Introductions: Why This Volume Now?

Abstract

What is homonationalism in the context of increasing global authoritarianisms? If homonationalism is an analytic that flags the alliances between LGBTQ populations and national ideologies, contemporary confluences render somewhat imperceptible these alignments. Authoritarian regimes in the United States, Brazil, India, Turkey, Israel, Philippines and Hungary are not only antithetical to but increasingly assaultive towards queer, transgender and women’s rights. As Wen Liu and Charlie Yi Zhang note in their incisive chapter “Homonationalism as Site of Contestation and Transformation: On Queer Subjectivities and Homotransnationalism across Sinophone Societies”, far-right political regimes have been enacting deeply oppressive legislation, taking hold in part because of the waning of the disciplinary force of multiculturalism. France deepens its reactionary stance towards “American” gender and race studies and continues to deepen Islamophobic policies towards Muslims especially in terms of head coverings, which are viewed as “incompatible with European values, as ‘imported’ by the perceived backwardness and ‘archaic’ culture that migrants and refugees bring with them” (Garcés Amaya, this volume). Currently in the US there are more than 117 anti-trans bills in numerous state legislatures, often directed at programs for transgender youth, medical care, bathroom access and inclusion in sports. In June 2021, Hungary passed a law banning the promotion of LGBTQ content to minors; this is after years of attacks on Gender Studies programs and queer organisations. Meanwhile, Brazil has been saddled with Bolsonaro’s crusade against “gender ideology”, which spans feminism and LGBTQ rights.