Homonationalism
Homonationalism is the selective acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in order to promote a nationalist ideology. It describes a phenomenon in which some nations strategically show increased support for LGBTQ+ rights as a means of reinforcing racial, religious, and cultural hierarchies. The term explains how discourses of sexual inclusion and LGBTQ+ acceptance, particularly in Western contexts, are used to justify xenophobic, Islamophobic, or racist policies, often by portraying marginalized communities as inherently homophobic and Western nations as sexually progressive.
Theoretical context and development
The term "homonationalism" was coined by gender studies scholar Jasbir K. Puar in her 2007 book Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times. The term refers to how, in the context of Western modernity, liberal power structures co-opt certain LGBTQ+ rights discourses — typically centered on white, cisgender, citizen-identifying queer subjects — to construct a national identity that is portrayed as progressive and tolerant, while simultaneously justifying racist, xenophobic and aporophobic policies, particularly against Muslim communities. As a result, sexual diversity and LGBTQ+ rights are sometimes used to support political positions opposing immigration, a strategy that has become increasingly common among far-right parties.Homonationalist narratives often rely on orientalist and homophobic stereotypes that depict immigrants, especially those from Muslim-majority countries, as inherently intolerant and regressive, thereby reinforcing notions of a morally superior Western society. By that, these portrayals can be used to legitimize exclusionary practices, such as increased border security, surveillance and anti-immigration legislation. Puar describes the association between sexual rights with such nationalist aims as "form of sexual exceptionalism segregation and disqualification of racial and sexual others", a framework wherein only selected LGBTQ+ are incorporated into the national imaginary, while others are excluded or made invisible.
This dynamic has also been explored further by philosopher Judith Butler who in 2008 referred to it as a form of sexual politics. Butler argues that the promotion of progressive rights, such as same-sex marriage, is often used to cement national identity by contrastring liberal, secular, European norms with the perceived conservatism of migrant or Muslim populations.
The concept of homonationalism was developed to analyze and critique how LGBTQ+ movements have been incorporated into nationalist discourses, often alongside increasing anti-immigrant sentiment, while overlooking the continued presence of homophobia within Western societies. This critique includes how LGBTQ+ rights are frequently defined in terms of access to heteronormative institutions, e.g. military service and legal marriage while structural inequalities and ongoing homophobia within Western societies are often minimized. Claims of social equality in Western societies are often contrasted with countries that criminalize homosexuality or do not legally recognize same-sex marriages, particularly Muslim-majority nations, with such comparisons frequently used to reinforce civilizational hierarchies.
In her 2013 article, "Rethinking Homonationalism", Puar emphasizes that the concept should not be reduced to a critique of individual political actors, policies or solely as a description of "bad politics". Rather, she presents homonationalism not as an isolated phenomenon, but as a feature of modernity, embedded within broader systems of neoliberal governance, security frameworks, and capitalism, aligned with dominant Western societal constructions to uphold existing power structures.
Related concepts
Pinkwashing, also known as rainbow-washing
is the strategic promotion of LGBTQ+ rights by states or institutions to present themselves as progressive and tolerant, thereby diverting attention from other human rights abuses, particularly in the context of occupation, settler-colonialism, or militarization. The phrase gained popularity in discussions about Israel's public diplomacy, where Israel's support for LGBTQ+ rights is frequently cited while deflecting criticism of its treatment of Palestinians. Academics such as Maya Mikdashi and Sarah Schulman argue that such representations frame Israel a beacon of LGBTQ+ inclusivity, while portraying Palestinian Arab and/or Muslim societies as inherently homophobic, reinforcing orientalist and islamophobic assumptions.Femonationalism
Homonationalism should not be equated with femonationalism, introduced by sociologist Sara R. Farris in 2012, which describes how nationalist ideologies and neoliberal policies align with certain feminist discourses to justify anti-immigrant and Islamophobic agendas. Like homonationalism, femonationalism instrumentalizes progressive ideals; in this case, women's rights, to portray Muslim men or societies as inherently patriarchal and Western societies as fundamentally egalitarian. This logic can be mobilzed to legitimize restrictive immigration policies and sustain a narrative of Western moral superiority under the guise of aiming for progressive gender equality.Political applications
National identity
