Speaking for the Unheard
A quantitative examination of the marginalization of the scholarship of LGBTQ+ issues in the Global South
Copyright (c) 2025 Gergely Ferenc Lendvai
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of restrictive environments on LGBTQ+ scholarship in the Global South, focusing on publication patterns, research themes and the role of international collaboration in enhancing research visibility. Analysis was conducted on data from 57 countries over a 30-year period (1993–2023) from Scopus using bibliometric and network analyses to explore the barriers scholars face when addressing LGBTQ+ issues in regions where these topics are socially or politically censored. The findings reveal a steady increase in LGBTQ+ research from the Global South, with a strong focus on identity and health-related themes, while political and legal discussions remain underrepresented. Collaborations with Global North scholars significantly boost visibility and citation impact, although issues of equitable power sharing within these collaborations persist.
The study concludes that international partnerships, while crucial in amplifying marginalised voices, must ensure equitable contributions from scholars in the Global South to promote a more inclusive and balanced body of knowledge.
Keywords:
How to Cite
References
Abramo, G., D’Angelo, C. A. & Di Costa, F. (2009). Research Collaboration and Productivity: Is There Correlation? Higher Education, 57(2), 155–171. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9139-z
Abu-Assab, N. & Nasser-Eddin, N. (2023). LGBTQ Education in Arabic-Speaking Countries and Beyond: The Appropriation of Intersectionality and Decolonial Thought. Comparative Education Review, 67(3), 615–629. Online: https://doi.org/10.1086/725443
Aguado-López, E., Becerril-García, A. & Bustamante, M. C. A. (2016). Universitas Psychologica: un camino hacia la internacionalización. Universitas Psychologica, 15(2), 321–338. Online: https://doi.org/10.11144/javeriana.upsy15-2.upci
Alonso-Álvarez, P. (2024). Exploring Research Quality and Journal Representation: A Comparative Study of African Journals Online, Scopus, and Web of Science. Research Evaluation, 33. Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvae057
AmI Report. (2023). Human rights in Türkiye. Amnesty International. Online: https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/western-central-and-south-eastern-europe/turkiye/report-turkiye/
Bernot, A., Yang, F. & Davies, S. E. (2024). ‘The Glowing Fireflies’: Invisible Activism under China’s Queer Necropolitics. Convergence. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565241288466
Biroli, F. (2018). Reação conservadora, democracia e conhecimento. Revista de Antropologia, 61(1), 83–94. Online: https://doi.org/10.11606/2179-0892.ra.2018.145515
Borgstrom, M. (2020). The Last Closet: LGBTQ+ Studies and Social Class. Journal of Homosexuality, 67(3), 367–383. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1530884
Brigham, T. J. (2014). An Introduction to Altmetrics. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 33(4), 438–447. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2014.957093
Brito, A. C. M., Silva, F. N. & Amancio, D. R. (2023). Analyzing the Influence of Prolific Collaborations on Authors Productivity and Visibility. Scientometrics, 128(4), 2471–2487. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04669-7
Butler, J. (2004). Undoing Gender. Routledge. Online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203499627
Chitando, E. & Mateveke, P. (2017). Africanizing the Discourse on Homosexuality: Challenges and Prospects. Critical African Studies, 9(1), 124–140. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2017.1285243
Clark, A. M. (2001). Diplomacy of Conscience. Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms. Princeton University Press.
Collyer, F. (2012). Sociology, Sociologists and Core–Periphery Reflections. Journal of Sociology, 50(3), 252–268. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783312448687
Cui, L. (2023a). Heteronormative Classrooms under Surveillance: Gay Academics’ Concerns about Addressing Queer Issues in China. Journal of LGBT Youth, 20(1), 129–142. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2021.1997692
Cui, L. (2023b). ‘Chinese Academia Wouldn’t Be Tolerant of My Research’: Gay Academics’ Concerns about Conducting Queer Research in China. Culture Health & Sexuality, 25(4), 459–474. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2022.2053750
Cui, Y., Yamashita, N. & Lee, Y. (2022). “We Gather Together We Collaborate Together”: Exploring the Challenges and Strategies of Chinese Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Online Communities on Weibo. Proceedings of the ACM on Human–Computer Interaction, 6(CSCW2), 1–31. Online: https://doi.org/10.1145/3555148
Dawson, M. C. (2020). Rehumanising the University for an Alternative Future: Decolonisation, Alternative Epistemologies and Cognitive Justice. Identities, 27(1), 71–90. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289x.2019.1611072
Day, C. M. (2023). Decolonial Homophobia: Is Decolonisation Incompatible with LGBT+ Affirmation in Christian Ethics? Studies in Christian Ethics, 37(1), 71–92. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/09539468231215304
Demeter, M. (2019). The World-Systemic Dynamics of Knowledge Production: The Distribution of Transnational Academic Capital in the Social Sciences. Journal of World-Systems Research, 25(1), 111–144. Online: https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2019.887
Demeter, M. (2020). Academic Knowledge Production and the Global South. Springer. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52701-3
Demeter, M., Vozab, D. & Boj, F. J. S. (2023). From Westernization to Internationalization: Research Collaboration Networks of Communication Scholars from Central and Eastern Europe. International Journal of Communication, 17, 1211–1231.
