Spheres of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Struggles

Abstract

This article puts forward a comparative feminist analysis of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues and strategies, and locates these within the diverse contexts of LGBT struggles in Asia. It engages identity politics by highlighting differences in experiences within the LGBT collective political identity. Analysis is based on the three preconference caucuses during the Third International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) Asia Regional Conference which was attended by around 160 LGBT activists, including activists from 16 countries in Asia. The authors analyze the results of three caucuses: the gay and bisexual male caucus, the lesbian and bisexual female caucus, and the transgender caucus. Using an ecological framework, four distinct yet interrelated spheres of LGBT struggles are identified from the caucuses: (a) the self, (b) family and peers, (c) community and/or social movements, and (d) formal institutions and/or social structures. The implications of this article to collective political organizing around LGBT identities focus on three main arguments: (a) the need for sensitivity to power relations within LGBT organizations, (b) the recognition of “specificity” rather than commonality in developing an LGBT agenda, and (c) the possibility of moving beyond identity politics toward “pluralist politics” in LGBT movements.

Key Words:

• LGBTs in Asia
• social movements
• pluralist politics
• specificity
• identity politics
• ILGA-Asia