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Matthew Waites

University of Glasgow, Sociological and Cultural Studies Division, School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty Member

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Matthew Waites is a Reader in the Sociological and Cultural Studies Division at the University of Glasgow, UK. Research interests include global queer politics, transnational LGBTIQ+ movements, international political sociology, comparative historical sociology of empires, colonialisms, colonialities and living legacies of colonialisms (especially in relation to the British Empire), queer genocide studies, critical social theory and socio-legal studies in relation to criminal law and customary law on sexual offences. A full up to date publications list with links to open access publications is available on a University of Glasgow webpage: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/matthewwaites/

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Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

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Wellesley College

Central European University

University of Cologne

Lancaster University

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

University of Florida

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Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

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Papers by Matthew Waites

Analysing homophobia, xenophobia and sexual nationalisms in Africa: Comparing quantitative attitudes data to reveal societal differences

Current Sociology

To problematise Western discourses of a homophobic Africa, there is a need to analyse evidence of... more To problematise Western discourses of a homophobic Africa, there is a need to analyse evidence of homophobia and its interplay with other attitudes, in ways that explore contextual differences. Hence, this article offers an original sociological analysis of quantitative data on homophobia in African states, examining how this inter-relates with xenophobia. Social attitudes data are drawn from the Afrobarometer research project as a unique and important source, and compared in five diverse contexts: Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Zambia. Data are examined from Round 6 (2014–2015) and Round 7 (2016–2018). Findings are interpreted in light of specific national literatures on the relations between sexuality, gender and nationalism, as well as wider critical and postcolonial perspectives – especially conceptualisation of sexual nationalisms, and recent literatures on political homophobia. Whereas analyses of homonationalism in Western societies have explored alignments of lesbia...

Sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights in theCommonwealth: from history and law to developing activismand transnational dialogues

Sexual orientation and gender identity are reaching the heart of global debates over human rights... more Sexual orientation and gender identity are reaching the heart of global debates over human rights and social change. Such debates are particularly acute in many member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. Following the criminalisation of same-sex sexual behaviour across the British Empire from the 19th century, decriminalisation in the Commonwealth commenced in England and Wales in 1967, yet struggles for the decriminalisation of samesex sexual behaviour still continue in 42 of the 54 Commonwealth states. These struggles are increasingly accompanied by often interrelated struggles for legal recognition of gender identity. A landmark 'reading down' of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi High Court in 2009 has given new hope to those fighting for decriminalisation in the states of the global South 1 (Narrain and Gupta 2011; Baudh, this volume). 2 However, in Uganda the reintroduction of an 'Anti-Homosexuality Bill' for parliamentary debate in October 2011 illustrates that progress cannot be taken for granted (Jjuuko, this volume). These developments show the need to analyse, in different contexts, how struggles for decriminalisation and human rights can succeed.

Editorial Foreword

Sociology, Oct 1, 2012

If sociology is to be revitalised to address power, inequalities and resistance in the contempora... more If sociology is to be revitalised to address power, inequalities and resistance in the contemporary global context, then the development of the sociology of human rights is an urgent necessity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaimed in 1948 that 'recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world' (United Nations, 1948). Since that Declaration was made, the governmental institutionalisation and cultural circulation of human rights have increased the utilisation of such rights in many contexts, such that the need for a dynamic sociology of human rights should be increasingly apparent. In this foreword to The Sociology of Human Rights we first introduce human rights and existing sociological research on human rights before outlining the Special Issue's key themes and the articles in turn. Human Rights and Sociology When the Universal Declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly it was presented as a response to hopes for 'the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want … as the highest aspiration of the common people' (Preamble). Those framing the Declaration sought 455996S OC46510.