National identity narratives have been found to be influenced by homonationalism, especially in Western democracies where the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights is frequently linked to ideals of modernity, progress, and tolerance. These rights are occasionally juxtaposed with representations of immigrant, Muslim, or African communities as homophobic or patriarchal, often reinforcing national narratives that marginalize Indigenous and racialized communities even as the state celebrates LGBTQ+ inclusion. This contrast is seen as reinforcing hierarchies by portraying Western societies as sexually progressive. In this context, LGBTQ+ inclusion may function as a symbolic indicator of national belonging, while racialized or immigrant populations are positioned as others the normative boundaries of the nation. Some scholars also argue that homonationalism selectively integrates LGBTQ+ subjects into images of national belonging to project progressiveness and modernity, including via tourism or mega-sports event branding. For example, at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, "Pride Houses" promoted a narrative of Canadian inclusivity while the Games nonetheless occurred on unceded Indigenous land and amid protests from certain Indigenous groups, showing how queer visibility can be tied to settler-colonial governance or city marketing. In such contexts, scholars suggest that LGBTQ+ inclusive branding and marketing can "perform" national progress as an act to give off the "progressive" national image, even as Indigenous, racialized, and migrant communities still face stark unequalities and lack recognition.Anti-immigration and security
In Europe and North America, rightwing and populist parties have been using homonationalist language more and more to portray immigration as a danger to LGBTQ+ safety and gender rights. This framing has been found to resonate not only with conservative constituencies but also with segments of liberal and centrist voters. A study by sociologist Christopher A. Bail found that civil society organizations in the United States were more successful in influencing media and public discourse when they framed opposition to Muslim immigration in terms of protecting liberal values such as gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights, rather than relying on overtly nationalist or religious rhetoric. In this context, LGBTQ+ rights are used not for emancipatory reasons, but as a political tool to justify exclusionary border regimes and surveillance. This aligns with Michel Foucault's concept of Biopower, whereby state control is exercised through the regulation of bodies and populations, often in the name of protecting national values.A study on Populist Radical Right parties in 2021 Western Europe found that despite the increasing number of homonationalist ideas, voters who either identified as queer or expressed support for the LGBTQ+ rights did not necessarily align electorally with the PRR parties. Instead, many supported mainstream parties such as the Dutch VVD, which took a more moderate stance on immigration. However, alignment between homonationalist rhetoric and voting behavior was observed in Austria, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. The study did note that such narratives where absent in PRR parties in Central and Eastern Europe, where blatant homophobic political discourse remain mainstream.
An experimental study found that individuals exposed to anti-LGBTQ+ protest were significantly more likely to express support for LGBTQ+ plus rights when protesters were stereotypical depicted as Muslims, compared to when the protesters were presented as white people. Suggesting, that support for LGBTQ+ rights can be influenced by racial and religious framing.
Framing terrorism
In Terrorist Assemblages, Jasbir Puar argues that queerness is deployed within post-9/11 counterterrorism narratives in the United States and other Western contexts. Some queer people, especially white, cisgender and nationally assimilated people, are praised as modern, patriotic citizens, representative of liberal democracy. On the other hand, Muslim and racialized bodies, queer or not, are portrayed as abnormal, backward, or pro-terrorist. She writes that "sexual deviance is linked to the process of discerning, othering, and quarantining terrorist bodies, but these racially and sexually perverse figures also labor in the service of disciplining and normalizing subjects worthy of rehabilitation away from these bodies, in other words, signaling and enforcing the mandatory terms of patriotism". According to Puar, the binary logic of inclusion and exclusion, which is produced through both the securitization of Muslim bodies during the war on terror and the marginalization of queer bodies, has led to the conditional inclusion of certain LGBTQ+ individuals into the "U.S. national citizenship within a spatial-temporal domain" a process which she refers to as homonationalism, "short for 'homonormative nationalism.'"Abu Ghraib was a U.S. military prison in Iraq which was closed following citations of human rights violations committed against the detained. Pictures of some of the violations were sent to CBS news, creating a nationwide scandal in 2004. The photos taken depict sexual abuse, rape, and torture of the detainees. Much of the sexual abuse taking place simulated homosexual acts in a "culturally specific matrix of torture". The inclusion of homosexuality into an American national identity, homonationalism, was specifically employed in Abu Ghraib to torture and sexually and racially other the detainees. According to Puar, during this scandal, queer liberal news medias continued to other Muslim sexuality and identity.
Gaetano Venezia III argues homonationalist narratives were demonstrated in response to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida in 2016 which was the deadliest mass shooting in American history until the Las Vegas shooting the following year. Venezia argues this disregards historical shootings with more victims, "'...including race riots and labor disputes in the early 1900s and massacres perpetrated by the U.S. Army or settlers in the American West.' Thus, describing the Pulse shooting as the worst mass shooting obscures state violence, protects the image of the state, and minimizes or erases the oppression of indigenous people and racial minorities." Venezia argues that the responses to the Pulse shooting strengthen and protect not only the image of the state but its officials. "Police and politicians often get good press by expressing their sympathy and solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, even as they remain unapologetic and unresponsive in regards to oppressive policies and actions, like the Stonewall riots, abuse of trans folk, and restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights and protections."