Farewell: Barbara Hau’ofa
by Seona Smiles. Barbara Hau’ofa was a quiet, modest person who nonetheless justifiably stood out in a crowd. For a start she was extremely tall and slim. As her short chubby friend who was seen constantly in her company on the University of the South Pacific campus, I believe we were nicknamed ‘Bat and Ball’.
Sexual politics in June 2017
June is LGBTIQ Pride month worldwide. This SPW brief highlights events around the world, prioritizing parades and other demonstrations that are not captured by mainstream radars. In that regard, we also recommend the readers who read Spanish to peruse the new blog Orgullos Críticos which examines trends and traps implied in the growing normalization and pinkwashing of pride parades
Sexual politics in Ecuador in the 2000’s: a bird’s eye view
By María Amelia Viteri and Gabriel Ocampo. Homosexuality was criminalized in Ecuador until November, 1997[1]. As a result, until then, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons were considered criminals, could face imprisonment and were often tortured and even killed.
Queer Asia 2017 – Conference Review
By Matthew Waites. The Queer Asia conference has emerged as one of the most fresh and ground breaking conference events in global queer studies. The event is held at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, yet the organising team nevertheless managed to bring together presentations
The mountain delivered a pope
By João Manuel de Oliveira. The legend says that Portugal is a conservative country with a supposedly glorious past, whenever colonization and its engagement with the slave traffic eliminated from the equation. It is also described as a profoundly religious country, deeply marked by the influence of endemic Catholicism. Sociologists, using an equation
Sexual Politics in April and May 2017
In April and May, Brazilian crisis has deepened further more, prompting colossal political chaos which reverberated in sexual politics. Sonia Corrêa, SPW co-chair, assess the deep connections within the crisis regarding threats to abortion rights. Celebrations and good news came from around the world. In Bangkok, researchers and activists gathered
Brazil: under the shadows of chaos a major threat to abortion rights
As this highly volatile and complex political context was building up, PEC 29/2015, the Constitutional amendment on the right to life from conception — tabled by Senator Magno Malta in 2015 and dormant ever since in the Committee on Constitution and Justice — was re-introduced for rapid processing.
Sexual Politics in March and early April 2017
In March and early April, the abortion frontline in Latin America has been remarkably eventful, in positive ways. In Bolivia, the proposed revision of abortion
Brazil: Abortion rights at the Supreme Court
The criminalization of abortion by the 1940 Brazilian Penal Code is incompatible with women’s fundamental rights enshrined in the 1988 Federal Constitution. This premise grounds the petition presented to the Supreme Court (STF), on March 7th 2017
Brazil: Abortion lawsuit at the Supreme Court
By Sonia Corrêa On March 7, a lawsuit (ADPF 442) was filed at the Brazilian Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Penal Code’s