“Let’s Better (Not) Talk About Sex(uality)”: Shifts and Contestation of Sexuality Norms in UN Governance

In the context of global populism and autocratization, transnational anti-gender networks increasingly shape international organizations and intergovernmental forums. Rather than rejecting these institutions, state and non-state actors strategically polarize international norms on gender and sexuality, seeking to establish an alternative normative framework grounded in biological essentialism, national sovereignty, population objectives, and traditional family values. This paper traces to what extent normative frameworks—particularly Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI)—have been institutionalized and subsequently diminished in official United Nations (UN) documents. It applies quantitative text analysis and large language model (LLM) document classification to outcome documents and country statements from two annual UN conferences—the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and the Commission on Population and Development (CPD)—covering the period from 1995 to 2025. By quantitatively examining patterns of discursive norm contestation, the paper provides systematic evidence of how anti-gender networks influence international organizations and reshape the dynamics of multilateral cooperation in global sexuality governance.