Living “gender empowerment” in disaster and diverse space: youth, sexualities, social change, and post-Hurricane Katrina generations

Article


Overton, L. and Christou, A. 2025. Living “gender empowerment” in disaster and diverse space: youth, sexualities, social change, and post-Hurricane Katrina generations. Youth. 5 (2). https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5020058
TypeArticle
TitleLiving “gender empowerment” in disaster and diverse space: youth, sexualities, social change, and post-Hurricane Katrina generations
AuthorsOverton, L. and Christou, A.
Abstract

This article explores the notion of “gender empowerment” in relation to feminist claims around collectivity and the real lives of young women and non-binary people who grew up in post-Katrina New Orleans. Drawing on participants’ narratives, the article calls into question the assumption that collectivity and isolation are diametrically opposed experiences. Instead, it offers a more nuanced view of “alone space” as forced aloneness—not as inherently negative or disconnected, but as a vital and generative terrain through which participants navigated recovery, identity, and empowerment. The findings suggest that meaningful collective action and participation often emerged not despite but through moments of solitude that allowed for reflection on individual passions, desires, and agency. In this way, individualist approaches were intricately linked to collectivity. Participants carved out unique spaces for change that were both personal and social, finding that their most powerful engagements with collectivity were often rooted in the growth fostered during periods of isolation. These journeys were nonlinear and fraught with complexity, marked by feelings of insecurity and powerlessness, particularly around decision-making and identity formation in the wake of disaster. Yet, within the altered landscape of post-Katrina New Orleans, the experience of aloneness became an unexpected catalyst for empowerment, offering routes back into collective life on renewed and self-defined terms.

Keywordsyouth; sexualities; gender; non-binary; young women; Hurricane Katrina
Sustainable Development Goals4 Quality education
3 Good health and well-being
13 Climate action
11 Sustainable cities and communities
Middlesex University ThemeSustainability
Health & Wellbeing
Creativity, Culture & Enterprise
PublisherMDPI AG
JournalYouth
ISSN
Electronic2673-995X
Publication dates
Online17 Jun 2025
PrintJun 2025
Publication process dates
Submitted31 Jan 2025
Accepted30 May 2025
Deposited24 Jun 2025
Output statusPublished
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Copyright Statement

© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5020058
Web of Science identifierWOS:001514648400001
LanguageEnglish
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