Abstract
The article discusses Western and Russian discourses on lesbian lives during the period of the introduction of the so-called anti-homosexual propaganda law. It introduces representative examples of American solidarity writing that narrates stories of Russian homophobia and LGBTIQ+ dissidence. Mediatized Western solidarity efforts’ focus on LGBTIQ+ visibility as only form of intelligible resistance privileges gay men, who comply with Western models of representation. Discussing two rare media examples that centre on lesbians, it shows how this focus on identity and visibility renders lesbians as powerless victims and pitiful objects without any agency. It contrasts these Western representations with two projects by Russian lesbian artists and activists. It argues that these latter examples are representative of the negotiation of in/visibility of lesbian desires and lives on the intersection of self-preservation and political resistance.
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Notes
- 1.
The term “Western” signifies the hegemonic discourses, positions, and notions of the global geographical North/West; the categories of East and West are understood as constructed and do not refer to any essence or natural origin. Although our analyzed media examples stem from English-speaking news and magazine articles, we do not equate Western discourses only with American or British discourses.
- 2.
The discussed Western media samples are from (online) magazines, books, and newspapers/news Web sites. Similar images and representations can be found in television news broadcasts, printed newspapers, video, photo, and other documentaries, reports, discussion forums, etc.
- 3.
The term “lesbian” signifies lesbian self-identified people, regardless of their gender. Here, it is used in a broader sense, including same-sex desiring women in general. For further negotiation of lesbian and bisexual identities and terms in the Russian context, see: Stella (2015).
- 4.
A violation according to the anti-gay propaganda law leads to administrative penalties in the case of Russian citizens and deportation for foreign citizens. The penalties are, moreover, divided into different categories, accounting for the kinds of media (mass media, social media, etc.) that distribute the pro-LGBTIQ+ content. Although it is not completely impossible to be punished under this law for a simple kiss in a public setting, such as in the photograph Sharlet utilizes, it is in fact unlikely.
- 5.
The term “homosexualism” is used in Russian language in a pathologizing, derogatory sense. LGBTIQ+ people in Russia reject the term.
- 6.
This term is old-fashioned and is no longer used as a self-description in today’s Russia. Sharlet’s reference to the term here creates an anachronism, misplacing it in the evolutionary timeline of Russian queer terminology, and at the same time emphasizes the “exotic” location.
- 7.
The term “axis of evil” was first used by the US President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address in January 2002 in reference to the countries of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, who allegedly supported terrorism. It has become a trope, signifying a conservative racist doctrine, including the falsification of facts and unjustified warfare within US-American liberalism.
- 8.
Unfortunately, the show also reproduces xenophobic stereotypes. For instance, there are two Polish female characters, who are constantly presented as incapable, stupid, and ridiculous. For instance, they are tricked into renovating Yulia’s apartment and wear outfits that strongly reference the racist representations of Tadjik labor migrants on the Russian show Наша Раша/Nasha Rasha (Our Russia ), which is directly referenced in the episode. By reiterating the racist Russian stereotype of the uneducated non-white “Gastarbeiter” from Central Asia, the two are presented as lazy, incompetent migrants. Interestingly enough, this undeniably racist representation is a queered one; the girls wear mustaches and beards as well as тельняшки/tel’nyashki (striped sailor’s vest)—an iconic uniform garment mostly worn by the Russian Marines and a strong signifier of masculinity.
- 9.
In the following season, Yulia Feel drastically changed the concept of the series, which transitioned from comedy into a mystery-drama and love-thriller genre. The second episode of the season was produced as a professional full-length film, which focused on the topics of love and friendship and which was more escapist than political. The spin-off show Нить apparently ceased production in June 2016, but their group remains active on the Russian social network vk.com and is frequently used as a communication platform for lesbians in Saint Petersburg and beyond.
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Neufeld, M., Wiedlack, K. (2020). Visibility, Violence, and Vulnerability: Lesbians Stuck Between the Post-Soviet Closet and the Western Media Space. In: Buyantueva, R., Shevtsova, M. (eds) LGBTQ+ Activism in Central and Eastern Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20401-3_3
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