In 2016, the UN appointed an Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), and the World Bank announced the appointment of an advisor on SOGI. Both nominations are part of a wider trend of global institutions beginning to engage with LGBT issues. My paper considers what I call ‘global gay governance‘ The project examines developments at the level of international law and global institutions (e. g., international financial institutions, the UN). The institutional developments discussed are part of an emerging ‘homoglobalism‘. The paper will highlight some of the challenges facing advocates of LGBT rights and the need for a cost-benefit analysis assessing the advantages of advancing LGBT rights at the global level against the risk of co-option by global institutions for their own purposes, but also of a backlash that, some will argue, exacerbates homophobia.