lesbian would be he wo s scena io now, when I’m in a good ela ionship. I’m
a aid ha i I see someone who is clea ly a lesbian, she will in ec me wi h he same hing. I
ha e no hing agains lesbians. I jus would a he no be one now, when I’m in a happy
ela ionship wi h a man whom I lo e and whose child en I wish o ha e. . . Wha i I jus wake
up as a lesbian some day? I ind bu ch lesbians in pa icula dis u bing, wi h hose you canno
ell whe he hey a e men o women. I’m a aid ha i I jus look a hem, some hing will
happen, o i I si on a bench whe e hey sa be o e, I migh u n in o a lesbian. (F om S udy 5,
ab idged ex ac om a le e submi ed o an online counselling si e)
I would be limi ing o unde s and his w i e ’s conce n h ough he ca ego y o iden i y,
which migh lead o he o ced in e p e a ion ha she is ‘in denial’ abou he ue sel .
Ra he han in e p e ing he s o y as an accoun by a close ed bisexual o lesbian o a ‘la e
bloome ’ – o in o he iden i a ian e ms – we see i as a s o y o ‘becoming’ a he han
‘being’. In o he wo ds, we ake i ha (he ) sexuali y can be seen as a p ocess o becom-
ing (wi h) pa o an assemblage, which exceeds human o indi idual iden i y, a he han
as a ixed iden i y. F om his pe spec i e, becoming a lesbian can be seen as a ans-sub-
jec i e and in e co po eal p ocess, a he han in e ms o an indi idual ai o inne u h.
When bodies a e no seen as bounded, singula and au onomous en i ies, i becomes pos-
sible o ecognise he ele ance o ans-subjec i e and in e co po eal p ocesses
(Blackman, 2012). In Deleuzian e ms, he p ocess o becoming a lesbian can be seen as
‘s a ing om he middle’, wi hou assuming a long-supp essed desi e o ‘ ue’ sel .
Indeed, a empo al pe spec i e is essen ial o ou in e p e a ion. The w i e seems o
be esis ing he possibili y o being a lesbian in he p esen momen , a he han ejec ing
he idea o becoming a lesbian in he u u e. She w i es ha she has no ‘ye ’ had any
c ushes on women. In e es ingly, a he han an indi idual, inna e iden i y o desi e, les-
bianism is conside ed as an assemblage ha has he capaci y o ac upon he w i e
h ough ans-subjec i e and in e co po eal con agion. Fo ins ance, lesbianism is imag-
ined as an assemblage ha migh ake hold o he and u n he in o pa o i i she si s on
a bench whe e lesbians ha e p e iously sa . Hence, lesbianism ex ends i sel beyond
human, indi idual bodies, wo king ac oss and on human and non-human bodies, objec s
and hings, assembling h ough ma e such as he bench.
The ollowing example also demons a es ha he unde s anding o LGBTIQ+
b eak-ups should no be educed o he issue o sexual o ien a ion, and ha he com-
pa ison be ween ‘same-sex’ and ‘mixed-sex’ ela ionships migh ail o do jus ice o
16 Jou nal o Sociology 00(0)
ei he ‘ ype’ o ela ionship o iden i y. In his exce p , he in e iewee ecalls a ious
o e lapping easons o he ecen b eak-up wi h he pa ne , who was unde going a
emale- o-male ans p ocess a he ime o hei sepa a ion. Mul iple issues played a
ole and s ained he ela ionship: he pa ne ’s ansi ion p ocess; wel a e epo s
ega ding he child, ini ia ed by he male ex-pa ne ; he pa en s’ s uggle o accep
i s he ‘same-sex ela ionship’ and hen he ans pa ne ; he pa ne ’s c i icisms o
he child- ea ing p ac ices; e c.
We had e e y possible p ocess going on, I had hese child wel a e epo p ocesses, and he had
he ans p ocess going on, and ou jobs on op o i . This p ocess, o suppo one’s pa ne ’s
ans p ocess, i was kind o ough, al hough I wasn’ in cha ge o i o didn’ meddle in his
business, bu ne e heless o be he e o suppo him and be a li le bi a aid abou e e y hing
going well. O cou se he e’s also joy, when you see ha he o he pe son is e ol ing, and he e
a e joyous momen s. . .. When he enjoyed his masculini y, i was nice. Bu also a s ain o hink
wha i all means in p ac ice, and how i a ec s he ela ionship, and how can one adjus o i ,
and wha migh happen o one’s own a ec ion. The e is a ce ain kind o unce ain y he e. Bu
on he o he hand, i s eng hens he ela ionship and he bond. Bu in he end, in ou case i
somehow. . .. Well, I canno say ha i o e us apa . I ’s no like ha . I ’s a e y mul i ace ed
issue. Bu hen again, wha kind o man he became, how he was as a man, he wasn’ qui e like
a man I could li e wi h. (F om S udy 2, sepa a ion in e iew)
Wha happened in he ela ionship can bes be unde s ood h ough he idea o hizome:
he e we e mul iple hizome-like powe ela ions ha came oge he in he ela ionship,
leading o a ious challenges. The in e iewee ecalls ha he ansi ion p ocess, du ing
which he pa ne became mo e masculine, ga e he momen s o bo h joy and conce n.