Comparative analysis of decriminalisation and change in the commonwealth: understanding contexts and discerning strategies

As the global struggle for human rights with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity in... more As the global struggle for human rights with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity intensifies, and the Commonwealth seeks to negotiate its role in this process, what can be learned from studying national experiences together? This concluding chapter offers a comparative analysis of the country and regional case studies included in this book. The aim is to identify some commonalities across cases, and important differences, and hence to learn some lessons from processes of decriminalisation and change across the Commonwealth. We focus centrally on the decriminalisation issues, but also offer wider comments on sexual orientation and gender identity, and issues of relevance to struggles over sexuality, gender and human rights. This is the first systematic attempt in the academic literature to conduct a comparative analysis of sexual orientation and gender identity struggles in Commonwealth states; as such the analysis is offered tentatively, to initiate further conversations. In particular, it is offered with a consciousness of how power relations associated with post-colonialism constrain knowledge production, and as an invitation to further research and discussion with activists, politicians, researchers and all concerned. This volume does not seek to represent, summarise or synthesise all the many insights from the chapters within it, all of which stand in their own right. Rather, mindful of our own position based in the United Kingdom, we seek to identify some specific useful themes and patterns deserving attention. It is worth emphasising from the outset that although many Commonwealth Member States do share some important commonalities-for example in terms of substantial parts of their state, legislative and legal structures (including the English law tradition), colonial language (English), and experiences of colonialism and decolonisation-there are also very significant differences: of

Direitos humanos, orientação sexual e identidade de gênero na commonwealth: da História e do Direito ao desenvolvimento de diálogos ativistas e internacionais

Estudos de Sociologia, 2016

As tematicas de orientacao sexual e identidade de genero estao chegando ao centro dos debates mun... more As tematicas de orientacao sexual e identidade de genero estao chegando ao centro dos debates mundiais sobre direitos humanos e mudanca social. Tais debates sao particularmente vigorosos em muitos paises-membros da Commonwealth, uma vez que a criminalizacao das praticas sexuais consentidas entre pessoas do mesmo sexo persiste na maioria de seus Estados Membros. O presente artigo busca analisar as causas dessa criminalizacao e as lutas organizadas pela descriminalizacao da homossexualidade em diversos desses estados da Commonwealth. O artigo esta organizado em cinco partes: na primeira parte, apresentar-se-a resumo da criminalizacao contemporânea da homossexualidade na Commonwealth, incluindo alguns exemplos atuais de injustica enfrentada por pessoas em varios estados e abordando as tematicas de direitos humanos, orientacao sexual e identidade de genero. A segunda parte e uma contribuicao original para os debates academicos internacionais sobre sexualidade e genero; com ampla cobertura de exemplos de estados no Sul global. A terceira parte apresenta uma visao historica da criminalizacao do comportamento homossexual no Reino Unido, uma vez que e de relevância contextual para todos os paises da Commonwealth. A quarta parte fornece a primeira analise sistematica de dados sobre leis relacionadas a orientacao sexual e identidade de genero em cada um dos 54 estados da Commonwealth. Finalmente, a quinta parte examina a propria Commonwealth, com foco nas tentativas existentes de ativistas, especialistas e politicos de enderecar os direitos humanos de maneira generalista e a orientacao sexual e a identidade de genero de maneira especifica na agenda da Commonwealth.

Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change

The Round Table, 2014

Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity in the Commonwealth: from history and law to... more Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity in the Commonwealth: from history and law to developing activism and transnational dialogues 1 Corinne Lennox and Matthew Waites 2 The sodomy offence: England's least lovely criminal law export? 61 The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG 3 This alien legacy: the origins of 'sodomy' laws in British colonialism 83 Human Rights Watch 4 LGBT rights in Commonwealth forums: politics, pitfalls and progress? Frederick Cowell 5 United Kingdom: confronting criminal histories and theorising decriminalisation as citizenship and governmentality Matthew Waites 6 Wolfenden in Canada: within and beyond official discourse in law reform struggles Gary Kinsman 7 Australia: nine jurisdictions, one long struggle Graham Willett 8 A few respectable steps behind the world? Gay and lesbian rights in contemporary Singapore Simon Obendorf 9 The Malaysian dilemma: negotiating sexual diversity in a Muslim-majority Commonwealth state Shanon Shah 10 Decriminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts in the South Asian Commonwealth: struggles in contexts Sumit Baudh 11 Decriminalising homosexuality in Africa: lessons from the South African experience Gustavo Gomes da Costa Santos 12 The development of sexual rights and the LGBT movement in Botswana Monica Tabengwa with Nancy Nicol 13 The LGBT situation in Malawi: an activist perspective Undule Mwakasungula 14 The incremental approach: Uganda's struggle for the decriminalisation of homosexuality Adrian Jjuuko 15 Religious institutions and actors and religious attitudes to homosexual rights: South Africa and Uganda Kevin Ward 16 'Buggery' and the Commonwealth Caribbean: a comparative examination of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago Joseph Gaskins Jr.

