Reports
Sexual citizenship
- Women's Rights Team
- 8 July 2024
[…] The origin of citizenship can be traced back to Ancient Greece, when “citizens” were those who had a legal right to participate in the affairs of the state. However, by no means was everyone a citizen: slaves, peasants, women or resident foreigners were mere subjects. (Council of Europe, n.d.)
This quote by the Council of Europe (CoE) highlights the underlying structure that, to this day, influences who is considered a citizen of a nation and who is not. Historically, citizenship is closely linked to belonging to a political and legal entity that grants individuals access to certain rights and imposes corresponding duties. The origins of citizenship can be traced back to ancient Greece, where one was only considered a citizen if he was “male aged 20, [from] an Athenian family, […] patriarch of a household [and] a warrior” (Bellamy, 2015, p. 31). Gender, race, and class were fundamental in defining the boundaries of citizenship, thus excluding women, children, immigrants, and slaves. Over time, this understanding changed, and the good citizen was the one who could naturally contribute to the reproduction of the state (Josephson, 2015). He was white, male, and heterosexual. Men were therefore at the centre of citizenship from the very beginning. This definition, according to which all persons within a state who do not meet the above criteria are excluded from the right to citizenship, is no longer valid. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN General Assembly, 1948) recognises everyone’s right to a nationality and the right to change one’s nationality. It stipulates that no citizen shall be stateless because of the denial of their nationality.
However, the reality is very different. Millions of people are stateless for various reasons and are thus excluded from the rights of citizenship. The degree of statelessness and the reasons why people are stateless can vary widely. For pragmatic reasons and due to space limitations, this article will focus on one aspect of citizenship, namely sexual citizenship and asks: Through the lens of gender, sexuality, and identity, who gets to be a citizen and why?
Most studies dealing with sexual citizenship focus on Western countries (Richardson, 2017; Richardson & Turner, 2001). This allows for a better comparison and generalisation, as Western countries are similar in their understanding of democracy and equality and share a basic political and legal structure. Thus, this paper also limits its analysis primarily to Western countries.
Additionally, since the issue of sexual citizenship is too complex to be fully covered in this article, the aim is to establish a basic understanding of who is entitled to the full right of citizenship. To do so, this paper will first examine the institutional dimensions of sexual citizenship, focusing on the legal framework and the importance of heteronormativity. It will then examine the personal dimension of sexual citizenship, defined by the impact of lived experiences and intersectional identity. By reviewing both dimensions and how they impact citizenship, this paper will conclude by attempting to answer the underlying question of the entitlement to citizenship.
This quote by the Council of Europe (CoE) highlights the underlying structure that, to this day, influences who is considered a citizen of a nation and who is not. Historically, citizenship is closely linked to belonging to a political and legal entity that grants individuals access to certain rights and imposes corresponding duties. The origins of citizenship can be traced back to ancient Greece, where one was only considered a citizen if he was “male aged 20, [from] an Athenian family, […] patriarch of a household [and] a warrior” (Bellamy, 2015, p. 31). Gender, race, and class were fundamental in defining the boundaries of citizenship, thus excluding women, children, immigrants, and slaves. Over time, this understanding changed, and the good citizen was the one who could naturally contribute to the reproduction of the state (Josephson, 2015). He was white, male, and heterosexual. Men were therefore at the centre of citizenship from the very beginning. This definition, according to which all persons within a state who do not meet the above criteria are excluded from the right to citizenship, is no longer valid. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN General Assembly, 1948) recognises everyone’s right to a nationality and the right to change one’s nationality. It stipulates that no citizen shall be stateless because of the denial of their nationality.
However, the reality is very different. Millions of people are stateless for various reasons and are thus excluded from the rights of citizenship. The degree of statelessness and the reasons why people are stateless can vary widely. For pragmatic reasons and due to space limitations, this article will focus on one aspect of citizenship, namely sexual citizenship and asks: Through the lens of gender, sexuality, and identity, who gets to be a citizen and why?
Most studies dealing with sexual citizenship focus on Western countries (Richardson, 2017; Richardson & Turner, 2001). This allows for a better comparison and generalisation, as Western countries are similar in their understanding of democracy and equality and share a basic political and legal structure. Thus, this paper also limits its analysis primarily to Western countries.
Additionally, since the issue of sexual citizenship is too complex to be fully covered in this article, the aim is to establish a basic understanding of who is entitled to the full right of citizenship. To do so, this paper will first examine the institutional dimensions of sexual citizenship, focusing on the legal framework and the importance of heteronormativity. It will then examine the personal dimension of sexual citizenship, defined by the impact of lived experiences and intersectional identity. By reviewing both dimensions and how they impact citizenship, this paper will conclude by attempting to answer the underlying question of the entitlement to citizenship.
