Navigating queerphobia and anti-gender narratives in a politicised world

31.01.2025 12:00 - 13:30English

What strategies do queer activists and allies adopt and to what extent are they successful?

Torn fabric in rainbow colours Photo: Katie Rainbow on Unsplash

Queerphobia has become an issue of political contestation across the world. Transnational groups and governments, including those in Western countries influenced by leaders like Trump, mobilise against LGBTQ+ rights using rhetoric that claims gender non-conformity would somehow undermine the family and corrupt children.

Queer identities and practices are, therefore, increasingly subject to (re)criminalisation and political hostility. Queer activists have to develop strategies and adapt to complex political landscapes.

How do queer activists manoeuvre “anti-gender” narratives that seek to erase their existence, while curtailing their socio-political participation? What strategies do queer activists and allies adopt and to what extent are they successful?

Panel
Ayo Sogunro (author, essayist and human rights lawyer), Matthew Gichohi (Post Doctoral Researcher, CMI) and Liv Tønnessen (Senior researcher, CMI).

The event is free and open to all.

The seminar is part of the RDV series, a collaboration between the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism and the Centre on Law and Social Transformation at the University of Bergen. The RDV-webinar series is an interdisciplinary webinar where national and international researchers are invited to talk about their pioneering research on topics regarding law, democracy, and welfare. It is also part of the PhD course on Gendered Autocratization at the Department of Government, UiB.

Event info.

Bergen Global
Jekteviksbakken 31, Bergen

31.01.2025
12:00 - 13:30
English
Add to calendar 31.01.2025, 31.01.2025

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Ayo Sogunro
Ayo Sogunro
Author, essayist and human rights lawyer

Ayo Sogunro is a lawyer, scholar-activist, and writer known for his unwavering commitment to advancing LGBTIQ+ rights and democratic freedoms across Africa.

Read more
Matthew Gichohi
Post Doctoral Researcher, CMI

Matthew Gichohi is a political scientist focusing on democratisation and identity politics with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Read more
Liv Tønnessen
Senior researcher, CMI

Liv Tønnessen is senior researcher at CMI and director of Center on Law and Social Transformation.

Read more

Ayo Sogunro

Author, essayist and human rights lawyer
Ayo Sogunro

Ayo Sogunro is a lawyer, scholar-activist, and writer known for his unwavering commitment to advancing LGBTIQ+ rights and democratic freedoms across Africa.

Sogunro has over fifteen years of experience spanning legal practice, academic research, and public advocacy. He is currently a Research Scholar at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University and additionally consults as a social entrepreneur and human rights worker.

Sogunro leverages his skills as a lawyer and writer for the benefit of governmental and non-governmental organisations. He is known for his work in social advocacy and for the protection of civil rights and the rights of sexual minorities in Nigeria.

Matthew Gichohi

Post Doctoral Researcher, CMI

Matthew Gichohi is a political scientist focusing on democratisation and identity politics with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Gichohi’s research studies how processes of democratization are affected by social identities and the norms that surround them. For example, his work considers how ethnic and gender identities are created, practiced and reinforced to affect political participation and representation. Gichohi studies these issues using a variety of methods from survey experiements to participant observation. He is also involved in the ‘Assisting Regional Universities in Sudan’  programme (ARUS), funded by Norwegian MFA.

Gichohi  is also a co-convener of the U4 Gender and Corruption course with Monica Kirya.

Liv Tønnessen

Senior researcher, CMI

Liv Tønnessen is senior researcher at CMI and director of Center on Law and Social Transformation.

See personal profile.

Bergen Global is a joint initiative between the University of Bergen and Chr. Michelsen Institute that addresses global challenges.