Cai Weaver caiweaverhelsinkifi 09102018 Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta Cai Weaver comparative minorities 1 Short Lecture Why Study Minority Politics O verview of the Cases ID: 745791
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Sexual Minorities & Comparative Politics
Cai Weavercai.weaver@helsinki.fi
09/10/2018
Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta / Cai Weaver / comparative minorities
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Short Lecture:
Why Study Minority Politics?Overview of the Cases:
Sexual Minorities in Russia
Sexual Minorities in the United KingdomWorkshop:
“
Why have sexual minorities achieved equality in some countries, but not in others?”Brainstorming the Variables/ Different Angle(s) of ApproachApplying the Comparative Methodology to the CasesSharing Results
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Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta / Cai Weaver
Session Overview Slide3
What is a minority?
Minority is a misleading termA minority is a group of people who experience a disadvantage compared to the [dominant] majority of a social group. Minorities might face structural inequalities or discrimination.
Such minority groups might be based on: sex, ethnicity, race, language, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Intersectionality is a useful toolkit to study minorities and identities.
Why do they really need additional [special] rights when they are already citizens?
Yes, to ensure they are not marginalised further
Or to ’catch-up’ to having the same rights as the majority (for example, ’no marriage’ to ’civil partnerships’ to ’equal marriage’ 09/10/20183
Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta / Cai Weaver Why Study Minorities?Slide4
Argument: Aren’t minorities equal already?
The current Finnish government didn’t produce a gender equality action plan for over a year because “genders are equal in Finland”Finland has a highly gendered workforceFinland requires sterilisation to legally change gender
Argument: Who cares? The implications are insignificant, because minorities are only a handful of people
Minority politics often transcend the minority group:LGBTQIA+ rights were an official foreign policy goal of the USA under Obama
A recognisable ’global gay’ identity has formed within a ’global community’
Russia’s ”anti-gay” propaganda law impacts freedom of expression for all (self-censorship)Some far-right political groups embrace LGBTQIA+ rights to ”other” immigrants and construct a ‘progressive’ ideology. A useful theoretical tool for this is homonationalism 09/10/2018
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Why Study Minorities? (2)Slide5
Case StudiesSlide6
National law ”Prohibiting the Propaganda of Non-Traditional Sexual Relationships to Minors” 2013
What is a non-traditional sexual relationship and what is propaganda?Promotion of traditional values Child Protective [in theory]: ’Protecting’ children from ’harm’
Rationalities for the law include: ’poor birthrate
’; protection from ’western imperialism’, ’sin and godlessness’, ’queer fascism’, and the ’fact’ that [apparently] ’90 per cent of politicians in Washington are sodomites’Moscow has banned Gay Pride Parades until 2112
Transvestites are banned from driving since 2015 (along with sadomasochists, voyeurs, exhibitionists)
No equal marriage, no recognition of same-sex partnerships, no ’special’ protection under law for discrimination, but you can change your gender.09/10/20186
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Case 1: Russia Slide7
Putin: ”there is no discrimination of sexual minorities in Russia” … “It is not illegal to be gay” … ”I have personally given them medals” … ”they can serve freely in the armed forces, unlike in some other countries” … ”but I wouldn’t take a shower with a gay man because I do not wish to provoke him”
Putinism has focused on restoring the traditional family and returning to ’traditional values’Masculinity plays a key role in Putin’s image
Male homosexual relations decriminalised in 1993. Lesbianism removed as a medical illness in 1999
A fractured gay community developed (sort of) in the 1990s, that was dependant on foreign funds.Socio-economic problems distracted many from ’rights’ - “we have bigger problems”
Widespread homophobia
Russia as a “mixed bag” of rights09/10/20187
Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta / Cai Weaver
Case 1: Russia (2) Slide8
The Soviet Union was the second country in the world to decriminalise same-sex relations between men in 1922
As long as they were ”good communists”, it didn’t matterIn 1933, Stalin recriminalized homosexuality and it became conflated with Paedophilia and Fascism.Imperial Russia was more tolerant of same-sex practices than the West. Sodomy was only banned when German military advisers were hired to ’modernise’ the Military Code of the Russian Army.