The international politics of development for LGBT+ inclusion: how the UK's Johnson government used crisis as a political opportunity

International Politics, 2024

This article analyses the international queer politics of development by examining UK aid address... more This article analyses the international queer politics of development by examining UK aid addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans, plus (LGBT+) inclusion in the context of COVID-19 and right-wing government-using this case to propose a multi-dimensional critical framework for understanding when states fund LGBT+ development. The UK's first LGBT+ themed international development project was Strong in Diversity-Bold on Inclusion, from 2019, planned to work in five African cities. Partner organisations included HIVOS, Coalition of African Lesbians, AMSHeR, Kaleidoscope Trust, Article 19, Synergia, Workplace Pride and three universities. Drawing on the author's participation, the article analyses changing government policy regarding the project. In the context of Brexit and COVID-19, the 'co-creation' phase ended without phase 2 funding. Suggesting a gap between perspectives emphasising homonationalism (or homocapitalism) and inconsistent transnational resourcing for LGBT+ development, the article advocates a multi-dimensional critical framework engaging risk, governmentality, crisis and authoritarian populism.

Africa and the Contestation of Sexual and Gender Diversity

The Oxford Handbook of Global LGBT and Sexual Diversity Politics

This chapter considers sexualities and genders in Africa by exploring the relationship between pr... more This chapter considers sexualities and genders in Africa by exploring the relationship between precolonial, colonial, and current forms of regulation. The field of research on sexual and gender diversity in Africa is introduced, including African lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI) and queer research, with an emphasis on the need to challenge homogenizing characterizations of “homophobic Africa.” Differences between European colonialisms—such as the British, French, and Portuguese—are noted, with the British as the source of the most extensive legal criminalization of same-sex acts. Regarding recent developments, there is discussion of Uganda as a particularly concerning context, with the Anti-Homosexuality Act briefly passed into law in 2014, though later struck down by that country’s Supreme Court. The passage of Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act in 2014 has similarly reflected homophobic state action. Yet it is also possible to note decriminalizations of...

Contesting lesbian, gay and bisexual human rights in the Commonwealth

by Monica Tabengwa and Matthew Waites

No abstract available

Global Sexualities: Towards a Reconciliation between Decolonial Analysis and Human Rights

The SAGE Handbook of Global Sexualities

Analysing African Advances Against Homophobia in Mozambique: How Decriminalisation and Anti-Discrimination Reforms Proceed Without LGBT Identities

Sexuality & Culture

New Directions in the Sociology of Human Rights

Comparative colonialisms for queer analysis: comparing British and Portuguese colonial legacies for same-sex sexualities and gender diversity in Africa – setting a transnational research agenda

International Review of Sociology

Decolonizing the boomerang effect in global queer politics: A new critical framework for sociological analysis of human rights contestation

International Sociology

This article proposes a new critical framework for analysing transnational human rights-claiming ... more This article proposes a new critical framework for analysing transnational human rights-claiming and contestation: a ‘critical model of the boomerang effect’, that can embody sociological understanding and insights from decolonizing analyses. The article develops a critique of Keck and Sikkink’s well-known model of the ‘boomerang effect’, from politics and international relations. The new critical model is needed to analyse contestations including global queer politics, particularly to examine where and how actors in formerly or currently colonized states from the Global South can draw on the United Nations human rights system. The new model requires analysis of four themes, with a decolonizing enquiry applied to each: (1) articulation of human rights; (2) social structures and resources; (3) socio-cultural contexts; and (4) subjectivation. These themes are examined to illuminate two pivotal cases claiming decriminalization of same-sex sexual acts: Caleb Orozco in Belize, and Jason ...

