Transnationalising Lesbian and Gay Activism: The Birth of the International (Lesbian and) Gay Association (IGA-ILGA)

Unlike feminist movements, transnational lesbian and gay organisations have been poorly studied. This paper, which is part of a larger research project on the history of ILGA, examines the foundation of the organisation at a fringe meeting of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality held in Coventry in 1978. It looks more precisely into the reasons, which could explain why (mostly European) activists decided to establish such an organisation. ILGA is indeed a very intriguing case. Cross-border communication was then expensive and difficult, most national gay and lesbian organisations were not yet well established, and international institutions did not show much interest in sexuality issues. It will first briefly review the literature about the emergence of transnational social movements to highlight the specificities of ILGA. Then, it will show that, although ILGA may be regarded as the direct heir of older transnational LG organisations, its foundation relies on earlier transnational experiences. On the one hand, some of its founding members had been part of either the ISCE or the short-lived liberationist transnational movement, and the 1974 Edinburgh International Gay Rights Congress had further reinforced the will to launch a new Gay International. On the other hand, several of the founding members of ILGA were already closely connected. This was particularly the case of British-Irish and Scandinavian organisations, while the Dutch COC appears as a broker. Third, this paper will look at the importance of the human rights discourse within these organisations. Although international human rights institutions were not yet discussing homosexual rights, several activists were already convinced it was the way to go. They were however initially less interested in the United Nations than in the Council of Europe and the European Economic Communities. Finally, this paper will look at the balance between feelings of solidarity and self-interest.