Uneasy promises: Sexuality, health, and human rights

Although attention to the links between health and human rights is growing globally, the full potential of a progressive human rights approach to heal th has not yet been explored, and it is even more faintly understood in the United States than in the rest of the world. At the same time, global clai ms for sexual rights, particularly for those identifying as gay, lesbian, t ranssexual, or bisexual, are increasingly being made as human rights claims . All of these approaches to rights advocacy risk limiting their own transfor mative impact unless advocates critique their own strategies. Paradoxically , using health as a way to bring attention to nonheteronormative sexualitie s can be both helpful and potentially dangerous, especially when coupled wi th human rights. Recognizing sexuality as a critical element of humanity; and establishing a fundamental human right to health, can play a role in broader social justi ce claims, but the tendency of both public health and human rights advocacy to "normalize" and regulate must be scrutinized and challenged.