THE QUEER POLITICS OF PRIDE, global LGBTQ+ activism and homocapitalism

200pp., illus., paperback, Bloomsbury Academic, London, 2025

ISBN: 9781350402263

Drawing from extensive fieldwork in South Africa, India, Taiwan, Cuba and New York, Daniel Conway explores the contemporary politics of LGBTQ+ Pride and queer activism, conceptualising Pride as part of the global processes of capitalism and the socio-political and spatial dynamics of gentrification.

"Through captivating ethnographic accounts and detailed analysis, Conway shows us how Pride has become a conduit for the gentrification of queer life, while also demonstrating how rebellious queer activists around the world creatively refuse this incorporation. This should be the definitive book on the global politics of Pride. "Chris Rossdale, University of Bristol, UK

"In this sharp, funny, and fiercely honest book, Conway slices through the feel-good narratives surrounding Pride and pushes us to confront the tough, necessary questions: Who gets excluded? How does capitalism shape the politics of these events? And where might Pride go from here? Seamlessly weaving theory with rich ethnographic work, Conway offers not a negative critique but a reparative and generous reading - opening up fresh, alternative ways of imagining queer politics today. This is a book that doesn't just analyse Pride; it loves queer worlds enough to demand better, and it turns to grassroots activists and community organizers - centring their voices, their struggles, and their visions - to show us the way forward." Olimpia Burchiellaro, University of Essex, UK

Daniel Conway is Reader in Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster, UK and a Research Associate at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies, University of the Witwatersrand. He is the author of Migration, Space and Transnational Identities: The British in South Africa (with Pauline Leonard) and Masculinities, Militarisation and the End Conscription Campaign: War resistance in apartheid South Africa. Conway is a previous chair of the Feminist Theory and Gender Section of the International Studies Association.