LGBTI organizations navigating imperial contexts: the Kaleidoscope Trust, the Commonwealth and the need for a decolonizing, intersectional politics

The Sociological Review, 2016

This article presents the first sustained social analysis of the Kaleidoscope Trust, the UK's lea... more This article presents the first sustained social analysis of the Kaleidoscope Trust, the UK's leading social movement organization on LGBTI issues internationally, and its engagement with the Commonwealth-particularly through forming The Commonwealth Equality Network, comprising national NGOs. A contribution is made to sociological and critical analysis of transnational LGBTI movements, through argument for a new analytical framework combining the sociology of human rights with a decolonizing, intersectional approach-beyond the division between optimistic theories extending Western LGBTI progressive politics, or pessimistic postcolonial queer analyses. To investigate organizations' strategies leading to the Malta 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the research utilizes sources of data including event observation and website sources, initiating analysis of online environments. The analysis deploys social movement theory to examine how and why Kaleidoscope selected the Commonwealth as a political opportunity structure to engage through strategies of framing and articulation of human rights. Invention of The Commonwealth Equality Network, shaped online and offline by imperial relations between core and periphery, is analysed via transnational public sphere and critical theories and argued to indicate a significant restructuring of global queer politics. It is contended that a consistently decolonizing and intersectional articulation of human rights is needed.

Critique de l’« orientation sexuelle » et de l’« identité de genre » dans le discours des droits humains : la politique queer mondiale au-delà des principes de Yogyakarta

Genre, sexualité et société, 2016

Claiming LGBTI human rights in the Commonwealth after Empire

Homosexuality and the new right: the legacy of the 1980s for new delineations of homophobia

Sociological Research Online, 2000

This article addresses the relationship between the New Right and the politics of homosexuality i... more This article addresses the relationship between the New Right and the politics of homosexuality in the United Kingdom. It begins by outlining recent political conflicts surrounding attempts to equalise the ‘gay age of consent’ and to repeal Section 28 of the Local Government Act (1988). The article then examines the New Right&amp;amp;amp;#39;s relationship to homosexuality in the 1980s, and the history of socio-political analyses of this relationship. It is argued that pro-gay left theorists have tended to homogenize the New Right of the 1980s, with negative consequences for the analysis of more recent right-wing transformations. The article suggests that contemporary right-wing campaigns against equalisation of the age of consent and abolition of Section 28 need to be understood as the product of a complex right-wing alliance between old-style Conservatism and new right-wing generations. The sexual values of William Hague and Michael Portillo are very different from those of Margaret Thatcher or Norman Tebbit. More mediated forms of homophobia have surfaced in recent campaigns, particularly in the defence of Section 28. New analytical tools are needed to map ‘new delineations of homophobia’ emerging in the political language of the right, operating within a new terrain of sexual politics. The conclusion suggests ways in which such a perspective could inform future sociological and political research agendas.

United Kingdom: changing political opportunity structures, policy success and continuing challenges for lesbian, gay and bisexual movements

Lesbian and gay theory, sexuality and citizenship

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 13569779608454743, Apr 17, 2008

ABSTRACT David Evans, Sexual Citizenship: The Material Construction of Sexualities, (Routledge, L... more ABSTRACT David Evans, Sexual Citizenship: The Material Construction of Sexualities, (Routledge, London 1993). 352pp. ISBN 0–4150–058007Didi Herman, Rights of Passage: Struggles for Lesbian and Gay Equality, (University of Toronto Press, London 1994). ix+198pp. ISBN 0–8020–7231–3.Anthony Giddens, The Transformation of Intimacy, (Polity Press, Cambridge 1992). 212pp. ISBN 0–8047–2214–5.Ken Plummer, Telling Sexual Stories: Power, Change and Social Worlds, (Routledge, London 1995). xii+244pp. ISBN 0–415–10296–0.Jeffrey Weeks, Invented Moralities: Sexual Values in an Age of Uncertainty, (Polity Press, Cambridge 1995). xiii+209pp. ISBN 0–7456–1369–1.Angelia R. Wilson (ed), A Simple Matter of Justice? Theorising Lesbian and Gay Politics, (Cassell, London 1995). xi+226pp. ISBN 0–304–32955‐X.

