Empires of Intolerance: Colonial Legacies and Attitudes Toward Homosexuality in the Global South
- Starts: 12:00 pm on Friday, March 29, 2024
- Ends: 1:30 pm on Friday, March 29, 2024
Public opinion toward gay and lesbian people and related policy issues varies widely
across the Global South. In some countries, large majorities express tolerant opinions,
whereas in many others, homophobia is widespread. The predominant explanation for
cross-national variation in attitudes toward homosexuality concerns levels of economic
development. In contrast, this paper considers a heretofore neglected factor: colonial
heritage. Examining Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, we show that former
British colonies consistently express more intolerance of homosexuality than would be
expected based on their national wealth, whereas former Spanish and Portuguese
countries are more tolerant. We consider two possible mechanisms for the effect of
colonial heritage on present-day attitudes: the (de)criminalization of sodomy, which
affects the likelihood of contact with openly gay and lesbian people, and a country’s
religious composition and religiosity. Based on multi-level analysis of the Afrobarometer
and AmericasBarometer surveys, the paper will test the explanatory power of colonial
heritage versus other more conventional explanations for attitudes toward
homosexuality in the Global South.
- Speaker(s)
- Taylor C. Boas and Caden Browne
- Event Open To
- public
- Building
- Pardee School of Global Studies, 154 Bay State Road
- Room
- 2nd floor (Eilts Room)
- Show Fees
- free
- Contact Organization
- Institute on Culture, Religion & World Affairs
- Contact Name
- Jennifer Hunter
- Information Phone
- 617-353-5241
- Contact Email
- cura@bu.edu
- Show Who
- yes
- Show Contact
- yes