Queer nationalism is a phenomenon related both to thegay and lesbian liberation movement andnationalism. Adherents of this movement support the notion that theLGBT community forms a distinct people due to theirunique culture and customs.
The homophobic aspect of many cultures has led to increasing frustration and a wish to separate from a perceived hostile heterosexual majority.[1] These feelings found their expression in 1990 with the establishment ofQueer Nation, a radical organization best known for its slogan "We're here. We're queer. Get used to it".[2]
In 1969, gay activist Don Jackson from California proposed to take overAlpine County, California—a project also known asStonewall Nation.[3]
The first attempt to make territorial claims was made in 2004 by a group of Australian gay activists who declared the tiny islands ofCato Reef to be theGay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands and Dale Parker Anderson to be the Emperor. Following the 2005 disagreements within the group, the Gay and Lesbian Commonwealth Kingdom and Unified Gay Tribe have cancelled their affiliation to Anderson. Some other groups with similar causes exist, e.g. theGay Homeland Foundation[4] and amicronation called Gay Parallel Republic.[citation needed]
In 2007, Garrett Graham published a plan and constitution for a gay state,[5] connected toTheodor Herzl'sJewish state ("Herzl's words, messages and concepts live on in ... The Gay State").[6]
The gay rights activist group thePink Panthers Movement (PPM) in Denver, Colorado, as well as their charters/chapters throughout the United States, including a large group located in Fresno, California, have identified themselves not only as radical and militant but also as queer nationalists.[citation needed] These formed several small parties throughout the United States and Canada that stand in solidarity only to those that identify as supporters of the old Queer Nation.[citation needed]
An advanced analysis was published 1996 by Brian Walker.[7] In his article "Social Movements as Nationalisms, or, On the Very Idea of a Queer Nation", Walker points out that several features of the nationalistic creation ofcultural identity apply to the LGBT national movement as well. Walker classifies queer nationalism as one of the new cultural forms of nationalism which are distinct from the old ethnic and religious types of nationalism and concludes that the gay and lesbian community fulfils many criteria to be regarded as a people for the following reasons:
Walker regards modern communication technologies such as theInternet as offering a chance for the LGBT community to further integrate as a non-territorial nation.
This thesis is supported by Paul Treanor, who considers an alternative (non-nationalist) world order possible. In this context, Treanor mentions the LGBT community as a "non-territorial nationalist movement".[8]
Will Kymlicka acknowledges that LGBT people have developed a group identity and group culture similar to those of ethnocultural groups, but he argues in favor of integration instead of separatism.[9]
