LGBT Rights Research Articles

Religious Nationalism and The Legal Rejection of LGBT Rights in Zambia: Examining the Intersection of Religion, Law, And Social Exclusion

In the 21st century, national identities are shaped by more than just belonging to a nation-state; factors such as ethnicity, culture, gender, and religion also play a significant role. Individuals can align themselves with imagined communities, where national identity exists only in the mind. However, when religion becomes a symbol of national identity, it often leads to the rejection of beliefs that contradict religious values. This paper explores the influence of religious nationalism on the social rejection of LGBT rights in Zambia. Through a review of various theories of nationalism and an analysis of the conflicts between state, ethnic, and religious nationalisms, the paper highlights how strong religious identities can foster hostility toward LGBT communities. Zambia, a Christian nation by constitutional declaration, exemplifies how religious nationalism enables the criminalization of homosexuality, described as an unnatural offense punishable by imprisonment. The conclusion demonstrates that religious nationalism not only conflicts with LGBT rights but also fuels social rejection, leading to stigma and legal consequences for LGBT individuals in Zambia.

Whose Egg, Whose Sperm, Whose Household Registration? Reproductive Decisionmaking Among LGBT Parents in China

This article examines how LGBT individuals and couples in China make reproductive decisions in a sociopolitical context characterized by homophobia and an absence of LGBT familial rights and legal recognition. The existing literature on LGBTQ+ childbearing and family formation, based primarily in Euro-American countries, tends to focus on the central role of same-sex marriage legalization and features marriage as the core intimate bond that bestows parental and other familial rights. This article argues that China’s household registration (hukou) system is an equally, if not more, salient regulatory system that determines daily life opportunities, access to state-subsidized schooling and health care, life-long social welfare, and placement in a hierarchy of urban versus rural citizenship. LGBT intending parents in China make reproductive decisions with a child’s hukou in mind, treating genetic contributions, gestational labor, and legal parental status as flexible resources to achieve desired hukou outcomes. The hukou system encourages reproductive strategies that make and unmake LGBT kinship, securing family bonds that otherwise lack legal and social recognition while potentially risking parental precarity. The article suggests new directions for LGBT rights advocacy by focusing on the governing systems and statuses that determine access to key citizenship resources and family rights.

The LGBT Politics of Religious Nones

Abstract Although nonreligious Americans are more likely than religious Americans to support LGBT rights, we know little about variation among the nonreligious. Research points to large political differences among nonreligious Americans, which could extend to views of LGBT rights. Using nationally representative survey data, we find that atheists are sometimes more supportive of LGBT rights than are agnostics; atheists and agnostics are consistently more supportive than the “nothing in particular” (NIPs); and atheists, agnostics, and NIPs are more supportive than most religious Americans. Political orientation partially mediates these associations but robust differences among the nonreligious and between the nonreligious and various religious affiliates remain after controlling for politics. We conclude by noting that just as evangelical Protestants occupy a unique position among the religiously affiliated, atheists are distinct from other nonreligious Americans in their views of LGBT rights, while NIPs more closely align with the religiously affiliated.

One foreign force, two nationalisms: How Chinese nationalism resists external LGBT human rights pressure

International pressure on human rights can mobilize domestic social and political change but can also be manipulated and resisted, which necessitates exploring the problems and mechanisms within human rights discourses. Focusing on Chinese LGBT issues and examining Chinese sexual nationalist discourses, this study investigates how Chinese nationalism is employed to resist international LGBT rights pressure. It reveals that, although external entities have pressured LGBT rights through naming, shaming, and even direct advocacy, these external pressures face two dilemmas rooted in the principles of particularism and noninterference. These dilemmas have become significant points of contention for the Chinese state and nationalists, who respond to external LGBT rights pressure by emphasizing discourses of authenticity and security. Specifically, Chinese nationalist discourse leverages the principle of particularism to emphasize its distinctive sexual traditions and values, while employing the principle of noninterference to manipulate external LGBT rights pressure as originating from hostile foreign forces. Notably, Chinese nationalism is not a monolithic ideology; instead, it encompasses two contrasting forms of sexual nationalism—namely, macho nationalism and homonationalism. Despite differences in defining authentic Chinese sexual traditions, both forms of nationalism converge in perceiving external LGBT support as foreign forces.

Upaya Menormalisasikan LGBT oleh Aktivis di Amerika Serikat: Perjuangan dan Tantangan

This research examines efforts to normalize the LGBT community by activists in the United States, with a focus on the struggles and challenges they face. Through qualitative analysis of various advocacy strategies, campaigns and policies implemented, this study reveals how LGBT activism seeks to create a more inclusive and accepted environment in society. This research also explores the role of the media, government agencies and non-government organizations in supporting or hindering this normalization process. Challenges faced include cultural resistance, institutional discrimination, and changing political and social dynamics. The research findings show that despite significant progress in the recognition of LGBT rights, activism continues to face major challenges that require a strategic and collaborative approach to overcome. In doing so, this research provides in-depth insight into the complexities of the LGBT normalization struggle in the United States and suggests policies and practices that can accelerate the process of social inclusion.

