Problem, Solution and Everything in Between An Essay on the Paradox of International Development Aid for LGBT Rights

The highly-celebrated human rights discourse has been instrumental in moving the discourse of LGBT issues to the centre. This inspire international development machines to expand interventions across the globe. However, these interventions have been characterizing LGBT people as monolithic which then translated into homogenous intervention model. This arguably influencing the way LGBT civil society movement is designed as site of development intervention. This research aims to deliver alternative representation of LGBT problems and proposed solution that have been constructed by international development intervention. Guided by post-development and Queer theory, this research applies Critical Discourse Analysis to assess selected texts produced by the ‘Being LGBTI in Asia’ program. Particularly, WPR approach developed by Carol Bacchi is employed to assess the representation, assumptions and silencing. The analysis showed that language of human rights violation has been used to grant warrant for the emerging of other discourses which reflect Western model of modernity. The life of LGBT people is used to problematize government’s incapability in creating enabling environment to sustain economic development. Thus, it is an economic project that value LGBT people as an instrument for economic prosperity. Furthermore, it is a political project that rely on the liberal democracy system where LGBT people is symbolized as the bearer of individual freedom. Consequently, LGBT civil society has been narrowly characterized as a working unit that serve specific role in the political process to establish legal framework. In the future, we need to further understand in which way the notion of LGBT movement hinders or creates civic space to acquire justice and equality. It is also important to investigate the cultural, social and political consequence of public exposure that garnered from the growing development investment for sexual right movement.