Is development work still so straight? Heteronormativity in the development sector over a decade on

Eleven years ago, I published an article in this journal detailing the ways that international development work was heteronormative, assuming heterosexual gender stereotyped household models and framing sexuality as a problem of ill-health or violence, rather than a potentially pleasurable contributor to well-being. Over a decade later, while the sector is largely still heteronormative, LGBTI and sexual pleasure have now made an entry into development discourses. However, they have both been co-opted at least to some degree to reinforce other intersecting axes of inequality. A more productive frame for addressing sexuality would be an integrated sexual rights and sexuality politics approach.