World, city, queer

Abstract

Scholars are now well attuned to the geographies of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) tolerance and intolerance across the world's countries. Yet, the ways in which the global and national dimensions of LGBT politics are tied to the world's cities have received limited attention; a particularly important omission since we have witnessed the stunning development whereby sexual difference is increasingly marshaled as a symbol of progress and modernity for the purposes of fostering national and urban competitiveness in various contexts. To frame the remaining papers in this symposium, this introductory article puts work on sexuality and the city into conversation with debates on global urbanism. It thus provides a framework for understanding the worlding of queerness that focuses on the relationships between globalization, urbanization and sexual politics.