The focus for this week is the status of queer people in international organizations and development projects. Lind argues that through conscious effort international organizations positions people who defy heteronormative gender and sexual norms as visible or invisible. This strategic placement of queer people helps their agenda of governing intimacy in order to further a specific development narrative; which founds itself in heterosexuality and traditional gender norms. Lind mentions the World Bank 's internal stance concerning queer employees, which is the focus of Gosine 's article about GLOBE. Gosine 's objective is to understand the value behind an LGBTQ+ organization in the World Bank, and how the presence of this group influences
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Gosine illustrates that the World Bank cannot foster a completely safe queer community within the organization and therefore struggles to adequately serve queer communities in their initiatives. Her argument boils down to the idea of what it means to "queer development" and if that is an appeal to make space for queers in development, or rather the call for a "radical rethinking of development" (83). The piece by Currier explores what queer organizations are achieving in South Africa for Black LGBTI people. The author argues that instead of adding new queer focused elements to development projects foreign agencies should fund local LGBTI groups. Currier specifically looks at Behind the Mask and their achievements in making the world safer and more conscious of the needs of the local queer communities. However, Currier is not blind to the unequal power relations, restrictions to funding, or cultural norms that hinder such organizations legitimacy and success. Bergeron examines how heteronormativity hurts the economic development of queer people in household/familial situations; specifically in the ways international organizations normalize western ideas of gender and …show more content…
I would add on to this argument by stating that it is not the issue queer people really care about in most countries. "Gay Marriage" is the poster-child of a "first-world problem" for the LGBT community(ies). Marriage is great for Western White gays, but it is not a queer issue. Gay people and queer people are inherently different in terms of gender, race, class, and sexuality and therefore do not experience the world uniformly. As Currier states when you are faced with homelessness, racism, heterosexism, economic discrimination and violence your existence is about surviving not about getting married. As Dark Matter said last night at their performance queer people, specifically trans* and genderqueer people of color, are being murdered everyday here and across the world, when you are trying to survive marriage is not a concern. The blatant and constant violence, or fear of violence, that queer people of color face daily is the real issue for LGBTQ+ people across the globe. Gay organizations involvement in development means nothing, in my opinion, if they are overlooking the horrific acts being committed in the hopes of passing marriage equality and anti-discrimination
Gosine illustrates that the World Bank cannot foster a completely safe queer community within the organization and therefore struggles to adequately serve queer communities in their initiatives. Her argument boils down to the idea of what it means to "queer development" and if that is an appeal to make space for queers in development, or rather the call for a "radical rethinking of development" (83). The piece by Currier explores what queer organizations are achieving in South Africa for Black LGBTI people. The author argues that instead of adding new queer focused elements to development projects foreign agencies should fund local LGBTI groups. Currier specifically looks at Behind the Mask and their achievements in making the world safer and more conscious of the needs of the local queer communities. However, Currier is not blind to the unequal power relations, restrictions to funding, or cultural norms that hinder such organizations legitimacy and success. Bergeron examines how heteronormativity hurts the economic development of queer people in household/familial situations; specifically in the ways international organizations normalize western ideas of gender and …show more content…
I would add on to this argument by stating that it is not the issue queer people really care about in most countries. "Gay Marriage" is the poster-child of a "first-world problem" for the LGBT community(ies). Marriage is great for Western White gays, but it is not a queer issue. Gay people and queer people are inherently different in terms of gender, race, class, and sexuality and therefore do not experience the world uniformly. As Currier states when you are faced with homelessness, racism, heterosexism, economic discrimination and violence your existence is about surviving not about getting married. As Dark Matter said last night at their performance queer people, specifically trans* and genderqueer people of color, are being murdered everyday here and across the world, when you are trying to survive marriage is not a concern. The blatant and constant violence, or fear of violence, that queer people of color face daily is the real issue for LGBTQ+ people across the globe. Gay organizations involvement in development means nothing, in my opinion, if they are overlooking the horrific acts being committed in the hopes of passing marriage equality and anti-discrimination