✨ AI summary
[…] The origin of citizenship can be traced back to Ancient Greece, when “citizens” were those who had a legal right to participate in the affairs of the state. However, by no means was everyone a citizen: slaves, peasants, women or resident foreigners were mere subjects. (Council of Europe, n.d.)
This quote by the Council of Europe (CoE) highlights the underlying structure that, to this day, influences who is considered a citizen of a nation and who is not. Historically, citizenship is closely linked to belonging to a political and legal entity that grants individuals access to certain rights and imposes corresponding duties. The origins of citizenship can be traced back to ancient Greece, where one was only considered a citizen if he was “male aged 20, [from] an Athenian family, […] patriarch of a household [and] a warrior” (Bellamy, 2015, p. 31). Gender, race, and class were fundamental in defining the boundaries of citizenship, thus excluding women, children, immigrants, and slaves. Over time, this understanding changed, and the good citizen was the one who could naturally contribute to the reproduction of the state (Josephson, 2015). He was white, male, and heterosexual. Men were therefore at the centre of citizenship from the very beginning. This definition, according to which all persons within a state who do not meet the above criteria are excluded from the right to citizenship, is no longer valid. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN General Assembly, 1948) recognises everyone’s right to a nationality and the right to change one’s nationality. It stipulates that no citizen shall be stateless because of the denial of their nationality.
However, the reality is very different. Millions of people are stateless for various reasons and are thus excluded from the rights of citizenship. The degree of statelessness and the reasons why people are stateless can vary widely. For pragmatic reasons and due to space limitations, this article will focus on one aspect of citizenship, namely sexual citizenship and asks: Through the lens of gender, sexuality, and identity, who gets to be a citizen and why?
Most studies dealing with sexual citizenship focus on Western countries (Richardson, 2017; Richardson & Turner, 2001). This allows for a better comparison and generalisation, as Western countries are similar in their understanding of democracy and equality and share a basic political and legal structure. Thus, this paper also limits its analysis primarily to Western countries.
Additionally, since the issue of sexual citizenship is too complex to be fully covered in this article, the aim is to establish a basic understanding of who is entitled to the full right of citizenship. To do so, this paper will first examine the institutional dimensions of sexual citizenship, focusing on the legal framework and the importance of heteronormativity. It will then examine the personal dimension of sexual citizenship, defined by the impact of lived experiences and intersectional identity. By reviewing both dimensions and how they impact citizenship, this paper will conclude by attempting to answer the underlying question of the entitlement to citizenship.
This quote by the Council of Europe (CoE) highlights the underlying structure that, to this day, influences who is considered a citizen of a nation and who is not. Historically, citizenship is closely linked to belonging to a political and legal entity that grants individuals access to certain rights and imposes corresponding duties. The origins of citizenship can be traced back to ancient Greece, where one was only considered a citizen if he was “male aged 20, [from] an Athenian family, […] patriarch of a household [and] a warrior” (Bellamy, 2015, p. 31). Gender, race, and class were fundamental in defining the boundaries of citizenship, thus excluding women, children, immigrants, and slaves. Over time, this understanding changed, and the good citizen was the one who could naturally contribute to the reproduction of the state (Josephson, 2015). He was white, male, and heterosexual. Men were therefore at the centre of citizenship from the very beginning. This definition, according to which all persons within a state who do not meet the above criteria are excluded from the right to citizenship, is no longer valid. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN General Assembly, 1948) recognises everyone’s right to a nationality and the right to change one’s nationality. It stipulates that no citizen shall be stateless because of the denial of their nationality.
However, the reality is very different. Millions of people are stateless for various reasons and are thus excluded from the rights of citizenship. The degree of statelessness and the reasons why people are stateless can vary widely. For pragmatic reasons and due to space limitations, this article will focus on one aspect of citizenship, namely sexual citizenship and asks: Through the lens of gender, sexuality, and identity, who gets to be a citizen and why?
Most studies dealing with sexual citizenship focus on Western countries (Richardson, 2017; Richardson & Turner, 2001). This allows for a better comparison and generalisation, as Western countries are similar in their understanding of democracy and equality and share a basic political and legal structure. Thus, this paper also limits its analysis primarily to Western countries.
Additionally, since the issue of sexual citizenship is too complex to be fully covered in this article, the aim is to establish a basic understanding of who is entitled to the full right of citizenship. To do so, this paper will first examine the institutional dimensions of sexual citizenship, focusing on the legal framework and the importance of heteronormativity. It will then examine the personal dimension of sexual citizenship, defined by the impact of lived experiences and intersectional identity. By reviewing both dimensions and how they impact citizenship, this paper will conclude by attempting to answer the underlying question of the entitlement to citizenship.
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