She expe ienced joy on behal o he pa ne , who could now enjoy his masculini y, bu
she was also wo ied abou his new ‘hype masculine’ cha ac e is ics, such as being
g umpy, lying on he so a, and d inking alcohol on weekdays.
Mo eo e , he in e iewee’s male ex-pa ne ini ia ed wel a e epo s ega ding he
child, i s because he new pa ne ‘was a woman’, and hen because he pa ne was
unde going ansi ion. Social se ices epea edly e used o accep his as a eason o
suspec ha he in e iewee was unable o ca e o he child, bu i ne e heless placed
a s ain on he , he pa ne and hei ela ionship. Thus he p oblems o an unequal he -
e osexual ela ionship assemblage and i s powe imbalances ‘jumped’ om he p e i-
ous ela ionship and e i o ialised he in e iewee’s new ela ionship assemblage (see
also Lah i, 2018).
Howe e , ou analysis o his ela ionship assemblage also s esses ha i migh no
be ui ul o assume a clea di ision be ween ‘unequal he e osexual’ ela ionships and
‘equal LGBTIQ+’ ela ionships. The ansi ioning pa ne was also e y c i ical and
con olling owa ds he in e iewee’s child- ea ing p ac ices, which caused cons an
s uggles in he ela ionship. Acco ding o he in e iewee, his was ela ed o he pa -
ne ’s gende : he had no won his a he ’s accep ance as a boy. He e his gende ma e ed,
bu no in a s aigh o wa d way. His expe ience o no ge ing ecogni ion o his mas-
culini y as a child, as well as his childhood expe iences o ulne abili y and powe less-
ness, we e connec ed in a hizoma ic way o his new amily assemblage, whe e hey ga e
ene gy o his en y o his pa ne ’s child. His expe ience o ulne abili y was ep oduced
Lah i and Kolehmainen 17
in his new amily si ua ion, whe e he el ha his pa ne spoiled he child by lis ening
o him and gi ing him oo much a en ion. Al hough he in e iewee was able o iden i y
his dynamic, and also o see he pa ne ’s ulne abili y as a anspe son, his abuse o
powe by ying o make he choose be ween him and he child diminished he i ali y as
pa o he ela ionship assemblage. All hese issues de eloped as p ocesses du ing he
ela ionship, in ensi ying a some poin s and e en ually leading o he b eak-up.
Conclusions
In his a icle, we ha e ex ended cu en pe spec i es by concep ualising and analysing
LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups wi hou aking hei ‘simila i y o’ o ‘di e ence om’ mixed-sex
ela ionships as a p ede ined poin o depa u e. Ra he , we ha e sough o ecognise he
di e en componen s ha come o ma e in b eak-up p ocesses wi hou limi ing he
analysis o p ede ined dualisms. We unde s and ela ionship b eak-ups as assemblages
whe e mul iple elemen s come oge he in si ua ional, empo ally shi ing ways. O en
hese elemen s and dynamic p ocesses a e o ganised in ce ain ways, such as in gen-
de ed, sexualised, classed and acialised powe dynamics, as well as in he pain ul ela-
ionship dynamics ha come oge he in b eak-up assemblages. Impo an ly, he powe
dynamics come o ma e di e en ly in he cou se o he ela ionship, depending on ela-
ional p ocesses ha shi h ough ime. By app oaching b eak-up p ocesses as assem-
blages, we ha e e ealed he mul iplying e ec s o b eak-ups, and highligh ed hei
ongoing and unp edic able p ocesses.
Ou analysis has des abilised he cen al dualisms ha a e o en associa ed wi h
LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups. We ha e shown how he e ono ma i i y, being i sel an assem-
blage, (dis)assembles he ela ional ne wo ks in se e al LGBTIQ+ b eak-up assemblages.
Bu i akes di e en , empo ally and si ua ionally shi ing o ms, depending on he o he
componen s and ela ions in he assemblage. Speci ic social o de s – o example, how he
espec abili y o di e en ela ionship o ms and sexuali ies is pe cei ed, and how ecog-
nisable a ious sexuali ies and gende s a e – come o ma e depending on he assembling
o di e en elemen s. Fu he mo e, sameness o and di e ence om he he e osexual
no m can plug in o unplug new elemen s in a ela ionship assemblage, and a e hus any-
hing bu s a ic and clea -cu di isions. A some poin s du ing he becoming o a ela ion-
ship, he pa ne s’ gende s migh no ma e much, bu he e ec s migh in ensi y du ing a
b eak-up, depending on he o he assembling elemen s. Fo ins ance, inadequa e legal
p o ec ion o LGBTIQ+ couples migh assemble wi h and in ensi y o he p oblems in
he ela ionship. Finally, ou analysis e eals ha b eak-ups canno be easily di ided in o
‘s aigh ’ o ‘LGBTIQ+’ b eak-ups. The e ec s o an LGBTIQ+ b eak-up assemblage
a e no de e mined by he pa icipan s’ iden i ies, bu by he speci ic ela ions i o ms wi h
o he bodies, ela ions, ideas and a ec s.
