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2020 | Book

Introduction Read chapter Read first chapter

Transnational LGBT Activism and UK-Based NGOs

Colonialism and Power

Author: Matthew Farmer

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : Global Queer Politics

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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About this book

This book contributes an analysis of UK-based non-governmental organisations engaged in transnational lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) activism, within a broader recognition of the complexities that British colonial legacies perpetuate in contemporary international relations. From this analysis, the book suggests that greater engagement with intersectional and decolonial approaches to transnational activism would allow for a more transformative solidarity that challenges the broader impacts of coloniality on LGBT people’s lives globally. Case studies are used to explore UK actors’ participation in the complexities of contemporary transnational LGBT activism, including activist responses to developments in Brunei between 2014 and 2019, and the use of LGBT aid conditionality by Western governments. Activist engagements with legacies of British colonialism are also explored, including a focus on ‘sodomy laws’ and the Commonwealth, as well as the challenges faced by LGBT people seeking asylum in the UK.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
Farmer introduces the main arguments of the book with recognition to some key contemporary issues for the progress of LGBT rights globally. Consideration is given to some of the main research areas linked to global LGBT politics and how the book contributes to this existing research. Farmer outlines the core argument of the book, that greater engagement with an intersectional and decolonial approach to transnational LGBT activism would help UK-based NGOs to more successfully navigate and challenge the coloniality that impacts LGBT people’s lives globally. The chapter concludes with a roadmap of the development of the book across the remaining chapters.
Matthew Farmer
Chapter 2. Conceptual Tools for a Decolonising, Intersectional, Transnational LGBT Activism
Abstract
Farmer uses this chapter to examine the key conceptual terms that are deployed in the analysis of the book to produce an argument for an intersectional, decolonial approach to transnational LGBT activism. Farmer examines literature concerned with NGOs and transnational advocacy movements to foreground the focus on NGOs and their participation in transnational networks throughout the book. Also, given the focus on legacies of colonialism and the perpetuation of coloniality in international relations, the chapter defines these terms, drawing on postcolonialism and decoloniality to highlight how European modernity/coloniality presents challenges for contemporary transnational LGBT activism. The chapter also engages with concepts that interrogate the intersections of nationalism, sexuality, gender and race: heteronormativity, homonormativity, heteronationalism and homonationalism, and how they are used to critique contemporary intersections in international relations. Farmer also draws from literatures engaged with transnational solidarity and intersectionality to highlight the limitations and opportunities for LGBT solidarity across borders.
Matthew Farmer
Chapter 3. Unpacking the Colonial Baggage of British Imperial Sexual Discourses
Abstract
Farmer explores the historical development of European problematisations and criminalisations of same-sex sexual activity and how these influenced British imperial sexual discourses that imposed legal mechanisms of control across its colonies. The production of knowledge about ‘the Orient’ is examined, noting how ideas about gender, sexuality and race contributed to justifying imperial interventions as a ‘civilising mission’, part of a broader pattern of European concepts of modernity justifying coloniality and oppression. The chapter provides relevant historical context to contemporary transnational activism strategies concerned with decriminalisation in formerly colonised states. Farmer argues that it is necessary to recognise the ways in which historical justifications for coloniality continue to impact on contemporary international relations, so that problematic reproductions of coloniality can be challenged in the pursuit of LGBT rights globally.
Matthew Farmer
Chapter 4. Contemporary Context of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in International Politics
Abstract
Farmer explores the ways in which sexual orientation and gender identity politics are negotiated and contested in international relations in order to highlight the contemporary international contexts in which UK-based NGOs and other actors participate. The chapter examines the ways in which LGBT rights are contested at the United Nations, noting how coalitions of states have attempted to either advance or restrict rights protections for sexual and gender minorities. The development of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act (2014) is also used as a case study to highlight how some states attempt to restrict LGBT rights as part of broader attempts to strengthen domestic political control, as well as how transnational networks have been used in opposition to LGBT rights. The chapter concludes with an examination of the ways in which simplistic understandings of global homophobias and the homonationalist deployment of LGBT rights by Western states, contribute to a pinkwashed European modernity/coloniality that presents challenges for effective transnational LGBT activism.
Matthew Farmer
Chapter 5. Analysing the UK-Based NGO Landscape Engaged in Transnational LGBT Activism
Abstract
Farmer offers a detailed examination of the main UK-based NGOs engaged in transnational LGBT activism, noting the broad range of strategies used across the space. The chapter opens by introducing the main UK-based NGOs examined in the book, including Kaleidoscope Trust, Human Dignity Trust, Peter Tatchell Foundation, Stonewall and UKLGIG. Following this, a comparison of funding concerns provides context for how the material resources available to NGOs affect their capacity to engage in particular transnational activism strategies. The chapter interrogates a common declaration that NGOs ‘work with local actors’ in developing and implementing their transnational activism, as well as tensions between accessible and effective strategies. Using NGO responses to the introduction of sharia law in Brunei as a case study, Farmer suggests that a shared commitment to solidarity has not always been enacted in practice and that there remains scope for UK-based NGOs to frame their activism strategies in more nuanced, intersectional and decolonial ways.
Matthew Farmer
Chapter 6. UK Governmental Interventions and Transnational LGBT Activism
Abstract
Farmer explores the ways in which UK-based NGOs engage with UK governmental actors on international LGBT issues to provide a more comprehensive understanding of UK-based contributions to transnational LGBT activism. The chapter focuses on the establishment of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT Rights, as well as the international interventions of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department for International Development. Farmer provides a detailed examination of UK governmental and NGO participation in LGBT aid conditionality, arguing that UK actors failed to adequately contextualise contemporary LGBT rights within a broader understanding of aid relations and coloniality.
Matthew Farmer
Chapter 7. Navigating the Intersections of Colonial Legacies and LGBT Lives
Abstract
Farmer explores how UK-based NGOs acknowledge and engage with the impact that coloniality and the legacies of British colonialism have had on contemporary international relations and global LGBT rights. The chapter explores UK-based NGO engagements with the legacies of colonial ‘sodomy laws’, the Commonwealth and the establishment of The Commonwealth Equality Network and the experiences of LGBT people seeking asylum in the UK. Farmer interrogates the degree to which UK-based actors challenge contemporary coloniality in these areas and whether their strategies could benefit from broader recognition of the impact of coloniality on LGBT people’s lives globally.
Matthew Farmer
Chapter 8. Conclusion
Abstract
Farmer draws on the themes and case studies explored throughout the previous chapters to present a conclusion on the role of UK-based NGOs engaged in transnational LGBT activism. Farmer notes the ways in which UK-based NGOs have generally evolved over the past decade, building national and transnational networks, and influencing UK governmental actors on global LGBT issues. Farmer presents a conclusion that is optimistic of the contributions that UK-based NGOs can continue to make to transnational LGBT activism, particularly if they do more to engage with an intersectional and decolonial appreciation of the ways in which coloniality impacts on the lives of LGBT people globally, beyond only appealing to LGBT rights.
Matthew Farmer
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Transnational LGBT Activism and UK-Based NGOs
Author
Matthew Farmer
Copyright Year
2020
Electronic ISBN
978-3-030-45377-0
Print ISBN
978-3-030-45376-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45377-0