The role of activists’ sexual orientation and gender identity in their participation in LGBT movements: a case study from Yunnan, China

The role played by activists’ sexual orientation and gender identity in their involvement and commitment to LGBT movements is an understudied area in the Chinese context. Using identity and dramaturgical theory, this qualitative study explored how activists’ work and commitment toward promoting LGBT rights and services is shaped and influenced by their identities. The study draws on data from life history interviews conducted with 20 long-time LGBT activists in Yunnan, China. The findings indicate that their sexual orientation and gender identities were, in the long run, seen as assets by the activists that shaped their work and commitment in the LGBT movement. Despite initial challenges in establishing identity-based connections with co-workers/clients, the emergence of sense of inclusiveness through recognition of activists’ efforts, particularly when working with diverse gender and sexual minorities, stands out as a prominent theme in this context. This dynamic is important in bolstering the longevity of activists’ commitment and building the continued momentum of LGBT movements in the region and internationally.

LGBT rights claiming and political participation in Southeast Asia

In this paper, I read the creation of the ASEAN human rights regime, the development of SOGIESC rights claiming (where this denotes sexual orientation, gender identity & expression, and sex characteristics), and the social conflict associated with homophobia and the backlash to LGBT rights through modes of participation analysis. This framework is used to interpret the different uses of rights and values-denominated language and institutions in the context of advocacy for sexuality and gender diversity rights protection. I first explicate the modes of participation approach and reprise how I have previously used this to analyse SOGIESC rights claiming. I then show its utility for understanding the emergence of the elite level human rights regime in ASEAN, before indicating how it can also be used to analyse non-elite resistance to SOGIESC rights. Both elite and non-elite resistance can be linked to the older anti-rights discourse of “Asian Values”, which I illustrate with refence to three states: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Taken together, these examples illustrate the capacity of modes of participation analysis to provide a persuasive account of the often contrasting and competing politics of human rights in the region.

Exploring LGBTQ+ equality in India: A comprehensive examination from anthropological and legal perspectives

AbstractThis research paper meticulously traces the historical trajectory and contemporary landscape of LGBT rights in India, comprehensively examining legislative advancements, pivotal judicial rulings, and societal paradigms. It underscores the paramount importance of prioritizing human rights over entrenched societal norms, particularly in the context of including transgender individuals as equal and integral members of society. The imposition of stringent moral standards has historically curtailed freedom of choice and expression, disproportionately impacting the marginalized queer community. This study endeavors to explore the multifaceted evolution of LGBT rights within historical contexts and assesses the practical accessibility of these rights as guaranteed by Constitutional Law, case law, and other pertinent legislations. Through a nuanced analysis, this research scrutinizes the extent to which societal perceptions, cultural shifts, and policy changes have influenced the inclusion and acceptance of the LGBT community. Additionally, it aims to illuminate persisting issues that continue to be disregarded or inadequately addressed, including healthcare disparities, socio‐economic inequalities, and cultural stigma.

Covert allyship: Implementing LGBT policies in an adversarial context

AbstractThis study introduces the concept of covert allyship as a strategy for tacitly supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) inclusion in adversarial contexts. Drawing on a qualitative case study of 12 Western multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, the article sheds light on how allyship for LGBT issues is undertaken covertly as allies seek to transcend tensions arising between headquarters publicly advocating for LGBT rights and their subsidiaries. The findings evaluate both barriers to MNE subsidiaries implementing LGBT‐supportive policies and facilitating mechanisms for covert forms of institutional allyship. Finally, the article provides recommendations for how MNEs can adopt practices that build subtle yet effective LGBT‐supportive approaches in contexts that require sensitivity to local cultures and legislation.

History, Nationalism, and Lesbian Cabaret

Abstract This article, entitled “History, Nationalism, and Lesbian Cabaret: Agnieszka Weseli ‘Furja’ and Maria Konopnicka,” traces the role that nineteenth-century Polish Positivist author Maria Konopnicka has played in the twenty-first century Polish LGBT rights movement, as well as the backlash against her newfound status as an LGBT icon from nationalist factions. More specifically, I examine how activist-historian and performance artist Agnieszka Weseli-Furja has reimagined nineteenth-century queer and feminist history through her performances as Konopnicka as part of the lesbian cabaret troupe Barbie Girls. Through my analysis of her sketches collectively titled “From the Album of Maria Konopnicka,” I argue that Furja utilizes a form of feminist revisionist historiography to navigate the historical Konopnicka's ambiguous sexuality and her association with twentieth- and twenty-first-century Polish nationalism (often hostile to the LGBT community). Through these performances, Furja attempts to decouple patriarchy and heteronormativity from Polish national belonging, producing an alternative vision of Polish patriotism based in feminist community and same-sex desire.1