Analysing homophobia, xenophobia and sexual nationalisms in Africa: Comparing quantitative attitudes data to reveal societal differences

Current Sociology

To problematise Western discourses of a homophobic Africa, there is a need to analyse evidence of... more To problematise Western discourses of a homophobic Africa, there is a need to analyse evidence of homophobia and its interplay with other attitudes, in ways that explore contextual differences. Hence, this article offers an original sociological analysis of quantitative data on homophobia in African states, examining how this inter-relates with xenophobia. Social attitudes data are drawn from the Afrobarometer research project as a unique and important source, and compared in five diverse contexts: Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Zambia. Data are examined from Round 6 (2014–2015) and Round 7 (2016–2018). Findings are interpreted in light of specific national literatures on the relations between sexuality, gender and nationalism, as well as wider critical and postcolonial perspectives – especially conceptualisation of sexual nationalisms, and recent literatures on political homophobia. Whereas analyses of homonationalism in Western societies have explored alignments of lesbia...

Sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights in theCommonwealth: from history and law to developing activismand transnational dialogues

Sexual orientation and gender identity are reaching the heart of global debates over human rights... more Sexual orientation and gender identity are reaching the heart of global debates over human rights and social change. Such debates are particularly acute in many member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. Following the criminalisation of same-sex sexual behaviour across the British Empire from the 19th century, decriminalisation in the Commonwealth commenced in England and Wales in 1967, yet struggles for the decriminalisation of samesex sexual behaviour still continue in 42 of the 54 Commonwealth states. These struggles are increasingly accompanied by often interrelated struggles for legal recognition of gender identity. A landmark 'reading down' of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi High Court in 2009 has given new hope to those fighting for decriminalisation in the states of the global South 1 (Narrain and Gupta 2011; Baudh, this volume). 2 However, in Uganda the reintroduction of an 'Anti-Homosexuality Bill' for parliamentary debate in October 2011 illustrates that progress cannot be taken for granted (Jjuuko, this volume). These developments show the need to analyse, in different contexts, how struggles for decriminalisation and human rights can succeed.

Editorial Foreword

Sociology, Oct 1, 2012

If sociology is to be revitalised to address power, inequalities and resistance in the contempora... more If sociology is to be revitalised to address power, inequalities and resistance in the contemporary global context, then the development of the sociology of human rights is an urgent necessity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaimed in 1948 that 'recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world' (United Nations, 1948). Since that Declaration was made, the governmental institutionalisation and cultural circulation of human rights have increased the utilisation of such rights in many contexts, such that the need for a dynamic sociology of human rights should be increasingly apparent. In this foreword to The Sociology of Human Rights we first introduce human rights and existing sociological research on human rights before outlining the Special Issue's key themes and the articles in turn. Human Rights and Sociology When the Universal Declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly it was presented as a response to hopes for 'the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want … as the highest aspiration of the common people' (Preamble). Those framing the Declaration sought 455996S OC46510.

Comparative analysis of decriminalisation and change in the commonwealth: understanding contexts and discerning strategies