Concep ualising b eak-ups as assemblages enables us o see bo h ‘di e ence
om’ and ‘sameness as’ mixed-sex couples, bu because all assemblages a e unique
(see De Landa, 2006), his concep ualisa ion p e en s s aigh o wa d gene alisa-
ions. Assemblage heo y makes i possible o analyse b eak-ups in ways ha do no
educe gende and sexuali y o indi idual human subjec s, o s abilise ca ego ies
such as ‘homosexuali y’ and ‘he e osexuali y’ in p edic able, p ede ined ways. An
18 Jou nal o Sociology 00(0)
assemblage is always a mul iplici y whose componen s a e in eg al o i s exis ence
(Buchanan, 2015: 385). Ye al hough hey a e complex and mul iple, i would be a
mis ake o see b eak-up assemblages as andom. An assemblage is no a chance col-
loca ion o people, ma e ials and ac ions (Buchanan, 2015: 385). Since all assem-
blages a e unique, singula in hei indi iduali y, we should also be able o speci y
he indi idua ion p ocess ha ga e bi h o hem (De Landa, 2006). As ou analysis
has shown, o example, he e ono ma i i y, homophobia and ansphobia (being
assemblages hemsel es) (dis)assemble he ela ional ne wo ks in se e al LGBTIQ+
b eak-up assemblages.
When we a e alking abou ela ionship b eak-ups, his concep s esses he mul i-
plici y o elemen s ha migh play a ole in he p ocess o (dis)assembling ela ion-
ship a angemen s, om he ela ionship be ween he pa ne s o he o he people
in ol ed (ex-pa ne s, ela i es, child en, social wo ke s, e c.), and om socie al
powe ela ionships (no ms, he e ono ma i i y, homo- and ansphobia, gende ed
asymme ies, e c.) o non-human elemen s (such as legisla ion, o ma e ial objec s
such as a bench). Howe e , an assemblage canno be educed o i s componen s, as i
is always mo e han jus he sum o i s elemen s. E en i simila elemen s can be
iden i ied in di e en b eak-ups, assemblage heo y s ill ecognises he uniqueness o
indi idual LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups – unlike esea ch designs ha o eg ound he sea ch
o easons – and ul ima ely i is ela ions, a he han componen s, ha a e essen ial
o analysing assemblages.
Acknowledgemen s
Ou hea el hanks o e e yone who commen ed an ea lie e sion o his pape . In pa icula , we
would like o hank he wo anonymous e iewe s o hei insigh ul commen s as well as he edi-
o s o he special issue o hei suppo in his p ojec . We would also like o hank he pa ici-
pan s o he IAS esiden ial semina o commen ing an ea lie d a o his pape while Kolehmainen
was an IAS Visi ing Resea ch Fellow a UCL’s Ins i u e o Ad anced S udies in he Humani ies
and Social Sciences in 2020.
Funding
Annukka Lah i’s esea ch on LGBTIQ+ b eak-ups (P ojec ‘When he Rainbow Ends’) is unded
by Alli Paasiki i Founda ion 2017–18 and he Kone Founda ion 2020–22. Ma jo Kolehmainen’s
s udy o ela ionship counselling (P ojec ‘Jus he Two o Us? A ec i e Inequali ies in In ima e
Rela ionships’ (g an numbe 287983), was unded by Academy o Finland 2015–19). She wen on
o explo e digi al in imacies as a pa o a esea ch conso ium In imacy in Da a-D i en Cul u e
(IDA), unded by he The S a egic Resea ch Council (SRC) a he Academy o Finland.
ORCID iD
Annukka Lah i h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-2613-933X
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Au ho biog aphies
Annukka Lah i is wo king on he pos doc o al esea ch p ojec , ‘When he ainbow ends’, in which
she explo es LGBTIQ+ people’s b eak-ups, a he Uni e si y o Jy äskylä. She has published
a icles o example in Subjec i i y and NORA. He co-edi ed book, Family and Pe sonal
Rela ionships unde he Rainbow (in Finnish) will be published in 2020.
Ma jo Kolehmainen is a pos doc o al esea che a he Tampe e Uni e si y wo king on he esea ch
p ojec ‘In imacy in Da a-d i en Cul u e’. She has published a icles in, o example, The
Sociological Re iew, Body & Socie y and Eu opean Jou nal o Cul u al S udies. Sheis a co-edi o
o A ec i e Inequali ies in In ima e Rela ionships (Rou ledge, 2018).