This briefing note discusses the shifts in recognition of sexual diversity in development over the past 15 years. Gosine outlines some of the pressing challenges facing the rise in recognition of sexual diversity in development and the importance of understanding these challenges, critiquing the existing structure and how the development field can restore the humanity in the world’s population of “the poor.”
The briefing note begins with a consideration of the ‘rescue’ narrative surrounding sexual and gender diversity in the Global South. Gosine asks what underlies NGO’s of the Global North to “rescue” the diverse sexual communities of the Global South and draws parallels between the nexus that exists between the global North and South.
Gosine then discusses that while portrayals of sexual and gender diversity in popular tv and film has increased in the Global South, these portrayals reinforce existing narratives around wealth, poverty, and sexual orientatoin.
The briefing note concludes with a call for more complexity in the recognition and discussion of sexual diversity in the Global South.