As the global struggle for human rights with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity in... more As the global struggle for human rights with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity intensifies, and the Commonwealth seeks to negotiate its role in this process, what can be learned from studying national experiences together? This concluding chapter offers a comparative analysis of the country and regional case studies included in this book. The aim is to identify some commonalities across cases, and important differences, and hence to learn some lessons from processes of decriminalisation and change across the Commonwealth. We focus centrally on the decriminalisation issues, but also offer wider comments on sexual orientation and gender identity, and issues of relevance to struggles over sexuality, gender and human rights. This is the first systematic attempt in the academic literature to conduct a comparative analysis of sexual orientation and gender identity struggles in Commonwealth states; as such the analysis is offered tentatively, to initiate further conversations. In particular, it is offered with a consciousness of how power relations associated with post-colonialism constrain knowledge production, and as an invitation to further research and discussion with activists, politicians, researchers and all concerned. This volume does not seek to represent, summarise or synthesise all the many insights from the chapters within it, all of which stand in their own right. Rather, mindful of our own position based in the United Kingdom, we seek to identify some specific useful themes and patterns deserving attention. It is worth emphasising from the outset that although many Commonwealth Member States do share some important commonalities-for example in terms of substantial parts of their state, legislative and legal structures (including the English law tradition), colonial language (English), and experiences of colonialism and decolonisation-there are also very significant differences: of

Direitos humanos, orientação sexual e identidade de gênero na commonwealth: da História e do Direito ao desenvolvimento de diálogos ativistas e internacionais

Estudos de Sociologia, 2016

As tematicas de orientacao sexual e identidade de genero estao chegando ao centro dos debates mun... more As tematicas de orientacao sexual e identidade de genero estao chegando ao centro dos debates mundiais sobre direitos humanos e mudanca social. Tais debates sao particularmente vigorosos em muitos paises-membros da Commonwealth, uma vez que a criminalizacao das praticas sexuais consentidas entre pessoas do mesmo sexo persiste na maioria de seus Estados Membros. O presente artigo busca analisar as causas dessa criminalizacao e as lutas organizadas pela descriminalizacao da homossexualidade em diversos desses estados da Commonwealth. O artigo esta organizado em cinco partes: na primeira parte, apresentar-se-a resumo da criminalizacao contemporânea da homossexualidade na Commonwealth, incluindo alguns exemplos atuais de injustica enfrentada por pessoas em varios estados e abordando as tematicas de direitos humanos, orientacao sexual e identidade de genero. A segunda parte e uma contribuicao original para os debates academicos internacionais sobre sexualidade e genero; com ampla cobertura de exemplos de estados no Sul global. A terceira parte apresenta uma visao historica da criminalizacao do comportamento homossexual no Reino Unido, uma vez que e de relevância contextual para todos os paises da Commonwealth. A quarta parte fornece a primeira analise sistematica de dados sobre leis relacionadas a orientacao sexual e identidade de genero em cada um dos 54 estados da Commonwealth. Finalmente, a quinta parte examina a propria Commonwealth, com foco nas tentativas existentes de ativistas, especialistas e politicos de enderecar os direitos humanos de maneira generalista e a orientacao sexual e a identidade de genero de maneira especifica na agenda da Commonwealth.

Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change

The Round Table, 2014

Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity in the Commonwealth: from history and law to... more Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity in the Commonwealth: from history and law to developing activism and transnational dialogues 1 Corinne Lennox and Matthew Waites 2 The sodomy offence: England's least lovely criminal law export? 61 The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG 3 This alien legacy: the origins of 'sodomy' laws in British colonialism 83 Human Rights Watch 4 LGBT rights in Commonwealth forums: politics, pitfalls and progress? Frederick Cowell 5 United Kingdom: confronting criminal histories and theorising decriminalisation as citizenship and governmentality Matthew Waites 6 Wolfenden in Canada: within and beyond official discourse in law reform struggles Gary Kinsman 7 Australia: nine jurisdictions, one long struggle Graham Willett 8 A few respectable steps behind the world? Gay and lesbian rights in contemporary Singapore Simon Obendorf 9 The Malaysian dilemma: negotiating sexual diversity in a Muslim-majority Commonwealth state Shanon Shah 10 Decriminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts in the South Asian Commonwealth: struggles in contexts Sumit Baudh 11 Decriminalising homosexuality in Africa: lessons from the South African experience Gustavo Gomes da Costa Santos 12 The development of sexual rights and the LGBT movement in Botswana Monica Tabengwa with Nancy Nicol 13 The LGBT situation in Malawi: an activist perspective Undule Mwakasungula 14 The incremental approach: Uganda's struggle for the decriminalisation of homosexuality Adrian Jjuuko 15 Religious institutions and actors and religious attitudes to homosexual rights: South Africa and Uganda Kevin Ward 16 'Buggery' and the Commonwealth Caribbean: a comparative examination of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago Joseph Gaskins Jr.

