The clash of sexuality or rhetoric of human rights: Exploring same sex marriage and sustainable human development nexus

On June 26th 2015, the United States Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage. Similarly, the adoption of the United Nations Human Rights resolution for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights during its 27th session in September 2014 by a 25-14 vote margin after more than an hour of debate, condemns violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity across the globe. Some countries from the South such as Pakistan’s representative to the U.N. Human Rights Council called it a “divisive and controversial initiative.” While Saudi Arabia’s representative during debate said; “We feel there is an attempt to impose uniculturality that runs counter to religious and cultural practices of some countries; in my opinion, this (resolution) is a human rights violation.” As this resolution was passed, Russia’s Constitutional Court upheld their country’s anti-gay “propaganda” law 1. This paper is a desk review which explores contending theoretical debates on same sex marriage (SSM) discourse and suggests that SSM is not akin to sustainable human development. It advances a novel theoretical argument which classifies SSM as virtual and unsustainable union beyond human rights debate. It recognizes the emotions of LGBTs but argues for an alternative, namely; green sexuality- a union between a man and woman rooted in procreation and conjugal bliss. It demonstrates that SSM falls short of these criteria. The paper suggests that the union of man and man or woman and woman should have a distinct classification other than marriage in the conventional context. This theme is important in contemporary global sexuality debate both as analytical and policy instrument to re-examine Western rights notion and amenable ways to douse violent attacks ,stigmatization and discrimination on LGBTs, in particular, re –examine sexuality beyond Western “human rights” rhetoric or is the world experiencing a clash of sexuality?    Key words: Same Sex Marriage, Sexual Rights, Sustainable Human Development, Sexual Identity, Green Sexuality