Att göra främlingar. Nation och sexualitet i dagens ryska homofobiska narrativ.
NationHomosexualitetRysslandNarrativIdentitetGender studiesGenusvetenskapSocial sciencesSamhällsvetenskaperPolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapSocial SciencesLaw and Political Science
The topic of homosexuality was until recently a taboo in Russian public discussion, but has during the last years become a hotly debated issue. Analyzing what I call the new homophobic narrative I isolate and examine two ways of ?othering? homosexuals, constructing them as strangers, when sexual minorities are discussed in today´s Russia. Sexual deviants are portrayed as threats to the nation and are connected to the West and its influence. Using analytical tools from queer theory, security studies and postcolonial approaches I discuss different ways of configuring the relation between nation and sexuality, identities that are interwoven in the homophobic narrative. This story is theoretically interesting in 1) the way that sexuality is spatialized, i.e. made into geography and 2) how identity is established towards difference, and how dominant categories (Russians, heterosexuals) overlap in the marginalization of their others (non-Russians, homosexuals). I also discuss whether this homophobic narrative can tell us anything about the metanarrative of Russia and the West, and I suggest that some themes in the story we study might reveal a more self-confident, confrontational Russian self-image, and a growing distancing towards the West.