Elango, B. (2018). Growth of Scientific Publications: An Analysis of Top Ten Countries. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1. Online: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5313&context=libphilprac
Engeli, I. (2020). Gender and Sexuality Research in the Age of Populism: Lessons for Political Science. European Political Science, 19(2), 226–235. Online: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-019-00223-3
Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic Injustice. Power and the Ethics of Knowing. Oxford University Press. Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198237907.001.0001
Gençay, G., Birben, Ü. & Aydın, A. (2019). To Be “A Developed Country” or Not to Be? The Effect of the Paris Agreement on Turkish Forest Law. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 191(4). Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7379-2
Goering, C. (2006). Amnesty International and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. In D. A. Bell & J.-M. Coicaud (Eds.), Ethics in Action. The Ethical Challenges of International Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations (pp. 204–217). Cambridge University Press. Online: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511511233.014
Grundy, J. & Smith, M. (2007). Activist Knowledges in Queer Politics. Economy and Society, 36(2), 294–317. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/03085140701254324
Hallward, M. C. (2008). Situating the “Secular”: Negotiating the Boundary between Religion and Politics. International Political Sociology, 2(1), 1–16. Online: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-5687.2007.00030.x
Hanafizadeh, P. & Marjaie, S. (2020). Trends and Turning Points of Banking: A Timespan View. Review of Managerial Science, 14(6), 1183–1219. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-019-00337-4
HRW (2024). World Report 2024. China. Human Rights Watch. Online: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/china#e81181
Izugbara, C., Sebany, M., Wekesah, F. & Ushie, B. (2022). “The SDGs are not God”: Policy‐Makers and the Queering of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. Development Policy Review, 40(2). Online: https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12558
Janoff, D. V. (2022). From Western Deviance to Homonormativity: Theories of Sexuality and Sexual Diversity Politics. In Queer Diplomacy. Global Queer Politics (pp. 19–39). Palgrave Macmillan. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07341-0_2
Johnson, P., & Vanderbeck, R. M. (2014). Law, Religion and Homosexuality. Routledge. Online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203427507
Kelland, L. (2018). Public History and Queer Memory. In D. Romesburg (Ed.), The Routledge History of Queer America (pp. 371–381). Routledge. Online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315747347
Khlusova, A. (2017). Legitimising Political Homophobia: Sexual Minorities and Russian Television News. In R. S. Sabido (Ed.), Representing Communities. Discourse and Contexts (pp. 97–116). Palgrave Macmillan. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65030-2_6
Kollman, K. & Waites, M. (2009). The Global Politics of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Human Rights: An Introduction. Contemporary Politics, 15(1), 1–17. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569770802674188
Kortegast, C. A., Jaekel, K. S., & Nicolazzo, Z. (2020). Thirty Years of LGBTQ Pre-Publication Knowledge Production in Higher Education Research: A Critical Summative Content Analysis of ASHE Conference Sessions. Journal of Homosexuality, 68(10), 1639–1663. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2019.1702351
Kováts, E. (2018). Questioning Consensuses: Right-Wing Populism, Anti-Populism, and the Threat of ‘Gender Ideology.’ Sociological Research Online, 23(2), 528–538. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780418764735
Lax, J. R. & Phillips, J. H. (2009). Gay Rights in the States: Public Opinion and Policy Responsiveness. American Political Science Review, 103(3), 367–386. Online: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003055409990050
Li, W. & De Costa, P. I. (2020). Problematizing Enterprise Culture in Global Academic Publishing: Linguistic Entrepreneurship through the Lens of Two Chinese Visiting Scholars in a U.S. University. Multilingua, 40(2), 225–250. Online: https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2020-0036
Liberali, F. C. (2024). Decolonizing Academic Spaces: Challenges and Responsibilities. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 1–5. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2024.2440076
Liu, S. (2022). Negotiating the Non-Negotiable. Debating Transgender Issues on Chinese Social Media. In Pain, P. (Ed.), LGBTQ Digital Cultures. A Global Perspective (pp. 101–115). Routledge. Online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003196457-8