Paths Towards LGBT Rights Recognition in Brazil

IntroductionThis article addresses the processes that led to the recognition of LGBT rights in Brazil, the role played by civil society mobilization, and the interaction between the Federal Supreme Court and the National Congress in these processes.MethodsThe study’s primary method is document analysis. Our sample was established in 2021 and includes four court decisions and 93 law proposals presented from 2011 to 2020 by 83 legislators whose profiles are also analysed (data collected in 2021). Moreover, the article references secondary source interviews conducted in 2017 and 2018.ResultsThe Federal Supreme Court was responsible for all the LGBT rights recognized at the federal level in Brazil. Our data shows that federal legislators, on the other hand, have been unable to make bills focused on LGBT rights (pro or against) pass. Some highlights from the results show that 46.2% of the proposals on the matter are contrary to those rights, and 48.2% of the legislators who mobilize the matter are affiliated with the Evangelical Bench, an influential conservative institution in the Brazilian National Congress. Although not yet able to make law proposals pass, those legislators with a conservative profile tend to use LGBT rights as political currency by presenting bills or making speeches against these rights. They also play a role in not allowing pro-LGBT rights achievements in the legislative arena. Aware of the legislators’ profile, civil society organizations tend not to focus all their efforts on this arena and to take or create legal opportunities, even though the path through courts still represents several obstacles. Moreover, although the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court has shown a willingness to decide on LGBT rights, the outcomes of the rulings depend on the composition of the body, which is influenced by nominations made by the president. That is, the same court Brazil has relied on to recognize LGBT rights could be responsible for denying them had it had the same powers but different members.ConclusionsWhile the deadlock in the Federal Congress persists, and the judicial decisions that recognized LGBT rights remain effective, LGBT persons continue to exercise their conquered rights. However, the conservative wave in Brazil places the country in a context of uncertainty and vulnerability with regard to LGBT rights.Policy ImplicationsThis study’s contribution lies in showing why Brazil is an unpaired case when it comes to LGBT rights recognition and how vulnerable these conquered rights are in the country. The article provides an overview of the recognition processes taking multiple arenas and actors into account. Therefore, the analyses and the database of law proposals fill a gap in the literature and can contribute to future work from both scholars (for example, other studies from the database) and practitioners (for example, the development of legal mobilization frames and strategies).

The Battle Over Bostock: Dueling Presidential Administrations & the Need for Consistent and Reliable LGBT Rights

The Battle Over Bostock: Dueling Presidential Administrations & the Need for Consistent and Reliable LGBT Rights

Rural Identity and LGBT Public Opinion in the United States.

Opposition to LGBT rights remains a contemporary fixture within the United States in spite of increasingly liberalizing attitudes toward LGBT individuals. In this paper, I argue that a potentially overlooked factor driving this opposition is rural identity-or an individual's psychological attachment to a rural area. Using data from the 2020 ANES, I find that rural identity predicts less favorable estimations of LGBT individuals. Rural identifiers are also less likely to support pro-LGBT policy measures than nonrural identifiers. Nevertheless, I find the magnitude of the effects of rural identity on anti-LGBT views to be surprisingly small. It is also the case that, on average, rural identifiers exhibit net-positive estimations of LGBT individuals and are broadly supportive of LGBT rights, suggesting that elected officials enacting anti-LGBT legislation in rural areas of the United States are potentially out of step with the preferences of their electorate. These findings also have implications for what it means to hold a rural identity beyond a generalized animosity toward urban areas, and for understanding urban-rural divergences in US public opinion on issues such as LGBT rights.

Religious liberties or reading rainbows? The partisan implications of religious liberties frames in education attitudes

AbstractObjectiveMany state legislatures have moved to restrict LGBT students’ rights, and the Supreme Court has veered toward greater protection of religious free exercise protection over LGBT nondiscrimination policies. Some studies have found that rights framings are associated with heightened affective and attitudinal polarization, while others have argued that rights framings lead to greater tolerance. Do religious liberties frames affect policy attitudes or group affect? And are some groups’ use of religious liberties frames more persuasive?MethodsWe utilize data from a survey that experimentally varies candidate statements on inclusion of LGBT issues in schools using a religious liberties frame and by the group asserting religious liberties. We use the experiment to document the extent to which religious liberties framings shift support for restriction of LGBT rights in schools and affect toward religious and LGBT Americans.ResultsOur analysis suggests there are few direct effects, but that responses to religious liberties frames reflect debates within the parties about morality, social group conflict, and civic nationalism.ConclusionOur results add to the growing literature on religious liberty, and we argue that there is a need to understand why religious liberties frames produce effects in some circumstances but not in others.

