Gender, sexuality, and coloniality: a visual analysis of the women, peace, and security agenda

Abstract

This research aims to foster a culture of peace by counteracting the prevailing culture of violence. To do that, this thesis addresses a gap in the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda literature by examining the politics of (in)visibility in the visual representation of subjects within WPS-related documents. The WPS agenda, an international tool to mainstream gender in peace and security, is anchored by a series of United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions, which started with Resolution 1325 (2000). This Resolution highlighted women’s roles in peace-making and acknowledged the gendered nature of violence during armed conflicts.

Visual representation in WPS-related documents has been largely overlooked in academic discussions. This research emphasises that these images are not mere design elements but visual landscapes with ideological content, where gender, sexuality, and coloniality are critical to understanding visions of peace and violence. Subjects are depicted through gendered, sexualised, and racial stereotypes that reinforce a narrative where peace is instrumentalised within frames of violence, perpetuating military logic and development projects that sustain Western exploitation of the Global South.

The research examines images from the UN Secretary General Annual Reports on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Using visual methods, the empirical research reveals that WPS agenda images depict the world as binary: conflict zones (Global South) and peace zones (Global North). Identities are constructed through specific portrayals of gendered, sexualised, and racialised subjects, perpetuating colonial dynamics. The thesis presents a counterpoint to these visual narratives by exploring the (im)possibilities for queering visibilities. The final empirical chapter attempts to illustrate a visual grammar that disrupts traditional portrayals of gender, sexuality, and coloniality, changing the way spectators engage with these images. The thesis concludes with a call for political restoration in the use of images and for active spectatorship.

Date of Award	Jun 2025
Original language	English
Supervisor	Brandon Hamber (Supervisor) & Fidelma Ashe (Supervisor)