Liu, Y., Ma, J., Song, H., Qian, Z. & Lin, X. (2021). Chinese Universities’ Cross-Border Research Collaboration in the Social Sciences and Its Impact. Sustainability, 13(18). Online: https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810378
Mellini, L. (2009). Entre normalisation et hétéronormativité : la construction de l’identité homosexuelle. Déviance et Société, 33(1), 3–26. Online: https://doi.org/10.3917/ds.331.0003
Menon, S., Green, C., Charbonneau, I., Lehtomäki, E. & Mafi, B. (2021). Approaching Global Education Development with a Decolonial Lens: Teachers’ Reflections. Teaching in Higher Education, 26(7–8), 937–952. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1941845
Merton, R. K. (1968). The Matthew Effect in Science. Science, 159(3810), 56–63. Online: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.159.3810.56
Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, Social Stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674–697. Online: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674
Moreno, A., Ardila, R., Zervoulis, K., Nel, J. A., Light, E. & Chamberland, L. (2020). Cross-cultural Perspectives of LGBTQ Psychology from Five Different Countries: Current State and Recommendations. Psychology and Sexuality, 11(1–2), 5–31. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2019.1658125
Moussawi, G. (2015). (Un)critically Queer Organizing: Towards a More Complex Analysis of LGBTQ Organizing in Lebanon. Sexualities, 18(5–6), 593–617. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460714550914
Nagoshi, J. L., Brzuzy, S. & Terrell, H. K. (2012). Deconstructing the Complex Perceptions of Gender Roles, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation among Transgender Individuals. Feminism & Psychology, 22(4), 405–422. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353512461929
Norris, P. & Inglehart, R. (2011). Sacred and Secular. Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge University Press. Online: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511894862
Odeny, B. & Bosurgi, R. (2022). Time to End Parachute Science. PLoS Medicine, 19(9). Online: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004099
Ozbay, C. (2021). Living Like a Hetero: Southern Homonormativity in Istanbul. Sexualities, 25(8), 1058–1076. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607211014477
Parmenter, J. G., Galliher, R. V. & Maughan, A. D. A. (2020). An Exploration of LGBTQ+ Community Members’ Positive Perceptions of LGBTQ+ Culture. The Counseling Psychologist, 48(7), 1016–1047. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000020933188
Payumo, J., He, G., Manjunatha, A. C., Higgins, D. & Calvert, S. (2021). Mapping Collaborations and Partnerships in SDG Research. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 5. Online: https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2020.612442
Pető, A. (2021). Feminist Stories from an Illiberal State: Revoking the License to Teach Gender Studies in Hungary at a University in Exile (CEU). In K. Bluhm, G. Pickhan, J. Stypińska & A. Wierzcholska (Eds.), Gender and Power in Eastern Europe. Changing Concepts of Femininity and Masculinity in Power Relations (pp. 35–44). Springer. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53130-0_4
Radics, G. (2019). “First World Problems” in the “Third World”? LGBT Rights in Singapore. In P. Ciocchini & G. Radics (Eds.), Criminal Legalities in the Global South. Cultural Dynamics, Political Tensions, and Institutional Practices (pp. 33–52). Routledge. Online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429459764-5
Raj, R. & Sahoo, B. K. (2024). A Scientometric Exploration of Multidisciplinary Food Security Research in India: Trends and Patterns. Journal of Scientometric Research, 13(2), 547–561. Online: https://doi.org/10.5530/jscires.13.2.43
Reinhardt, S. (2023). Discourse Coalitions against Gender and Sexual Equality: Antifeminism as a Common Denominator between the Radical Right and the Mainstream? Feminist Media Studies, 23(6), 2831–2848. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2022.2093937
Repinskiy, O. D. (2020). Information and Telecommunications Technologies as One of the Factors of Russia’s Strategic Development. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1661(1). Online: https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1661/1/012075
Richards, C., Bouman, W. P. & Barker, M. (Eds.). (2017). Genderqueer and Non-Binary Genders. Palgrave Macmillan. Online: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51053-2
Riehl, K. (2024). On the Scientometric Value of Full-Text, beyond Abstracts and Titles: Evidence from the Business and Economic Literature. Management Review Quarterly. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-024-00439-8
Rosky, C. J. (2017). Anti-Gay Curriculum Laws. Columbia Law Review, 177(6), 1461–1542.
