(Homo)nationalism Flashcards
(32 cards)
Dreher: What is an uncanny double?
A distorted or shadow version of a political project (like queer rights or feminism) that legitimizes actions the original movement would not support, for example justifying imperialism and invasion to protect a certain community (women, queer people)
Dreher: What is homo-nationalism?
The alignment of LGBTQ+ rights with nationalist agendas, where “gay-friendliness” becomes a sign of Western modernity and democracy, used to justify imperialist policies on “backwards” others and war
Dreher: Why is same-sex marriage an “uncanny double” of queer politics? (3)
- It limits the range of acceptable relationships and modes of sexual expression
- Normalizes conservative family values (unequal division of labor, history of oppression)
- Silences queer critiques of marriage while still appearing progressive
Dreher: What is the critique of the “right side of history” narrative?
It assumes that marriage equality is natural and inevitable, marking some nations as tolerant and modern, while hiding racism, homophobia, and colonial legacies
Dreher: What does it mean that same-sex marriage has become a litmus test for progressiveness?
It becomes a checkbox for being “good” or “civilized” or “progressive”
Dreher: What 3 risks arise when same-sex marriage becomes a litmus test for progressiveness?
- Support for same-sex marriage indicates a country’s natural progress towards freedom, racializing sexual rights and placing non-Western countries as “backward”
- Criticisms of marriage become depoliticized and queer difference is rendered invisible or undesirable -> only those who fit within the same-sex marriage norm are “normal”
- Hides the prevalence and persistance of homophobia and discrimination within a country
Dreher: How does homo-nationalism justify the rejection of asylum seekers?
By depicting countries like Australia as safe havens for LGBTQ+ people, it contrasts them with “homophobic” nations, framing asylum seekers from there as threats to national values and queer people
Dreher: What 4 alternatives does Dreher suggest to challenge homo-nationalism?
- Promoting intersectional solidarity (linking queer and Palestinian rights)
- Maintaining visibility of queer difference and prioritizing people who are sexually marginalized
- Critique state violence
- Expand legal recognition beyond just marriage
Dreher: What is an example of homo-nationalism?
Israel’s marketing of itself as “the only gay friendly democracy in the Middle East”, pinkwashing the occupation of Palestinian lands and the development of an apartheid state
While Dreher suggests making connections between human rights campaigns, what challenges might such a solution meet?
Risk “watering down” original ideas
Ranking of marginalized groups within an intersectional coalition
Ignoring that consequences for white queer body might be different for a non-white (queer) body
Rekhviashvili: What are the 3 main arguments used to dismiss homo-nationalism in Eastern Europe?
- The absence of a homo-nationalist state (Eastern Europe is seen as non-imperial and homophobic)
- The absence of a homo-nationalist queer subject (queer strategies are seen as resistance against homophobic state, not nationalistic or racist)
- Homo-nationalism is a Western concept that cannot describe peripheral spaces such as Eastern Europe
Rekhviashvili: What 2 dynamics are overlooked by rejecting homo-nationalism in Eastern Europe?
Eastern European whiteness is constructed as innocent of the evils of colonialism/imperialism, and LGBTQ+ actors’ participation in heteronormative or queer nationalisms is constructed as racially innocent.
Strategic use of whiteness to claim “Europeanness” and disidentify from racialized others (e.g., Roma) while still avoiding guilt over Europe’s colonial and white supremacist past
Rekhviashvili: How does homo-nationalism relate to EU policies in Eastern Europe?
EU demands for LGBTQ+ inclusion can trigger homophobic backlash and violence, harming local LGBTQ+ communities
Rekhviashvili: What does refusing homo-nationalism as an analytic tool do?
Limits understanding of how European homo-nationalism shapes local realities and sustains a false East/West binary (West as progressive, East as homophobic) and limits reflection on the role of whiteness in Eastern Europe
Rekhviashvili: What does it mean that Eastern Europe is the “internal other”?
Western Europe sees itself as the teacher of democracy and LGBTQ+ rights, whereas Eastern Europe is the internal other - white, but still “backward” because of homophobia. Higher ranked than absolute others, thus maintaining their place within Western civilization
Rekhviashvili: What role do local LGBTQ+ actors play in reinforcing racial/national hierarchies?
By distancing themselves from marginalized groups such as the Roma, they assert their national belonging through their whiteness at the expense of racialized others
Rekhviashvili: What is methodological nationalism and why is it problematic in analyzing Eastern Europe?
The assumption that social and political phenomena can be fully understood within the boundaries of a single nation-state
Problematic because it overlooks transnational dynamics, such as how Western homo-nationalism influences Eastern European queer politics and homophobia. Reinforces false binaries (West sexually liberated, East homophobic) and ignores global power structure of whiteness, imperialism, and EU influence
Formulate 3 short points arguing against this statement: Homo-nationalism is irrelevant to Eastern Europe because it still operates within hetero-nationalism
- Some queer groups use racial divisions within Eastern Europe to lay claim to being part of the national white body at the expense of racialized minorities
- Eastern Europe’s whiteness is central to their place as the “internal” other/stigmatized brother, thereby still laying claim to whiteness and space in Western civilization
- EU policies on queer rights can lead to backlash against LGBTQ+ people in Eastern Europe
Turnbull-Dugarte & Ortega: What is homo-nationalism?
The instrumental use of LGBTQ+ rights by nationalist actors to define Western identity and exclude racialized others, esp. Muslims, as threats to liberal values
Turnbull-Dugarte & Ortega: What is the main psychological mechanism behind instrumental support for LGBTQ+ rights?
Social dis-identification: Defining oneself in opposition to a perceived out-group = “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”
Turnbull-Dugarte & Ortega: What is balance theory and how does it apply here?
People prefer consistency in beliefs and group associations -> if Muslims oppose LGBTQ+ rights, anti-immigrant individuals may support them to avoid identifying with Muslims
Turnbull-Dugarte & Ortega: What is the instrumental liberalism thesis?
That nativists support LGBTQ+ rights not from genuine transformation of beliefs but to distance themselves from ethnic out-groups like Muslims
Turnbull-Dugarte & Ortega: How was instrumental liberalism tested in the UK experiment with what results?
Participants read a news article where either Muslims or non-Muslims opposed LGBTQ+ education -> anti-immigrant participants in the treatment condition became significantly more supportive of LGBTQ+ education
Turnbull-Dugarte & Ortega: What did the Spain experiment add?
Replicated the effect of UK experiment and showed that treatment also increased national pride in “Western values” among nativists
