CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Lapina, Veronika |
|---|---|
| Title | Is there a Propaganda of Homosexuality? Re-emergence of the Russian LGBT Movement in the Context of Political Heterosexism and Homophobia |
| Summary | The newly emerged laws which prohibit propaganda of homosexuality among minors confirm Russian society as being homophobic and have stimulated LGBT activism. This thesis examines the re-emergence of visible and political LGBT movement in Russia after the implementation of regional anti-propaganda laws. It examines how these laws affected and reshaped activism in Russian regions. Analysis of 23 guided interviews and 2 group discussions with activists shows that indeed state heterosexism galvanized the resistance of the LGBT community and shifted strategies and agendas of activists; however, anti-propaganda also enforced the closet for LGBT people in small cities with no activism. This research also discusses the relationships between LGBT organizations in different regions in the current circumstances of political heterosexism. It argues that anti-propaganda legislation strengthens the moderate/radical binary between the activists, which is a legacy of the post-Soviet LGBT movement in the 90s. Examination of the organization Russian LGBT Network as an imagined community and analysis of its patterns of networking reveals that it is “nesting Orientalism” within Russia, normalizing moderate activism and presenting radicals as non-fit. The existence of multiple networks, some of which intersect and some of which oppose each other, argues for the presence of agency of the regions, yet shows the disunity of the LGBT movement in Russia. |
| Supervisor | Renkin, Hadley Zaun |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/lapina_veronika.pdf |
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