Conflict and Coalition: Securing LGBT Rights in the Face of Hostility

Under what conditions do states protect minority rights in a context of domestic resistance? Recent decades have seen rapid divergence on LGBT rights worldwide, with Africa presented as “norms antipreneur” in the face of international pressure. Yet, in 1996, South Africa was the first country in the world to provide constitutional protection on grounds of sexual orientation. This article develops an original theory on LGBT rights protection using a conflict-to-rights framework. Employing process tracing, elite interviews and archival sources, I show how a situation of insurgency allows LGBT activists to build networks and increase egalitarian attitudes to attain in-group status. Continued violence also works to block public participation in policy-making while dividing opposition forces, allowing a tiny group of activists to effectively lobby for change.

“In a Religious Celebration”? The Religious Defense of LGBT Rights in U.S. Federal Courts

ABSTRACT This article advances scholarship on the relationship between sexuality, religion, and the law within the United States by analyzing case summaries and court opinions of the federal appellate cases decided between 1990 and 2020 that involve a religion-based claim being used to advance or defend gay and lesbian rights. Contrary to dominant public narratives that position religion uniformly in opposition to progressive sexual values, these cases show how Americans’ religious beliefs and practices include diverse sexual identities. We find that the courts’ reactions to such cases, however, illustrate the tension within legal discourse and hesitancy for the courts to equate religious and moral values with affirming LGBT identities, people, and rights. Our findings suggest that the courts and litigants define what religion is—and what it is not—by positioning it in relation to sexuality.

ʻThey’re not as MSM, they’re a buftaʼ: using the categories ʻmen who have sex with menʼ and ʻtransgenderʼ as technologies in Vanuatu

In Vanuatu, the use of the terms such as ʻmen who have sex with menʼ (MSM) and ʻtransgenderʼ has increased over the past decade. This paper draws on twenty months ethnographic research in Port Vila, the country’s capital, to analyse what happens on the ground when MSM and transgender categories are taken up to identify people or to narrate the self. The focus is on who uses these terms, in what ways they are experienced, and what is rendered visible (or not) by their use. This research departs from approaches framing ʻnon-heteronormativeʼ categories as related solely to gender and sexuality. It argues that MSM and transgender categories are used in various ways to refer not only to sexual practices and/or gender identity, but also to health risk behaviours, transactional sex and LGBT rights advocacy. The analysis offered suggests we view MSM and transgender categories as technologies that, depending on the interactional context, contribute to bureaucratic tasks or to maintaining or, on the contrary, changing established socio-political relations.

LGBT RIGHTS

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural SeriesVolume 60, Issue 5 p. 24044A-24044C Social and Cultural LGBT RIGHTS First published: 13 June 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-825X.2023.11097.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume60, Issue5June 2023Pages 24044A-24044C RelatedInformation

How Does Party Position Change Happen? The Case of LGBT Rights in the U.S.

A partisan divide over LGBT rights has emerged in the U.S. Yet unlike other issues on which the parties have traded places or polarized, most of the change on gay rights has occurred within one party, the Democrats. How did this unusual change occur? LGBT rights was originally a fringe cause, rejected by most politicians in both parties. As gay rights activists slowly became more prominent in the Democratic Party, many politicians adapted, abandoning earlier positions informed by their personal backgrounds and state or district constituencies. Meanwhile, incorporating the religious right led most Republicans to maintain the anti-LGBT rights stand that was once common to both parties, even as public opinion shifted. The result was a partisan divide in this issue area that had consequences for policy. The role of adaptation by incumbents in producing it—contrary to some prominent models—is evident in both Congressional co-sponsorship and roll-call data. The growing party divide is also evident in platforms. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of how party position change occurs.

Gender and sexuality in mental health: perspectives on lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) rights and mental health in the ASEAN region.

This perspective piece focuses on and analyzes several lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) individuals' rights and their limitations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, including the limited recognition of self-determined gender identity, limited legal provisions for LGBT marriage, inadequate anti-discrimination policies, and the criminalization of homosexuality. These inadequacies in LGBT rights may stem from colonial, religious, and cultural factors. Moreover, these limited LGBT rights and their societal repercussions may contribute to the minority stress of LGBT individuals, leading to their higher rates of mental health problems. Thus, there may be a need to uphold, recognize, and protect LGBT rights as the region pursue equitable mental health. Toward this pursuit, the region may possibly benefit from culturally adapting gender-affirming practices, increasing their social support, opposing the practice of conversion therapy, and decriminalizing homosexuality. It may also be necessary to explore, analyze, and study the intersection of LGBT identity and mental health, especially longitudinal and interventional studies.