Russell, S. T., Bishop, M. D. & Fish, J. N. (2023). Expanding Notions of LGBTQ+. Annual Review of Sociology, 49(1), 281–296. Online: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-030320-032256
Sanders, D. (1996). Getting Lesbian and Gay Issues on the International Human Rights Agenda. Human Rights Quarterly, 18(1), 67–106. Online: https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.1996.0010
Sansal, B. (2021). LGBTQ Rights in Turkey: Do Not Touch My Body! In H. Aydin & W. Langley (Eds.), Human Rights in Turkey. Assaults on Human Dignity (pp. 141–155). Springer. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57476-5_7
Scicchitano, D. (2019). The “Real” Chechen Man: Conceptions of Religion, Nature, and Gender and the Persecution of Sexual Minorities in Postwar Chechnya. Journal of Homosexuality, 68(9), 1545–1562. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2019.1701336
Settles, I. H., Warner, L. R., Buchanan, N. T. & Jones, M. K. (2020). Understanding Psychology’s Resistance to Intersectionality Theory Using a Framework of Epistemic Exclusion and Invisibility. Journal of Social Issues, 76(4), 796–813. Online: https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12403
Smith, D. R. (2009). The Continuing Rise of Contact Dermatitis, Part 2: The Scientific Journal. Contact Dermatitis, 61(4), 194–200. Online: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0536.2009.01609.x
Solomon, H. & Bekker, S. (2023). Intersectionality and LGBTIQ+ Rights. A Comparative Analysis of Iran, Turkey, and Egypt. Nova. Online: https://doi.org/10.52305/taqn7486
Steinberg, G. M. & Herzberg, A. (2018). NGO Fact-Finding for IHL Enforcement: In search of a New Model. Israel Law Review, 51(2), 261–299. Online: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021223718000079
Stek, P. E. & Van Geenhuizen, M. S. (2016). The Influence of International Research Interaction on National Innovation Performance: A Bibliometric Approach. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 110, 61–70. Online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.09.017
Swiebel, J. (2009). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Human Rights: The Search for an International Strategy. Contemporary Politics, 15(1), 19–35. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569770802674196
Thelwall, M. (2008). Bibliometrics to Webometrics. Journal of Information Science, 34(4), 605–621. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551507087238
Wagaman, M. A. (2016). Self-definition as Resistance: Understanding Identities among LGBTQ Emerging Adults. Journal of LGBT Youth, 13(3), 207–230. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2016.1185760
Waisbord, S. & Mellado, C. (2014). De-westernizing Communication Studies: A Reassessment. Communication Theory, 24(4), 361–372. Online: https://doi.org/10.1111/comt.12044
Wang, J., Frietsch, R., Neuhäusler, P. & Hooi, R. (2024). International Collaboration Leading to High Citations: Global Impact or Home Country Effect? Journal of Informetrics, 18(4). Online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2024.101565
Wilkinson, C. (2014). Putting “Traditional Values” into Practice: The Rise and Contestation of Anti-Homopropaganda Laws in Russia. Journal of Human Rights, 13(3), 363–379. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2014.919218
Wilson, A. R. (2009). The ‘Neat Concept’ of Sexual Citizenship: A Cautionary Tale for Human Rights Discourse. Contemporary Politics, 15(1), 73–85. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569770802674220
Woldegiyorgis, A. A., Proctor, D. & De Wit, H. (2018). Internationalization of Research: Key Considerations and Concerns. Journal of Studies in International Education, 22(2), 161–176. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318762804
Wu, Z. & Ren, Y. (2019). A Bibliometric Review of Past Trends and Future Prospects in Urban Heat Island Research from 1990 to 2017. Environmental Reviews, 27(2), 241–251. Online: https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2018-0029
Yılmaz, V. & Göçmen, İ. (2016). Denied Citizens of Turkey: Experiences of Discrimination among LGBT Individuals in Employment, Housing and Health Care. Gender, Work and Organization, 23(5), 470–488. Online: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12122
Funding: TKP2021-NKTA-51 has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the TKP2021-NKTA funding scheme.