Orthodoxy was tolerant of same-sex relations between men as long as they were not in the priesthood or married.
However lesbianism was seen to carry an ”anti-Christian” element and so such women were labelled as ”God-Insulting Grannies”
09/10/2018
8Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta / Cai WeaverCase 1: Russia (3) Slide9
A long list of equality...
Anti-discrimination laws on sexual orientation and gender identityOfficial pardon issued to all men convicted of sodomy 2017 (Conservatives)Equal Marriage 2014 (Conservatives – Not NI),
Civil Partnerships 2005 (Labour), Same-sex adoption rights 2005 (Labour)
Gender recognition 2004 (Labour)
Section 28 repealed 2003 (Labour – ”Banning promotion of same-sex relationships as a pretend family relationship” (introduced 1988, by Conservatives
)Age of consent equalised 2001 (Labour)Sodomy decriminalised in 1967 (Labour – but proposed by a Conservative peer)This was based on the Wolfenden committee of 1954 (Conservatives) to investigate decriminalisation of homosexual offenses. The report was supported by the Church of England
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Case 2: United Kingdom (1)Slide10
LGBT Rights Organisations
Such as the homosexual law reform society (1958), and Stonewall as LGBT equality organisations fighting for rights and supporting sexual minorities.Pride Festivals regularly in the UK held since 1972Sponsorship by businesses and organisations has played a role in promoting or mainstreaming sexual minority issues.
LGBT Communities (active everywhere, but notable areas: Old Compton Street, Canal Street, and Brighton.
The role of the Media & TV in promoting visibility of sexual minorities. For example, ”Queer as Folk” (1999 – UK), Torchwood (2006), Will and Grace (1998), Queer Eye (2003) … The European Union has been instrumental in the progression of sexual minority rights
Also in protecting other minority rights, such as fostering the development of minority languages
Still, the UK is far from ’equal’. Conversion therapy is still legal, transphobia is a real problem, homosexuality is ’fine’ when it looks ’normal’ (Homonormativity), Disparities in Devolution09/10/201810
Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta / Cai Weaver
Case 2: United Kingdom (2)Slide11
Workshop SessionSlide12
”
Why have sexual minorities achieved equality in some countries, but not in others?Brainstorm in small groups:What are the variables, what are th
e factors as to why, or why not?
For example, the role of the European Union?Do
not
answer the questionAnswers to Flinga09/10/201812
Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta / Cai Weaver
BrainstormSlide13
Angles of Approach / Variables
Religion Moral values
Family PoliticsBound to other rights (women’s rights
etc.)Political Systems
Pride & Organisations
Identity PoliticsCultureEducationFreedom of association
Ideologies’Good’ Politics
Business (’pink pound’)(Mental) Healthcare
MediaEU MembershipSlide14
Group Work
”Why have sexual minorities achieved equality in some countries, but not in others?”
Come up with a hypothesisIdentify the level of analysis
Identify the actors and their dynamics
Gather evidence
Make argumentDraw conclusionsSlide15
Sharing
ResultsSlide16
BA Course:
Period 2: 30/10/2018 - 11/12/2018 PVK-P208: Gender, Politics and Societyhttps://courses.helsinki.fi/en/PVK-P208/124551270
MA Course:Period 4: 12/03/2019 - 03/05/2019
PVM-P309: Gender and Politics in Europe
https://courses.helsinki.fi/en/PVM-P309/125185719
Master’s Level Summer School:August: 06/08/2019 – 22/08/2019Feminist Research Methodologies in Theory and Practicehttp://www.helsinkisummerschool.fi/09/10/2018
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Before you go: