Homonationalism/Ablenationalism: Biophilanthropy in the Global South

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Queer and Trans Advocacy: Rethinking Where and How It Can Happen

Abstract

This paper combines Queer Studies scholar Jasbir Puar’s concept of Homonationalism and Disability Studies scholars David Mitchell and Sharon Snyder’s concept of Ablenationalism to bear on Non-Governmental Educational Organizations focused on acceptance and inclusion of queer and disabled youth in the global south. I argue that international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that focus on queer rights or disablity rights in the global south operate under a biopolitical logic, one that extends the control of the State, under the guise of rights, recognition and inclusion. I analyze two case studies of international education NGOs—Inclusion International and The Global Alliance for LGBT Education—in order to illustrate how queerness and disability can form alliances with Imperialist projects, while simultaneously signaling liberal progressivism.

Author

• Robin Roscigno, Rutgers University