2012/06/06 by Aleardo Zanghellini
Psychology · Social Sciences · #African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues #Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
paper · doi:10.1177/0964663911435282
openalex publication_date 2012/06/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
The concept of ‘homonationalism’ refers to deployments of gay rights for racist and Islamophobic ends, resulting in the consolidation of more sexually inclusive, but racially exclusionary, ideas of citizenship. This article critiques some of the analyses that the concept has inspired in both activist and academic contexts. The critique concentrates on two texts, showing that they make inappropriate rhetorical moves and inaccurate or unsubstantiated claims, and that rather than unearthing structural undercurrents of racism from certain texts or events, they project such structures onto them. While the validity of ‘homonationalism’ as an analytical category is not disputed, some of its propounders assume its explanatory power to be greater than it appears to be. The implications of this critique for gay rights activism and reform are explored.