The international politics of development for LGBT+ inclusion: how the UK's Johnson government used crisis as a political opportunity

International Politics, 2024

This article analyses the international queer politics of development by examining UK aid address... more This article analyses the international queer politics of development by examining UK aid addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans, plus (LGBT+) inclusion in the context of COVID-19 and right-wing government-using this case to propose a multi-dimensional critical framework for understanding when states fund LGBT+ development. The UK's first LGBT+ themed international development project was Strong in Diversity-Bold on Inclusion, from 2019, planned to work in five African cities. Partner organisations included HIVOS, Coalition of African Lesbians, AMSHeR, Kaleidoscope Trust, Article 19, Synergia, Workplace Pride and three universities. Drawing on the author's participation, the article analyses changing government policy regarding the project. In the context of Brexit and COVID-19, the 'co-creation' phase ended without phase 2 funding. Suggesting a gap between perspectives emphasising homonationalism (or homocapitalism) and inconsistent transnational resourcing for LGBT+ development, the article advocates a multi-dimensional critical framework engaging risk, governmentality, crisis and authoritarian populism.

Africa and the Contestation of Sexual and Gender Diversity

The Oxford Handbook of Global LGBT and Sexual Diversity Politics

This chapter considers sexualities and genders in Africa by exploring the relationship between pr... more This chapter considers sexualities and genders in Africa by exploring the relationship between precolonial, colonial, and current forms of regulation. The field of research on sexual and gender diversity in Africa is introduced, including African lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI) and queer research, with an emphasis on the need to challenge homogenizing characterizations of “homophobic Africa.” Differences between European colonialisms—such as the British, French, and Portuguese—are noted, with the British as the source of the most extensive legal criminalization of same-sex acts. Regarding recent developments, there is discussion of Uganda as a particularly concerning context, with the Anti-Homosexuality Act briefly passed into law in 2014, though later struck down by that country’s Supreme Court. The passage of Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act in 2014 has similarly reflected homophobic state action. Yet it is also possible to note decriminalizations of...

Contesting lesbian, gay and bisexual human rights in the Commonwealth

by Monica Tabengwa and Matthew Waites

No abstract available

Global Sexualities: Towards a Reconciliation between Decolonial Analysis and Human Rights

The SAGE Handbook of Global Sexualities

Analysing African Advances Against Homophobia in Mozambique: How Decriminalisation and Anti-Discrimination Reforms Proceed Without LGBT Identities

Sexuality & Culture

New Directions in the Sociology of Human Rights

Comparative colonialisms for queer analysis: comparing British and Portuguese colonial legacies for same-sex sexualities and gender diversity in Africa – setting a transnational research agenda

International Review of Sociology

Decolonizing the boomerang effect in global queer politics: A new critical framework for sociological analysis of human rights contestation

International Sociology

This article proposes a new critical framework for analysing transnational human rights-claiming ... more This article proposes a new critical framework for analysing transnational human rights-claiming and contestation: a ‘critical model of the boomerang effect’, that can embody sociological understanding and insights from decolonizing analyses. The article develops a critique of Keck and Sikkink’s well-known model of the ‘boomerang effect’, from politics and international relations. The new critical model is needed to analyse contestations including global queer politics, particularly to examine where and how actors in formerly or currently colonized states from the Global South can draw on the United Nations human rights system. The new model requires analysis of four themes, with a decolonizing enquiry applied to each: (1) articulation of human rights; (2) social structures and resources; (3) socio-cultural contexts; and (4) subjectivation. These themes are examined to illuminate two pivotal cases claiming decriminalization of same-sex sexual acts: Caleb Orozco in Belize, and Jason ...

