A Critical Analysis of the Public Sphere: How the LGBTQ Movement Utilizes and Occupies Space in Morocco

Authors

Katherine Hirsch, SIT Graduate Institute - Study AbroadFollow

Home Institution

Tufts University

Publication Date

Spring 2016

Program Name

Morocco: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of the LGBTQ movement in Morocco in relation to the theoretical concept of the public sphere. Specifically, it explores what spaces LGBTQ organizations, which do not have access to the public sphere in Morocco, occupy in order to pursue activism. Theory surrounding the public sphere and collective social movements is very much based on a Western perspective, despite claims of universalism. Western theory defines modern social movements by collective action, a unified movement, occupying and the public sphere as a site of resistance. However, this fails to recognize the fact that many people in semi-authoritarian and repressive states are deprived of the ability to access collective, or even public, forms of political dissent. This scholarly work will attempt to address the LGBTQ movement and how it operates separate from such Western conceptions by exploring the tactics and actions of LGBTQ organizations. Furthermore, the paper will explore if the actions of these organizations have an impact on the public sphere and discourse in Morocco.

Disciplines

Family, Life Course, and Society | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Inequality and Stratification | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Near and Middle Eastern Studies | Politics and Social Change | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social Welfare

Recommended Citation

Hirsch, Katherine, "A Critical Analysis of the Public Sphere: How the LGBTQ Movement Utilizes and Occupies Space in Morocco" (2016). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2380.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2380