Mapping LGBTQ+ Lives: The Past, Present and Future of Our Communities.

I’m Dr. Paul Taylor-Pitt, a coach, researcher and author of Still Here Still Queer! Now What? A Guide to LGBTQ+ Wellness and Wholeness in Midlife. My book is the story of a generation of us, navigating midlife through our unique perspectives. Through conversations with over 100 people, I began to ask and answer questions I had about my own experiences of growing up in a particular time and place.

It raised so many more questions. So now, I’m broadening my scope and researching LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of the present moment regardless of age or location. I’m interested in what’s changing, what’s threatened, what’s blooming, and what futures feel possible. 

To start the conversation, I want to ask some questions that I’m curious about. They’re all things that have been on my mind. Asking them in the form of an initial online survey should hopefully feel like an easy and accessible way to get some discussion going.

Everyone is busy, so there’s two versions of the survey to choose from. The quick version should take around 10-20 minutes to complete. The more in-depth version around 45 minutes. Please take just one survey for now. Both have the space for you to leave contact details if you like, for a possible follow up interview or focus group online.

At the moment, this exploration is not linked to anything formal or defined. The data gathered will inform the next steps. It might help me work out an idea for a book, thoughts for more structured academic research or something else. It’s the start of a process that we can shape together. It’s an itch I’d like to scratch.

I’m opening the survey today, 11 June 2026 and will close it after one month to see where we’ve got to. At that point I’ll share the findings on this website. If there’s enough interest, I’ll convene a virtual gathering of folk who want to do some collective sensemaking of the data with me. If more data is needed, or different questions can be asked, I might reopen the survey again in July. I’m taking this step by step.

I’d love to include as many voices from our communities as possible at this stage, so please do share the link to this page with your friends, networks, social media followers and community groups. The more stories that are shared means the conversations to come can be more nuanced and real.

Thank you. I’m excited to see what we discover together about the past, present and future of our LGBTQ+ Communities.

If you have any questions at this point, get in touch and I’ll get back to you.