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Making Different Differences: Representation and Rights in Sexuality Activism

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Abstract

This paper argues that current iterations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights are limited by an overreliance on particular representations of sexuality, in which homosexuality is defined negatively through a binary of homosexual/heterosexual. The limits of these representations are explored in order to unpick the possibility of engaging in a form of sexuality politics that is grounded in difference rather than in sameness or opposition. The paper seeks to respond to Braidotti’s call for an “affirmative politics” that is open to forms of creative, future-oriented action and that might serve to answer some of the more common criticisms of current LGBTI rights activism.

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Notes

  1. There are numerous versions of this acronym as well as terminology such as ‘queer’ or ‘SOGI’ and nomenclature grounded in particular locations (two-spirited, hijra, takatapui). These terms are not entirely synonymous and some of the issues of LGBTI representation are discussed below.

  2. E.g. U.N. Doc CCPR/C/50/D/488/1992 (1994); UN Doc A/HRC/RES/17/19 (2011); OAS Doc AG/RES. 2653 (XLI-O/11); IACtHR 24th Feb 2012 Atala Riffo and Daughters v Chile; ACHPR Resolution 257 (55th Session 2014); For a summary of ECHR caselaw see http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Sexual_orientation_ENG.pdf. Accessed 31 July 2014.

  3. Examples of this might include sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) rights gains such as UN resolutions in favour of SOGI rights that are matched by an increasing focus by some states on the protection of the heterosexual family. Other examples of more complex and indirect responses are discussed below.

  4. This is a broadening out of LGBTI acronym, and is used here to give an indication or the range of identities and behaviours under consideration. Given this diverse range, it is perhaps unsurprising that ‘LGBTI rights’ narrowly conceived, will fail to capture the full range of issues faced by sexual and gender identity minorities.

  5. Kalende Val. (2012) Gay Ugandans: Loud and Proud. Huffpost: Gay Voices 15 August. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/val-kalende/gay-ugandans-loud-and-proud_b_1785222.html. Accessed 11 April 2014.

  6. For a discussion of games and coding in the context of Indian decolonisation see Connell (2007), 186.

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Arturo Sánchez Garcia for his comments on an earlier draft of this article, and to the two anonymous referees who offered insightful comments and suggestions for improving the piece.

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  1. Manchester Law School, Manchester Metropolitan University, Lower Ormond Street, Manchester, M15 6HB, UK

    Kay Lalor

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Lalor, K. Making Different Differences: Representation and Rights in Sexuality Activism. Fem Leg Stud 23, 7–25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-015-9277-5

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