Banning “Homosexual Propaganda”: Belonging and Visibility in Contemporary Russian Media

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This article investigates Russian mainstream media´s coverage of the 2013 legislation banning "propaganda for non-traditional sexuality". Inspired by theories on belonging, media and visibility, it reconstructs a dominant narrative representing non-heterosexuals as threatening the future survival of the nation, as imposing the sex-radical norms of a minority onto the majority, or as connected to an imperialistic West which aims to destroy Russia. This story, it is argued, functions as a hegemonic grammar regulating how non-heterosexuality is seen and heard in the public sphere. However, it is argued that sometimes the linearity and cohesiveness of the narrative breaks down, when things appear that do not fit this model of interpretation. The analysis illustrates how contestations of belonging in contemporary media are increasingly structured according to the logic of visibility: dominant actors attempt to regulate what can be seen and heard in the public sphere whereas oppositional actors attempt to establish their own visibility in the mediated space of appearance, putting forward alternative constructions of the nation and who belongs to it.

Resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church: Narrative of Analysis of the Russian National Myth*

“…Through its crafted narratives, Russia's state‐controlled media is able to offer counter‐worldviews to those presented by Western media to Russian citizens. Scholars have shown Russian media capable of providing ideological positions through narratives on the ethnic identity of self and other (Levintova, ), or issues like drug‐use (Lilja, ) and homosexuality (Persson, ) that provide justifications to the populace for actions taken by the Russian state. Homosexuality in particular was presented as directly connected to the West and its claimed agenda to corrupt Russian values in place of Western ones (Persson, ).…”

“…Persson's () piece is specifically important because it demonstrates that the Russian regime does not simply use censorship to deny issues exist, or that certain political events have taken place. Globalized media and the access provided by the Internet significantly handicap the ability to prevent audiences from information exposure.…”

“…Globalized media and the access provided by the Internet significantly handicap the ability to prevent audiences from information exposure. What the Russian regime does in place of outright censorship is to maximize its visibility and reinforce certain frames of interpretation (Persson, ). Similar findings by Hutchings and Szosteck () relating to Russian actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine demonstrate that, rather than denying the events, the Russian state controls media in order to craft and control the narratives surrounding issues (Hutchings and Szosteck, ).…”

The Importance of Sexuality for Research on Ethnicity and Nationalism

“…Similar trends continue today. For instance, Russia's recent ban on 'homosexual propaganda' is part of ongoing efforts on the part of officials to frame homosexuality as a deviant sexual practice imported from Western Europe (Persson 2014). In former Soviet countries that joined the European Union, some conservatives fought back against required E.U.…”

When the party is over: developments in Sochi and Russia after the Olympics 2014

“…During the critical debates preceding the Sochi Games, considerable attention was paid to the deficient Russian record on democracy and human rights, not least the newly introduced harsh legislation on LGBT issues (Persson 2014), and also to the highly restrictive regulations forcing non-governmental organizations that received financial contributions from abroad to register as 'foreign agents' or else be forcibly shut down (Ostroukh 2012). Critics at home and abroad objected that this was not the proper time to have an Olympics mega-event hosted by Russia, and that the fact that the Games took place there could be construed as approval of the regime or even as a misplaced reward for misbehaviour.…”