LGBTI organizations navigating imperial contexts: the Kaleidoscope Trust, the Commonwealth and the need for a decolonizing, intersectional politics

The Sociological Review, 2016

This article presents the first sustained social analysis of the Kaleidoscope Trust, the UK's lea... more This article presents the first sustained social analysis of the Kaleidoscope Trust, the UK's leading social movement organization on LGBTI issues internationally, and its engagement with the Commonwealth-particularly through forming The Commonwealth Equality Network, comprising national NGOs. A contribution is made to sociological and critical analysis of transnational LGBTI movements, through argument for a new analytical framework combining the sociology of human rights with a decolonizing, intersectional approach-beyond the division between optimistic theories extending Western LGBTI progressive politics, or pessimistic postcolonial queer analyses. To investigate organizations' strategies leading to the Malta 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the research utilizes sources of data including event observation and website sources, initiating analysis of online environments. The analysis deploys social movement theory to examine how and why Kaleidoscope selected the Commonwealth as a political opportunity structure to engage through strategies of framing and articulation of human rights. Invention of The Commonwealth Equality Network, shaped online and offline by imperial relations between core and periphery, is analysed via transnational public sphere and critical theories and argued to indicate a significant restructuring of global queer politics. It is contended that a consistently decolonizing and intersectional articulation of human rights is needed.

Critique de l’« orientation sexuelle » et de l’« identité de genre » dans le discours des droits humains : la politique queer mondiale au-delà des principes de Yogyakarta

Genre, sexualité et société, 2016

Claiming LGBTI human rights in the Commonwealth after Empire

Homosexuality and the new right: the legacy of the 1980s for new delineations of homophobia

Sociological Research Online, 2000

This article addresses the relationship between the New Right and the politics of homosexuality i... more This article addresses the relationship between the New Right and the politics of homosexuality in the United Kingdom. It begins by outlining recent political conflicts surrounding attempts to equalise the ‘gay age of consent’ and to repeal Section 28 of the Local Government Act (1988). The article then examines the New Right&amp;amp;amp;#39;s relationship to homosexuality in the 1980s, and the history of socio-political analyses of this relationship. It is argued that pro-gay left theorists have tended to homogenize the New Right of the 1980s, with negative consequences for the analysis of more recent right-wing transformations. The article suggests that contemporary right-wing campaigns against equalisation of the age of consent and abolition of Section 28 need to be understood as the product of a complex right-wing alliance between old-style Conservatism and new right-wing generations. The sexual values of William Hague and Michael Portillo are very different from those of Margaret Thatcher or Norman Tebbit. More mediated forms of homophobia have surfaced in recent campaigns, particularly in the defence of Section 28. New analytical tools are needed to map ‘new delineations of homophobia’ emerging in the political language of the right, operating within a new terrain of sexual politics. The conclusion suggests ways in which such a perspective could inform future sociological and political research agendas.

United Kingdom: changing political opportunity structures, policy success and continuing challenges for lesbian, gay and bisexual movements

Lesbian and gay theory, sexuality and citizenship

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 13569779608454743, Apr 17, 2008

ABSTRACT David Evans, Sexual Citizenship: The Material Construction of Sexualities, (Routledge, L... more ABSTRACT David Evans, Sexual Citizenship: The Material Construction of Sexualities, (Routledge, London 1993). 352pp. ISBN 0–4150–058007Didi Herman, Rights of Passage: Struggles for Lesbian and Gay Equality, (University of Toronto Press, London 1994). ix+198pp. ISBN 0–8020–7231–3.Anthony Giddens, The Transformation of Intimacy, (Polity Press, Cambridge 1992). 212pp. ISBN 0–8047–2214–5.Ken Plummer, Telling Sexual Stories: Power, Change and Social Worlds, (Routledge, London 1995). xii+244pp. ISBN 0–415–10296–0.Jeffrey Weeks, Invented Moralities: Sexual Values in an Age of Uncertainty, (Polity Press, Cambridge 1995). xiii+209pp. ISBN 0–7456–1369–1.Angelia R. Wilson (ed), A Simple Matter of Justice? Theorising Lesbian and Gay Politics, (Cassell, London 1995). xi+226pp. ISBN 0–304–32955‐X.